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2 Kings 6:11

in 2 Kings 6

For this reason the king of Aram became enraged and called his servants to demand of them, “Tell me, which one of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?

KJV

Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?

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This verse in 2 Kings 6

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

sore troubled for this thing

on 2 Kings 6:11-12

Ben-hadad assumes a spy sits inside his own council, until a servant names the true source: Elisha tells the king of Israel the words spoken in the king of Syria's own bedchamber. No human informant is blamed once the servant answers; the prophet's knowledge is treated as a plain fact of the campaign rather than a mystery still needing a solution. The scene sets the king of Syria against an intelligence he cannot bribe or intercept.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

the king of Syria warred against Israel--This seems to have been a sort of guerrilla warfare, carried on by predatory inroads on different parts of the country. Elisha apprised King Jehoram of the secret purpose of the enemy; so, by adopting precautionary measures, he was always enabled to anticipate and defeat their attacks.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

Benhadad supposed that there must be a traitor in his camp. He asks therefore, “Will no one denounce him?”

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

The king of Yisroel dispatched [scouts]. He would send and see whether it was true.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Kings 6:10:1, 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. 5 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

20 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.

  • וַיִּסָּעֵר֙and it was enraged

    vaiyisaerH5590 →

  • לֵ֣ב[the] heart of

    levH3820 →595 times

  • מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of

    melekh-H4428 →2525 times

  • אֲרָ֔םAram

    ʾaramH758 →143 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הַדָּבָ֖רthe matter

    hadavarH1697 →1440 times

  • הַזֶּ֑ה<the> this

    hazehH2088 →1180 times

  • וַיִּקְרָ֤אand he called

    vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • עֲבָדָיו֙servants his

    ʾavadavH5650 →799 times

  • וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • אֲלֵיהֶ֔םto them

    ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times

  • הֲלוֹא֙¿ not

    halo'H3808 →5168 times

  • תַּגִּ֣ידוּwill you tell

    tagiduH5046 →370 times

  • לִ֔יto me

    li

  • מִ֥יwho?

    miH4310 →423 times

  • מִשֶּׁלָּ֖נוּfrom [those] who [belong] to us

    mishelanu

  • אֶל־[is] to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

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

Related verses

6 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Psalms 48:4–5For behold, the kings assembled; they all advanced together.2 works1 Samuel 28:21When the woman came to Saul and saw how distraught he was, she said to him, “Look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice. I took my life in my hands and did as you told me.2 worksMatthew 2:3–12When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.2 works1 Samuel 22:8Is that why all of you have conspired against me? Not one of you told me that my own son had made a covenant with the son of Jesse. Not one of you has shown concern for me or revealed to me that my son has stirred up my own servant to lie in wait against me, as is the case today.”2 worksJob 18:7–11His vigorous stride is shortened, and his own schemes trip him up.2 worksIsaiah 57:20–21But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea, for it cannot be still, and its waves churn up mire and muck.2 works

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 Samuel 28:21

    When the woman came to Saul and saw how distraught he was, she said to him, “Look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice. I took my life in my hands and did as you…

    it leads to

    • Judges 12:3

      When I saw that you would not save me, I risked my life and crossed over to the Ammonites, and the LORD delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come today to…

    • Job 13:14

      Why do I put myself at risk and take my life in my own hands?

    • 1 Samuel 19:5

      He took his life in his hands when he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced, so why would you sin against…

  • Through

    1 Samuel 22:8

    Is that why all of you have conspired against me? Not one of you told me that my own son had made a covenant with the son of Jesse. Not one of you has…

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 18:3

      Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.

    • 1 Samuel 23:21

      “May you be blessed by the LORD,” replied Saul, “for you have had compassion on me.

    • 1 Samuel 20:2

      “Far from it!” Jonathan replied. “You will not die. Indeed, my father does nothing, great or small, without telling me. So why would he hide this matter from me? This cannot be true!”

    • 1 Samuel 20:13–17

      But if my father intends to bring evil on you, then may the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if I do not tell you and send you on your way in safety.…

    • 1 Samuel 20:30–34

      Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own…

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Kings

A Famine in Samaria — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
A Famine in Samaria — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
2 Kings: the study guide →Read 2 Kings 6 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil, The Books of the Kings.

Read on in 2 Kings 6 →