2 Kings 6:32

6:32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the community leaders. ¹  The king ²  sent a messenger on ahead, but before he arrived, ³  Elisha ⁴  said to the leaders, ⁵  “Do you realize this assassin intends to cut off my head?” ⁶  Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and lean against it. His master will certainly be right behind him.” ⁷ 

2 Kings 10:6

10:6 He wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are really on my side and are willing to obey me, ⁸  then take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel at this time tomorrow.” ⁹  Now the king had seventy sons, and the prominent ¹⁰  men of the city were raising them.

[6:32]  ¹ tn Heb “and the elders were sitting with him.”

[6:32]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:32]  ³ tn Heb “sent a man from before him, before the messenger came to him.”

[6:32]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:32]  ⁵ tn Heb “elders.”

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

[6:32]  ⁷ tn Heb “Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”

[10:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “If you are mine and you are listening to my voice.”

[10:6]  ⁹ sn Jehu’s command is intentionally vague. Does he mean that they should bring the guardians (those who are “heads” over Ahab’s sons) for a meeting, or does he mean that they should bring the literal heads of Ahab’s sons with them? (So LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and some mss of the Targum) The city leaders interpret his words in the literal sense, but Jehu’s command is so ambiguous he is able to deny complicity in the executions (see v. 9).

[10:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “great,” probably in wealth, position, and prestige.