2 Kings 2:19-22

Elisha Demonstrates His Authority

2:19 The men of the city said to Elisha, “Look, the city has a good location, as our ¹  master can see. But the water is bad and the land doesn’t produce crops.” ²  2:20 Elisha ³  said, “Get me a new jar and put some salt in it.” So they got it. 2:21 He went out to the spring and threw the salt in. Then he said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘I have purified ⁴  this water. It will no longer cause death or fail to produce crops.” ⁵  2:22 The water has been pure to this very day, just as Elisha prophesied. ⁶ 

Isaiah 11:6-9

11:6 A wolf will reside ⁷  with a lamb,

and a leopard will lie down with a young goat;

an ox and a young lion will graze together, ⁸ 

as a small child leads them along.

11:7 A cow and a bear will graze together,

their young will lie down together. ⁹ 

A lion, like an ox, will eat straw.

11:8 A baby ¹⁰  will play

over the hole of a snake; ¹¹ 

over the nest ¹²  of a serpent

an infant ¹³  will put his hand. ¹⁴ 

11:9 They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain. ¹⁵ 

For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty,

just as the waters completely cover the sea. ¹⁶ 

Malachi 1:11

1:11 For from the east to the west my name will be great among the nations. Incense and pure offerings will be offered in my name everywhere, for my name will be great among the nations,” ¹⁷  says the Lord who rules over all.

Matthew 13:15

13:15 For the heart of this people has become dull;

they are hard of hearing,

and they have shut their eyes,

so that they would not see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’ ¹⁸ 

[2:19]  ¹ tn Heb “my.”

[2:19]  ² tn Heb “miscarries” or “is barren.”

[2:20]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:21]  ⁴ tn Or “healed.”

[2:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “there will no longer be from there death and miscarriage [or, ‘barrenness’].”

[2:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.”

[11:6]  ⁷ tn The verb גּוּר (gur) normally refers to living as a dependent, resident alien in another society.

[11:6]  ⁸ tc The Hebrew text reads, “and an ox, and a young lion, and a fatling together.” Since the preceding lines refer to two animals and include a verb, many emend וּמְרִיא (umÿri’, “and the fatling”) to an otherwise unattested verb יִמְרְאוּ (yimrÿ’u, “they will graze”); cf. NAB, TEV, CEV. One of the Qumran copies of Isaiah confirms this suggestion (1QIsa^a). The present translation assumes this change.

[11:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “and a cow and a bear will graze – together – they will lie down, their young.” This is a case of pivot pattern; יַחְדָּו (yakhddav, “together”) goes with both the preceding and following statements.

[11:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “one sucking,” i.e., still being nursed by his mother.

[11:8]  ¹¹ tn Or perhaps, “cobra” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV); KJV, ASV, NRSV “asp.”

[11:8]  ¹² tc The Hebrew text has the otherwise unattested מְאוּרַת (mÿ’urat, “place of light”), i.e., opening of a hole. Some prefer to emend to מְעָרַת (mÿ’arat, “cave, den”).

[11:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “one who is weaned” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[11:8]  ¹⁴ sn The transformation of the animal kingdom depicted here typifies what will occur in human society under the just rule of the ideal king (see vv. 3-5). The categories “predator-prey” (i.e., oppressor-oppressed) will no longer exist.

[11:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” In the most basic sense the Lord’s “holy mountain” is the mountain from which he rules over his kingdom (see Ezek 28:14, 16). More specifically it probably refers to Mount Zion/Jerusalem or to the entire land of Israel (see Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; Isa 56:7; 57:13; Ezek 20:40; Ob 16; Zeph 3:11). If the Lord’s universal kingdom is in view in this context (see the note on “earth” at v. 4), then the phrase would probably be metonymic here, standing for God’s worldwide dominion (see the next line).

[11:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for the earth will be full of knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” The translation assumes that a universal kingdom is depicted here, but אֶרֶץ (’erets) could be translated “land” (see the note at v. 4). “Knowledge of the Lord” refers here to a recognition of the Lord’s sovereignty which results in a willingness to submit to his authority. See the note at v. 2.

[1:11]  ¹⁷ sn My name will be great among the nations. In what is clearly a strongly ironic shift of thought, the Lord contrasts the unbelief and virtual paganism of the postexilic community with the conversion and obedience of the nations that will one day worship the God of Israel.

[13:15]  ¹⁸ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.