2 Kings 6:21
New International Version
When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?”

New Living Translation
When the king of Israel saw them, he shouted to Elisha, “My father, should I kill them? Should I kill them?”

English Standard Version
As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?”

Berean Standard Bible
And when the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”

King James Bible
And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?

New King James Version
Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?

New American Standard Bible
Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”

NASB 1995
Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”

NASB 1977
Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?”

Amplified Bible
When the king of Israel (Jehoram) saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”

Christian Standard Bible
When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “Should I kill them, should I kill them, my father? ”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, should I kill them? I will kill them.”

American Standard Version
And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the King of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them: “Shall I strike them, my father?”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the king of Israel said to Elisaie, when he saw them, Shall I not verily smite them, my father?

Contemporary English Version
The king of Israel saw them and asked Elisha, "Should I kill them, sir?"

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the king of Israel said to Eliseus, when he saw them: My father, shall I kill them?

English Revised Version
And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father; shall I smite them? shall I smite them?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, "Master, should I kill them? Should I kill them?"

Good News Translation
When the king of Israel saw the Syrians, he asked Elisha, "Shall I kill them, sir? Shall I kill them?"

International Standard Version
When the king of Israel saw Elisha, he asked him, "Shall I execute them, my father?"

JPS Tanakh 1917
And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them: 'My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?'

Literal Standard Version
And the king of Israel says to Elisha at his seeing them, “My father, do I strike, do I strike?”

Majority Standard Bible
And when the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”

New American Bible
When the king of Israel saw them, he asked, “Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?”

NET Bible
When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, "Should I strike them down, my master?"

New Revised Standard Version
When the king of Israel saw them he said to Elisha, “Father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”

New Heart English Bible
The king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, "My father, shall I strike them? Shall I strike them?"

Webster's Bible Translation
And the king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?

World English Bible
The king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, “My father, shall I strike them? Shall I strike them?”

Young's Literal Translation
And the king of Israel saith unto Elisha, at his seeing them, 'Do I smite -- do I smite -- my father?'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Elisha Captures the Blinded Arameans
20When they had entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O LORD, open the eyes of these men that they may see.” Then the LORD opened their eyes, and they looked around and discovered that they were in Samaria. 21And when the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” 22“Do not kill them,” he replied. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and then return to their master.”…

Cross References
2 Kings 2:12
As Elisha watched, he cried out, "My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And he saw Elijah no more. So taking hold of his own clothes, he tore them in two.

2 Kings 5:13
Naaman's servants, however, approached him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'?"

2 Kings 8:9
So Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift of forty camel loads of every good thing from Damascus. And he went in and stood before him and said, "Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, 'Will I recover from this illness?'"


Treasury of Scripture

And the king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?

2 Kings 2:12
And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

2 Kings 5:13
And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

2 Kings 8:9
So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

shall

1 Samuel 24:4,19
And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily…

1 Samuel 26:8
Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time.

Luke 9:54-56
And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? …

Jump to Previous
Elisha Eli'sha Israel Kill Slay Smite Strike Sword
Jump to Next
Elisha Eli'sha Israel Kill Slay Smite Strike Sword
2 Kings 6
1. Elisha, allowing the young prophets to enlarge dwellings, floats an axhead
8. He discloses the king of Syria's counsel
13. The army which was sent to Dothan to apprehend Elisha, is blinded
19. Being brought into Samaria, they are dismissed in peace
24. The famine in Samaria causes women to eat their own children
30. The king sends to slay Elisha














(21) My father.--Comp. 2Kings 2:12; 2Kings 8:9 ("Thy son Ben-hadad"), 2Kings 13:14.

Shall I smite them,? shall I smite them?--Or, May I smite? may I smite, my father? The repetition expresses the king's eagerness to slay his powerless enemies. He asks the prophet's permission. (Comp. 2Kings 4:7.)

Verse 21. - And the King of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father. In his joy at the deliverance of so large a force of the enemy into his hands, Jehoram forgets the coldness and estrangement which have hitherto characterized the relations between himself and the prophet (2 Kings 3:11-14; 2 Kings 5:8), and salutes him by the honorable title of "father," which implied respect, deference, submission. Compare the use of the same expression by Joash (2 Kings 13:14), and the employment of the correlative term "son" (2 Kings 8:9) by Berthadad. Shall I smite them? shall I smite them? The repetition marks extreme eagerness, while the interrogative form shows a certain amount of hesitation. It is certain that the Israelites were in the habit of putting to death their prisoners of war, not only when they were captured with arms in their hands, but even when they surrendered themselves. When a city or country was conquered, the whole male population of full age was commonly put to death (Numbers 31:7; 1 Samuel 15:8; 1 Kings 11:15; 1 Chronicles 20:3, etc.). When a third part was spared, it was from some consideration of relationship (2 Samuel 8:2). The Law distinctly allowed, if it did not even enjoin, the practice (Deuteronomy 20:13). Jehoram, therefore, no doubt, put his prisoners of war to death under ordinary circumstances. But he hesitates now. He feels that the case is an extraordinary one, and that the prophet, who has made the capture, is entitled to be consulted on the subject. Hence his question.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
And when the king
מֶֽלֶךְ־ (me·leḵ-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

of Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

saw
כִּרְאֹת֖וֹ (kir·’ō·ṯōw)
Preposition-k | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7200: To see

them,
אוֹתָ֑ם (’ō·w·ṯām)
Direct object marker | third person masculine plural
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

he asked
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

Elisha,
אֱלִישָׁ֔ע (’ĕ·lî·šā‘)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 477: Elisha -- 'God is salvation', a well-known Israelite prophet

“My father,
אָבִֽי׃ (’ā·ḇî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1: Father

shall I kill [them]?
אַכֶּ֖ה (’ak·keh)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 5221: To strike

Shall I kill [them]?”
הַאַכֶּ֥ה (ha·’ak·keh)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 5221: To strike


Links
2 Kings 6:21 NIV
2 Kings 6:21 NLT
2 Kings 6:21 ESV
2 Kings 6:21 NASB
2 Kings 6:21 KJV

2 Kings 6:21 BibleApps.com
2 Kings 6:21 Biblia Paralela
2 Kings 6:21 Chinese Bible
2 Kings 6:21 French Bible
2 Kings 6:21 Catholic Bible

OT History: 2 Kings 6:21 The king of Israel said to Elisha (2Ki iiKi ii ki 2 kg 2kg)
2 Kings 6:20
Top of Page
Top of Page