2 Kings 6:1-14

Elisha Makes an Ax Head Float

6:1 Some of the prophets ¹  said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you ²  is too cramped ³  for us. 6:2 Let’s go to the Jordan. Each of us will get a log from there and we will build a meeting place for ourselves there.” He said, “Go.” 6:3 One of them said, “Please come along with your servants.” He replied, “All right, I’ll come.” 6:4 So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they started cutting down trees. 6:5 As one of them was felling a log, the ax head ⁴  dropped into the water. He shouted, “Oh no, ⁵  my master! It was borrowed!” 6:6 The prophet ⁶  asked, “Where did it drop in?” When he showed him the spot, Elisha ⁷  cut off a branch, threw it in at that spot, and made the ax head float. 6:7 He said, “Lift it out.” So he reached out his hand and grabbed it.

Elisha Defeats an Army

6:8 Now the king of Syria was at war with Israel. He consulted his advisers, who said, “Invade ⁸  at such and such ⁹  a place.” 6:9 But the prophet sent this message to the king of Israel, “Make sure you don’t pass through this place because Syria is invading there.” 6:10 So the king of Israel sent a message to the place the prophet had pointed out, warning it ¹⁰  to be on its guard. This happened on several occasions. ¹¹  6:11 This made the king of Syria upset. ¹²  So he summoned his advisers ¹³  and said to them, “One of us must be helping the king of Israel.” ¹⁴  6:12 One of his advisers said, “No, my master, O king. The prophet Elisha who lives in Israel keeps telling the king of Israel the things you say in your bedroom.” 6:13 The king ¹⁵  ordered, “Go, find out where he is, so I can send some men to capture him.” ¹⁶  The king was told, “He is in Dothan.” 6:14 So he sent horses and chariots there, along with a good-sized army. ¹⁷  They arrived during the night and surrounded the city.

[6:1]  ¹ tn Heb “the sons of the prophets.”

[6:1]  ² tn Heb “sit before you.”

[6:1]  ³ tn Heb “narrow, tight.”

[6:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “iron.”

[6:5]  ⁵ tn Or “ah.”

[6:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “man of God” (also in v. 9).

[6:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:8]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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.

[6:10]  ¹⁰ tn The vav + perfect here indicates action contemporary with the preceding main verb (“sent”). See IBHS 533-34 §32.2.3e.

[6:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God spoke to him, and he warned it and he guarded himself there, not once and not twice.”

[6:11]  ¹² tn Heb “and the heart of the king of Syria was stirred up over this thing.”

[6:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “servants.”

[6:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Will you not tell me who among us [is] for the king of Israel?” The sarcastic rhetorical question expresses the king’s suspicion.

[6:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he” (also a second time in this verse); the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Go and see where he [is] so I can send and take him.”

[6:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “heavy force.”