2 Kings 3:19

3:19 You will defeat every fortified city and every important ¹  city. You must chop down ²  every productive ³  tree, stop up all the springs, and cover all the cultivated land with stones.” ⁴ 

2 Kings 17:9

17:9 The Israelites said things about the Lord their God that were not right. ⁵  They built high places in all their cities, from the watchtower to the fortress. ⁶ 

[3:19]  ¹ tn Heb “choice” or “select.”

[3:19]  ² tn Elisha places the object first and uses an imperfect verb form. The stylistic shift may signal that he is now instructing them what to do, rather than merely predicting what would happen.

[3:19]  ³ tn Heb “good.”

[3:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “and ruin every good portion with stones.”

[17:9]  ⁵ tn The meaning of the verb וַיְחַפְּאוּ (vayÿkhappÿ’u), translated here “said,” is uncertain. Some relate it to the verbal root חָפַה (khafah), “to cover,” and translate “they did it in secret” (see BDB 341 s.v. חָפָא). However, the pagan practices specified in the following sentences were hardly done in secret. Others propose a meaning “ascribe, impute,” which makes good contextual sense but has little etymological support (see HALOT 339 s.v. חפא). In this case Israel claimed that the Lord authorized their pagan practices.

[17:9]  ⁶ sn That is, from the city’s perimeter to the central citadel.