2 Kings 2:9

2:9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “What can I do for you,¹ before I am taken away from you?” Elisha answered, “May I receive a double portion of the prophetic spirit that energizes you.”²

2 Kings 3:13

3:13 Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why are you here?³ Go to your father’s prophets or your mother’s prophets!” The king of Israel replied to him, “No, for the Lord is the one who summoned these three kings so that he can hand them over to Moab.”

2 Kings 4:13

4:13 Elisha said to Gehazi,⁴ “Tell her, ‘Look, you have treated us with such great respect.⁵ What can I do for you? Can I put in a good word for you with the king or the commander of the army?’” She replied, “I’m quite secure.”⁶

2 Kings 5:8

5:8 When Elisha the prophet⁷ heard that the king had torn his clothes, he sent this message to the king, “Why did you tear your clothes? Send him⁸ to me so he may know there is a prophet in Israel.”

2 Kings 6:28

6:28 Then the king asked her, “What’s your problem?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Hand over your son; we’ll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow.’

2 Kings 8:13

8:13 Hazael said, “How could your servant, who is as insignificant as a dog, accomplish this great military victory?”⁹ Elisha answered, “The Lord has revealed to me that you will be the king of Syria.”¹⁰

2 Kings 9:18-19

9:18 So the horseman¹¹ went to meet him and said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’”¹² Jehu replied, “None of your business!¹³ Follow me.” The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them, but hasn’t started back.” 9:19 So he sent a second horseman out to them¹⁴ and he said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’”¹⁵ Jehu replied, “None of your business! Follow me.”

2 Kings 18:19

18:19 The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence?¹⁶

2 Kings 20:14

20:14 Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.”

2 Kings 23:17

23:17 He asked, “What is this grave marker I see?” The men from the city replied, “It’s the grave of the prophet¹⁷ who came from Judah and foretold these very things you have done to the altar of Bethel.”

¹tn Heb “Ask! What can I do for you….?”

²tn Heb “May a double portion of your spirit come to me.”

³tn Or “What do we have in common?” The text reads literally, “What to me and to you?”

⁵tn Heb “he said to him.”

⁶tn Heb “you have turned trembling to us with all this trembling.” The exaggerated language is probably idiomatic. The point seems to be that she has taken great pains or gone out of her way to be kind to them. Her concern was a sign of her respect for the prophetic office.

⁷tn Heb “Among my people I am living.” This answer suggests that she has security within the context of her family.

⁷tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 15, 20).

⁸tn Heb “Let him come.”

⁹tn Heb “Indeed, what is your servant, a dog, that he could do this great thing?” With his reference to a dog, Hazael is not denying that he is a “dog” and protesting that he would never commit such a dastardly “dog-like” deed. Rather, as Elisha’s response indicates, Hazael is suggesting that he, like a dog, is too insignificant to ever be in a position to lead such conquests.

¹⁰tn Heb “The Lord has shown me you [as] king over Syria.”

¹¹tn Heb “the rider of the horse.”

¹²tn Heb “Is there peace?”

¹³tn Heb “What concerning you and concerning peace?” That is, “What concern is that to you?”

¹³tn Heb “and he came to them.”

¹⁴tc The MT has simply “peace,” omitting the prefixed interrogative particle. It is likely that the particle has been accidentally omitted; several ancient witnesses include it or assume its presence.

¹⁵tn Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”

¹⁷tn Heb “man of God.”