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2 Kings 3:13

in 2 Kings 3

Elisha, however, said to the king of Israel, “What have we to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and of your mother!” “No,” replied the king of Israel, “for it is the LORD who has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay; for Jehovah hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.

KJV

And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.

This verse in 2 Kings 3

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
Jehoram’s humility in seeking 2Ki 3:12 instead of summoning Elisha, does not save him from rebuke. His reformation 2Ki 3:2 had been but a half reformation - a compromise with idolatry. Nay: for the Lord hath called ... - The force of this reply seems to be - “Nay, reproach me not, since I am in a sore strait - and not only I, but these two other kings also. The Lord - Yahweh - is about to deliver us into the hand of Moab. If thou canst not, or wilt not help, at least do not reproach.”

This site's exposition

What have I to do with thee

on 2 Kings 3:13-14

Elisha sends Jehoram to the prophets of his father and mother before he will speak a word, refusing the king's own scale of religion. His oath, as the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, is Elijah's own sentence from 1 Ki 18:15 carried over syllable for syllable into his successor's mouth, the double portion of spirit made audible. Elisha says plainly that only Jehoshaphat's presence turns his face toward Jehoram at all.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Ephrem the Syrian

ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 3:9 · Written before 373.

proposed

After the death of Ahab, his son Ahaziah died too, and since he had no children, his brother Jehoram took his place. Therefore the Scripture reports that he moved with his army against the king of Moab. He went to war because Mesha, king of …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

What have I, &c. - I desire to have no discourse with thee. Get thee - To the calves, which thou after thy father's example dost worship; and to the Baals which thy mother yet worshippeth by thy permission; let these idols whom thou worshippest in thy prosperity, now help thee in thy distress.
And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, what have I to do with thee?....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Get thee to the prophets of thy father - This was a just, but cutting reproof. Nay - The Chaldee adds here, I beseech thee, do not call the sins of this impiety to remembrance, but ask mercy for us; because the Lord hath called, etc. The Arabic has, I beseech thee, do not mention of our transgressions, but use kindness towards us. It is very likely that some such words were spoken on the occasion; but these are the only versions which make this addition.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

Do not [say that], for Adonoy has called, etc. [Targum Yonoson renders,] “Please [אל] 10 Alternatively, Gא means “do not,” i.e., “do not tell us these things now, etc.”—Radak do not mention the sins of that wicked woman. Beg mercy for us, for Adonoy has summoned, etc.”
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Kings 3:13:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

30 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH5595305 times

  • אֱלִישָׁ֜עElisha

    ʾelisha'H47758 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H4135510 times

  • מֶ֤לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH44282525 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel

    yisraelH34782507 times

  • מַה־what?

    mah-H4100752 times

  • לִּ֣י[is] to me

    li

  • וָלָ֔ךְand to <the> you

    valakh

  • לֵ֚ךְgo

    lekhH19801546 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H4135510 times

  • נְבִיאֵ֣י[the] prophets of

    nevieiH5030314 times

  • אָבִ֔יךָfather your

    ʾavikhaH11212 times

  • וְאֶל־and to

    veel-H4135510 times

  • נְבִיאֵ֖י[the] prophets of

    nevieiH5030314 times

  • אִמֶּ֑ךָmother your

    ʾimekhaH517220 times

  • וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH5595305 times

  • לוֹ֙to him

    lo

  • מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH44282525 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael

    yisraelH34782507 times

  • אַ֗לmay not [it be so]

    ʾalH408724 times

  • כִּֽי־for

    ki-H35884482 times

  • קָרָ֤אhe has summoned

    kara'H7121733 times

  • יְהוָה֙Yahweh

    yahwehH30686520 times

  • לִשְׁלֹ֙שֶׁת֙<to> [the] three

    lishloshetH7969432 times

  • הַמְּלָכִ֣יםthe kings

    hamelakhimH44282525 times

  • הָאֵ֔לֶּה<the> these

    haelehH428746 times

  • לָתֵ֥תto give

    latetH54142011 times

  • אוֹתָ֖ם<obj.> them

    ʾotamH85310935 times

  • בְּיַד־in [the] hand of

    beyad-H30271618 times

  • מוֹאָֽב׃Moab

    moavH4124181 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    1 Kings 22:6

    So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?” “Go up,” they replied, “and the Lord will…

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 18:19

      Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

    • Jeremiah 23:14–17

      And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns his back on wickedness.…

    • Ezekiel 13:22

      Because you have disheartened the righteous with your lies, even though I have caused them no grief, and because you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways to save their…

  • Through

    1 Kings 18:19

    Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

    it leads to

    • Joshua 19:26

      Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. On the west the border touched Carmel and Shihor-libnath,

    • 1 Kings 16:33

      Then he set up an Asherah pole. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.

    • 2 Peter 2:1

      Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on…

    • 2 Kings 2:25

      And Elisha went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

  • Through

    2 Kings 3:10

    “Alas,” said the king of Israel, “for the LORD has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab!”

    it leads to

    • Genesis 4:13

      But Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Kings

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 3:9; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil, The Books of the Kings.