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2 Kings 6:16

in 2 Kings 6

“Do not be afraid,” Elisha answered, “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And he answered, Fear not; for they that are with us are more than they that are with them.

KJV

And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

This verse in 2 Kings 6

Commentary

9 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

how shall we do

on 2 Kings 6:15-17

Elisha's servant wakes to an army surrounding the city and asks the question fear always asks first. Elisha answers with the ratio that matters, they that be with us are more than they that be with them, and then prays not for deliverance but for sight, Lord, open his eyes. What the servant sees is a mountain full of horses and chariots of fire, the words that named Elijah's own departure at 2:11, their only other occurrence in Scripture, the unseen army standing guard the whole time the servant could see only the siege.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers5 voices

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

On the Duties of the Clergy 3.1.5 · Written before 397.

proposed

But, as many delight in warfare, which is the most glorious, to bring a battle to an end by the strength of a great army or by merits before God alone? Elisha rested in one place while the king of Syria waged a great war against the people of our ancestors, and was adding to its terrors by various treacherous plans and was endeavoring to catch them in an ambush. But the prophet found out all their preparations, and being by the grace of God present everywhere in mental vigor, he told the thoughts of their enemies to his countrymen and warned them of what places to beware. And when this was known to the king of Syria, he sent an army and shut in the prophet. Elisha prayed and caused all of them to be struck with blindness and made those who had come to besiege him enter Samaria as captives.

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

On the Duties of the Clergy 1.29.140 · Written before 397.

proposed

If, then, justice is binding, even in war, how much more ought we to observe it in time of peace. Such favor the prophet showed to those who came to seize him. We read that the king of Syria had sent his army to lie in wait for him, for he had learned that it was Elisha who had made known to all his plans and consultations. And Gehazi, the prophet's servant, seeing the army, began to fear that his life was in danger. But the prophet said to him, "Do not fear, for they who are with us are more than they who are with them." And when the prophet asked that the eyes of his servant might be opened, they were opened. Then Gehazi saw the whole mountain full of horse and chariots round about Elisha. As they came down to him the prophet says, "Strike, O God, the army of Syria with blindness." And this prayer being granted, he says to the Syrians, "Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek." Then they saw Elisha, whom they were endeavoring to lay hold of, and seeing him they could not hold him fast. It is clear from this that faith and justice should be observed even in war; and that it could not but be a disgraceful thing if faith were violated.

A commentator

Maximus of Turin

SERMON 83.2-3 · Written before 465.

proposed

When the king of Syria wanted to capture the holy prophet Elisha and make him subject to his own authority and surrounded him with many divisions of armed men, Elisha was not terrified or distraught, but said to the servant who served as messenger: "Do …

A commentator

Ephrem the Syrian

ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 6:18 · Written before 373.

proposed

Elisha prayed before the Lord and said, "strike this people with blindness." And he struck them with blindness according to the words of Elisha. Ben-hadad, king of the Arameans, sent a large army to surround the city of Dothan and ordered them to arrest Elisha, …

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

ON THE DEATH OF THEODOSIUS 10 · Written before 397.

proposed

Elsewhere, also, that is, in the books of Kings we read that Elisha was in Samaria, and suddenly an army of Syrians surrounded and set on him. Gehazi saw them and said to his master, "O master, what shall we do?" And Elisha the prophet said, "Do not fear, for there are more with us than with them." And he prayed that the Lord would open the eyes of Gehazi. And his eyes were opened, and he saw the mountain full of horses and chariots around Elisha. And Elisha prayed that God would strike them with blindness.
3 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And he answered, fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. Meaning the legions of angels that encamped around them.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

For they that be with us are more, etc. - What astonishing intercourse had this man with heaven! It seems the whole heavenly host had it in commission to help him.
They that be with us ... - Elisha gave utterance to the conviction of all God’s saints when the world persecutes them (compare marginal references). God - they know - is on their side; they need “not fear what flesh can do unto them.” His angels - an innumerable host - are ever guarding those who love Him.

The words behind it

9 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.

  • וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH5595305 times

  • אַל־may not

    ʾal-H408724 times

  • תִּירָ֑אyou be afraid

    tira'H3372315 times

  • כִּ֤יfor

    kiH35884482 times

  • רַבִּים֙[are] many

    rabimH7227454 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣ר[those] who

    ʾasherH8345497 times

  • אִתָּ֔נוּ[are] with us

    ʾitanuH854929 times

  • מֵאֲשֶׁ֖רmore than [those] who

    measherH8345497 times

  • אוֹתָֽם׃[are] <obj.> them

    ʾotamH854929 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

    Romans 8:31

    What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

    it leads to

    • Psalms 118:6

      The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

    • Jeremiah 1:19

      They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.

    • Psalms 56:11

      in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

    • 1 John 4:4

      You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

    • Isaiah 54:17

      No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the…

  • Through

    1 John 4:4

    You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

    it leads to

    • Romans 8:31

      What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

    • 1 John 5:4

      because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

    • Romans 8:37

      No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

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
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 3.1.5; Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 1.29.140; Ambrose of Milan, ON THE DEATH OF THEODOSIUS 10; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 6:18; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Maximus of Turin, SERMON 83.2-3.