2 Raja-raja 13:15-22

13:15 Elisha told him, “Take a bow and some arrows,” and he did so. ¹  13:16 Then Elisha ²  told the king of Israel, “Aim the bow.” ³  He did so, ⁴  and Elisha placed his hands on the king’s hands. 13:17 Elisha ⁵  said, “Open the east window,” and he did so. ⁶  Elisha said, “Shoot!” and

he did so. ⁷  Elisha ⁸  said, “This arrow symbolizes the victory the Lord will give you over Syria. ⁹  You will annihilate Syria in Aphek!” ¹⁰  13:18 Then Elisha ¹¹  said, “Take the arrows,” and he did so. ¹²  He told the king of Israel, “Strike the ground!” He struck the ground three times and stopped. 13:19 The prophet ¹³  got angry at him and said, “If you had struck the ground five or six times, you would have annihilated Syria! ¹⁴  But now, you will defeat Syria only three times.”

13:20 Elisha died and was buried. ¹⁵  Moabite raiding parties invaded ¹⁶  the land at the beginning of the year. ¹⁷  13:21 One day some men ¹⁸  were burying a man when they spotted ¹⁹  a raiding party. So they threw the dead man ²⁰  into Elisha’s tomb. When the body ²¹  touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man ²²  came to life and stood on his feet.

13:22 Now King Hazael of Syria oppressed Israel throughout Jehoahaz’s reign. ²³ 

[13:15]  ¹ tn Heb “and he took a bow and some arrows.”

[13:16]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:16]  ³ tn Heb “Cause your hand to ride on the bow.”

[13:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he caused his hand to ride.”

[13:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “He opened [it].”

[13:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he shot.”

[13:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “The arrow of victory of the Lord and the arrow of victory over Syria.”

[13:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “you will strike down Syria in Aphek until destruction.”

[13:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:18]  ¹² tn Heb “and he took [them].”

[13:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “man of God.”

[13:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[It was necessary] to strike five or six times, then you would strike down Syria until destruction.” On the syntax of the infinitive construct, see GKC 349 §114.k.

[13:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and they buried him.”

[13:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “entered.”

[13:20]  ¹⁷ tc The MT reading בָּא שָׁנָה (ba’ shanah), “it came, year,” should probably be emended to בְּבָּא הַשָּׁנָה (bÿba’ hashanah), “at the coming [i.e., ‘beginning’] of the year.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 148.

[13:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and it so happened [that] they.”

[13:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and look, they saw.”

[13:21]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the man”; the adjective “dead” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[13:21]  ²¹ tn Heb “the man.”

[13:21]  ²² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the dead man) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Otherwise the reader might think it was Elisha rather than the unnamed dead man who came back to life.

[13:22]  ²³ tn Heb “all the days of Jehoahaz.”