2 Kings 6:28-33

Context
6:28 Then the king asked her, “What’s your problem?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Hand over your son; we’ll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow.’ 6:29 So we boiled my son and ate him. Then I said to her the next day, ‘Hand over your son and we’ll eat him.’ But she hid her son!” 6:30 When the king heard what the woman said, he tore his clothes. As he was passing by on the wall, the people could see he was wearing sackcloth under his clothes.¹ 6:31 Then he said, “May God judge me severely² if Elisha son of Shaphat still has his head by the end of the day!”³

6:32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the community leaders.⁴ The king⁵ sent a messenger on ahead, but before he arrived,⁶ Elisha⁷ said to the leaders,⁸ “Do you realize this assassin intends to cut off my head?”⁹ Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and lean against it. His master will certainly be right behind him.”¹⁰ 6:33 He was still talking to them when¹¹ the messenger approached¹² and said, “Look, the Lord is responsible for this disaster!¹³ Why should I continue to wait for the Lord to help?”

[6:30] ¹tn Heb “the people saw, and look, [there was] sackcloth against his skin underneath.”

[6:31] ²tn Heb “So may God do to me, and so may he add.”

[6:31] ³tn Heb “if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat stays on him today.”

[6:32] ⁴tn Heb “and the elders were sitting with him.”

[6:32] ⁵tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:32] ⁶tn Heb “sent a man from before him, before the messenger came to him.”

[6:32] ⁷tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:32] ⁸tn Heb “elders.”

[6:32] ⁹tn Heb “Do you see that this son of an assassin has sent to remove my head?”

[6:32] ¹⁰tn Heb “Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”

[6:33] ¹¹tn The Hebrew text also has “look” here.

[6:33] ¹²tn Heb “came down to him.”

[6:33] ¹³tn Heb “Look, this is a disaster from the Lord.”