2 Kings 3:14
in 2 Kings 3Then Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not for my regard for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or acknowledge you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Elisha said, As Jehovah of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.
KJV
And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.
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This verse in 2 Kings 3
Commentary
6 notes on this verseHe composed himself to receive instructions from God. His mind was somewhat ruffled and disturbed at the sight of Jehoram; though he was not put into a sinful heat or passion, nor had spoken unadvisedly, yet his zeal for the present indisposed him for prayer and the operations of the Spirit, which required a mind very calm and sedate.
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
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
Jehoshaphat - Whom I reverence and love for his piety. It is good being with those who have God's favour, and the love of his people. Wicked men often fare the better, for the friendship and society of good men.
Elisha said, as the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat - He worshipped the true God; Jehoram was an idolater.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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.”
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Bring me a musician. Because of his anger, the Divine Presence departed from him. 11 See Maseches Pesachim 66b. Alternatively, Elisha was unable to prophesy because he was mourning Eliyahu’s departure. The Divine Presence does not reside with people who are sad.
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
21 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֱלִישָׁ֗ע | ʾelisha' | Elisha | H477 → | 58 times |
| חַי־ | chai- | [by] [the] life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | of Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָאוֹת֙ | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָמַ֣דְתִּי | ʾamadti | I stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לְפָנָ֔יו | lefanav | <to> before him | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| כִּ֗י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לוּלֵ֛י | lulei | if not | H3884 → | |
| פְּנֵ֛י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוֹשָׁפָ֥ט | yehoshafat | Jehoshaphat | H3092 → | 84 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יְהוּדָ֖ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| נֹשֵׂ֑א | nose' | [am] lifting up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| אַבִּ֥יט | ʾabit | I will look | H5027 → | |
| אֵלֶ֖יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| אֶרְאֶֽךָּ׃ | ʾereka | I will see you | H7200 → | 1300 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֱלִישָׁ֗עElisha
ʾelisha'H477 →58 times
חַי־[by] [the] life
chai-H2416 →498 times
יְהוָ֤הof Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָאוֹת֙of hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָמַ֣דְתִּיI stand
ʾamadtiH5975 →521 times
לְפָנָ֔יו<to> before him
lefanavH6440 →2123 times
כִּ֗יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לוּלֵ֛יif not
luleiH3884 →
פְּנֵ֛י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוֹשָׁפָ֥טJehoshaphat
yehoshafatH3092 →84 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
יְהוּדָ֖הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
נֹשֵׂ֑א[am] lifting up
nose'H5375 →656 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
אַבִּ֥יטI will look
ʾabitH5027 →
אֵלֶ֖יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
אֶרְאֶֽךָּ׃I will see you
ʾerekaH7200 →1300 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Jeremiah 1:18Now behold, this day I have made you like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of…
it leads to
- Isaiah 50:7
Because the Lord GOD helps Me, I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be put to shame.
- Ezekiel 3:8–9
Behold, I will make your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.
- Jeremiah 15:20
Then I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to save and deliver…
- Jeremiah 6:27
“I have appointed you to examine My people like ore, so you may know and try their ways.
- Micah 3:8–9
As for me, however, I am filled with power by the Spirit of the LORD, with justice and courage, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.
- Isaiah 50:7
Through
1 Kings 17:1Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in…
it leads to
- Luke 4:25–26
But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all…
- James 5:17
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
- Luke 1:17
And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to…
- Luke 4:25–26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PersonDivided kingdomElishaElijah's successor with the firstborn's double portion; the prophet of the healed spring, the widow's oil, the Shunammite's son, N…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.