2 Kings 2:24 BSB — MannaFest

2 Kings 2:24

Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two lads of them.

KJV

And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

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Commentary

2 voices

Caesarius of Arles

SERMON 127.2 (542)

Now according to the letter, dearly beloved, we are to believe, as we mentioned above, that blessed Elisha was aroused with God's zeal to correct the people, rather than moved by unwholesome anger, when he permitted the Jewish children to be torn to pieces. His …

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Children - This Hebrew word signifies not only young children, but also those who are grown up to maturity, as Gen. xxxii, 22, xxxiv, 4, xxxvii, 30, Ruth i, 5.

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

He knew what a generation of vipers those were, and what mischievous enemies they would be to God's prophets if they should live to be men, who began so early to be abusive to them. He intended hereby to punish the parents and to make them afraid of God's judgments. (2.) God must be glorified as a righteous God, that hates sin, and will reckon for it, even in little children.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

On this occasion only do we find Elisha a minister of vengeance. Perhaps it was necessary to show, at the outset of his career as a prophet, that he too, so mild and peaceful could, like Elijah, wield the terrors of God’s judgments (1Ki 19:19 note). The persons really punished were, not so much the children, as the wicked parents 2Ki 2:23, whose mouth-pieces the children were, and who justly lost the gift of offspring of which they had shown themselves unworthy.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

16 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַיִּ֤פֶן	vai.Yi.fen	and he turned	H6437 →
אַֽחֲרָיו֙	'a.cha.Rav	behind him	H310 →
וַיִּרְאֵ֔ם	vai.yir.'Em	and he saw them	H7200 →
וַֽיְקַלְלֵ֖ם	vay.ka.Lem	and he cursed them	H7043 →
בְּשֵׁ֣ם	be.Shem	in [the] name of	H8034 →
יְהוָ֑ה	Yah.weh	Yahweh	H3068 →
וַתֵּצֶ֨אנָה	va.te.Tze.nah	and they came out	H3318 →
שְׁתַּ֤יִם	she.Ta.yim	two	H8147 →
דֻּבִּים֙	du.Bim	[female] bears	H1677 →
מִן־	min-	from	H4480 →
הַיַּ֔עַר	hai.Ya.'ar	the forest	H3293 →
וַתְּבַקַּ֣עְנָה	va.te.va.Ka'.nah	and they tore in pieces	H1234 →
מֵהֶ֔ם	me.Hem	of them
אַרְבָּעִ֥ים	'ar.ba.'Im	forty	H705 →
וּשְׁנֵ֖י	u.she.Nei	and two	H8147 →
יְלָדִֽים׃	ye.la.Dim	boys	H3206 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Amos 7:17
Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring…
leads to
- Hosea 9:3
  They will not remain in the land of the LORD; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria.
- 2 Kings 17:6
  In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the…
- Ezekiel 4:13
  Then the LORD said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations to which I will banish them.”
Through
Hosea 13:8
Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them, and I will tear open their chests. There I will devour them like a lion, like a wild beast would tear them apart.
leads to
- 2 Samuel 17:8
  He continued, “You know your father and his men. They are mighty men, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Moreover, your father is a man of war who will…
Through
Acts 5:9
“How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
leads to
- 1 Corinthians 10:9
  We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.
- Psalms 95:8–11
  do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness,
- Acts 5:3–4
  Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land?
Through
Acts 5:5
On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened.
leads to
- Acts 5:10–11
  At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

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About 2 Kings

Elijah Ascends to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

2 Kings: the study guide →Read chapter 2 →The featured study →

Continue: 2 Kings 2 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About 2 Kings

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About 2 Kings