2 Kings 1:15-16

1:15 The Lord’s angelic messenger said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down ¹  with him to the king.

1:16 Elijah ²  said to the king, ³  “This is what the Lord says, ‘You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. You must think there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek an oracle! ⁴  Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’” ⁵ 

2 Kings 5:26

5:26 Elisha ⁶  replied, “I was there in spirit when a man turned and got down from his chariot to meet you. ⁷  This is not the proper time to accept silver or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, cattle, and male and female servants. ⁸ 

Psalms 9:12

9:12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed; ⁹ 

he did not overlook ¹⁰  their cry for help ¹¹ 

Isaiah 26:21

26:21 For look, the Lord is coming out of the place where he lives, ¹² 

to punish the sin of those who live on the earth.

The earth will display the blood shed on it;

it will no longer cover up its slain. ¹³ 

[1:15]  ¹ sn In this third panel the verb “come down” (יָרַד, yarad) occurs again, this time describing Elijah’s descent from the hill at the Lord’s command. The moral of the story seems clear: Those who act as if they have authority over God and his servants just may pay for their arrogance with their lives; those who, like the third commander, humble themselves and show the proper respect for God’s authority and for his servants will be spared and find God quite cooperative.

[1:16]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is there no God in Israel to inquire of his word?”

[1:16]  ⁵ sn For the third time in this chapter we read the Lord’s sarcastic question to king and the accompanying announcement of judgment. The repetition emphasizes one of the chapter’s main themes. Israel’s leaders should seek guidance from their own God, not a pagan deity, for Israel’s sovereign God is the one who controls life and death.

[5:26]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:26]  ⁷ tn Heb “Did not my heart go as a man turned from his chariot to meet you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes that he was indeed present in “heart” (or “spirit”) and was very much aware of what Gehazi had done. In the MT the interrogative particle has been accidentally omitted before the negative particle.

[5:26]  ⁸ tn In the MT the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Is this the time…?” It expects an emphatic negative response.

[9:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “for the one who seeks shed blood remembered them.” The idiomatic expression “to seek shed blood” seems to carry the idea “to seek payment/restitution for one’s shed blood.” The plural form דָּמִים (damim, “shed blood”) occurs only here as the object of דָּרַשׁ (darash); the singular form דָּם (dam, “blood”) appears with the verb in Gen 9:5; 42:22; Ezek 33:6. “Them,” the pronominal object of the verb “remembered,” refers to the oppressed, mentioned specifically in the next line, so the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “did not forget.”

[9:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the cry for help of the oppressed.” In this context the “oppressed” are the psalmist and those he represents, whom the hostile nations have threatened.

[26:21]  ¹² tn Heb “out of his place” (so KJV, ASV).

[26:21]  ¹³ sn This implies that rampant bloodshed is one of the reasons for divine judgment. See the note at 24:5.