2 Kings 6:31
in 2 Kings 6He announced, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders through this day!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then he said, God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.
KJV
Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.
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This verse in 2 Kings 6
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
God do so ... - Jehoram uses almost the very words of his wicked mother, when she sought the life of Elijah (marginal reference). The head of Elisha - Beheading was not an ordinary Jewish punishment. The Law did not sanction it. But in Assyria, Babylonia, and generally through the East, it was the most conmon form of capital punishment. It is not quite clear why Elisha was to be punished. Perhaps Jehoram argued from his other miracles that he could give deliverance from the present peril, if he liked.
This site's exposition
God do so and more also to me
on 2 Kings 6:31-33
The king swears an oath to have Elisha's head before the day ends, naming him son of a murderer rather than prophet, laying blame on the man who warned him rather than on the sin that brought the siege. Elisha, sitting with the elders, already knows the messenger is coming and has the door held against him, telling them to listen for the sound of his master's feet close behind, the king following his own errand in person. When the king himself arrives he speaks the chapter's last line, this evil is of the Lord, what should I wait for the Lord any longer, laying the famine at God's door in the same breath he has just laid the prophet's death at his own hand.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Some time later King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army; he marched against Samaria and laid siege to it." This is that Ben-hadad who had been condemned to death by God; and Ahab had received the order to execute him. But he spared his …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
What had Elisha done? his head is the most innocent and valuable in all Israel, and yet that must be devoted, and made an anathema. Thus in the days of the persecuting emperors, when the empire groaned under any extraordinary calamity, the fault was laid on the Christians, and they were doomed to destruction. Christianos ad leones--Away with the Christians to the lions.
Then he said, God do so and more also to me,.... He swore and made dreadful imprecations: if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day; imputing the sore famine to him, because he had foretold it, and did not pray for the removal of it, as he might; and perhaps had advised and encouraged the king to hold out the siege, which had brought them to this extremity, and therefore was enraged at him.
Concerning the sons of the prophets, and their condition and character. The college here spoken of seems to be that at Gilgal, for there Elisha was ( ch. iv. 38 ), and it was near Jordan; and, probably, wherever Elisha resided as many as could of the sons of the prophets flocked to him for the advantage of his instructions, counsels, and prayers.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
If the head of Elisha - shall stand on him - Either he attributed these calamities to the prophet, or else he thought he could remove them, and yet would not. The miserable king was driven to desperation.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֕אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כֹּֽה־ | koh- | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| יַעֲשֶׂה־ | yaaseh- | may he do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לִּ֥י | li | to me | ||
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וְכֹ֣ה | vekhoh | and thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| יוֹסִ֑ף | yosif | may he add | H3254 → | 212 times |
| אִֽם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| יַעֲמֹ֞ד | yaamod | it will remain standing | H5975 → | 521 times |
| רֹ֣אשׁ | rosh | [the] head of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| אֱלִישָׁ֧ע | ʾelisha' | Elisha | H477 → | 58 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| שָׁפָ֛ט | shafat | Shaphat | H8202 → | |
| עָלָ֖יו | ʾalav | on him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַיּֽוֹם׃ | haiyom | this day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
וַיֹּ֕אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
כֹּֽה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
יַעֲשֶׂה־may he do
yaaseh-H6213 →2628 times
לִּ֥יto me
li
אֱלֹהִ֖יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
וְכֹ֣הand thus
vekhohH3541 →577 times
יוֹסִ֑ףmay he add
yosifH3254 →212 times
אִֽם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
יַעֲמֹ֞דit will remain standing
yaamodH5975 →521 times
רֹ֣אשׁ[the] head of
roshH7218 →599 times
אֱלִישָׁ֧עElisha
ʾelisha'H477 →58 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
שָׁפָ֛טShaphat
shafatH8202 →
עָלָ֖יוon him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
הַיּֽוֹם׃this day
haiyomH3117 →2304 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
1 Kings 19:2So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the lives of those…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 20:10
Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ruth 1:17
Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 20:10
Through
Ruth 1:17Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 3:17
“What was the message He gave you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God punish you, and ever so severely, if you hide from me anything He said to you.”
- 1 Kings 2:23
Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if Adonijah has not made this request at the expense of his life.
- 2 Samuel 19:13
And say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me, and ever so severely, if from this time you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”
- 1 Samuel 3:17
Through
1 Kings 22:8The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man who can ask the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son…
it leads to
- John 7:7
The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.
- John 3:19–21
And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
- Amos 5:10
There are those who hate the one who reproves in the gate and despise him who speaks with integrity.
- John 7:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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 6:24; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.