2 Kings 5:25

5:25 When he came and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” He answered, “Your servant hasn’t been anywhere.”

2 Kings 6:8

Elisha Defeats an Army

6:8 Now the king of Syria was at war with Israel. He consulted his advisers, who said, “Invade ¹  at such and such ²  a place.”

2 Kings 8:19

8:19 But the Lord was unwilling to destroy Judah. He preserved Judah for the sake of ³  his servant David to whom he had promised a perpetual dynasty. ⁴ 

2 Kings 18:24

18:24 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. ⁵ 

2 Kings 24:1

24:1 During Jehoiakim’s reign, ⁶  King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. ⁷  Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him. ⁸ 

2 Kings 25:24

25:24 Gedaliah took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. ⁹  He said, “You don’t need to be afraid to submit to the Babylonian officials. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.”

[6:8]  ¹ tc The verb form used here is difficult to analyze. On the basis of the form נְחִתִּים (nÿkhitim) in v. 9 from the root נָחַת (nakhat), it is probably best to emend the verb to תִּנְחְתוּ (tinkhÿtu; a Qal imperfect form from the same root). The verb נָחַת in at least two other instances carries the nuance “go down, descend” in a military context. For a defense of this view, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 72.

[6:8]  ² sn The advisers would have mentioned a specific location, but the details are not significant to the narrator’s purpose, so he simply paraphrases here.

[8:19]  ¹ tn The Hebrew has only one sentence, “and the Lord was unwilling to destroy Judah for the sake of.” The translation divides it for the sake of clarity.

[8:19]  ² tn Heb “just as he had promised to give him and his sons a lamp all the days.” The metaphorical “lamp” symbolizes the Davidic dynasty; this is reflected in the translation.

[18:24]  ¹ tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 23-24 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 21. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”

[24:1]  ¹ tn Heb “In his days.”

[24:1]  ² tn Heb “came up.” Perhaps an object (“against him”) has been accidentally omitted from the text. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 306.

[24:1]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has “and he turned and rebelled against him.”

[25:24]  ¹ tn The words “so as to give them…some assurance of safety” are supplied in the translation for clarification.