2 Raja-raja 1:2

1:2 Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria ¹  and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, ²  “Go, ask ³  Baal Zebub, ⁴  the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”

2 Raja-raja 1:9

1:9 The king ⁵  sent a captain and his fifty soldiers ⁶  to retrieve Elijah. ⁷  The captain ⁸  went up to him, while he was sitting on the top of a hill. ⁹  He told him, “Prophet, ¹⁰  the king says, ‘Come down!’”

2 Raja-raja 1:13

1:13 The king ¹¹  sent a third captain and his fifty soldiers. This third captain went up and fell ¹²  on his knees before Elijah. He begged for mercy, “Prophet, please have respect for my life and for the lives of these fifty servants of yours.

2 Raja-raja 2:2

2:2 Elijah told Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” ¹³  But Elisha said, “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

2 Raja-raja 2:4

2:4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” ¹⁴  But he replied, “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

2 Raja-raja 2:6

2:6 Elijah said to him, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he replied, “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they traveled on together.

2 Raja-raja 2:16

2:16 They said to him, “Look, there are fifty capable men with your servants. Let them go and look for your master, for the wind sent from the Lord ¹⁵  may have carried him away and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys.” But Elisha ¹⁶  replied, “Don’t send them out.”

2 Raja-raja 3:7

3:7 He sent ¹⁷  this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you fight with me against Moab?” Jehoshaphat ¹⁸  replied, “I will join you in the campaign; my army and horses are at your disposal.” ¹⁹ 

2 Raja-raja 5:5-8

5:5 The king of Syria said, “Go! I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman ²⁰  went, taking with him ten talents ²¹  of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, ²²  and ten suits of clothes. 5:6 He brought the letter to king of Israel. It read: “This is a letter of introduction for my servant Naaman, ²³  whom I have sent to be cured of his skin disease.” 5:7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill or restore life? Why does he ask me to cure a man of his skin disease? ²⁴  Certainly you must see that he is looking for an excuse to fight me!” ²⁵ 

5:8 When Elisha the prophet ²⁶  heard that the king had torn his clothes, he sent this message to the king, “Why did you tear your clothes? Send him ²⁷  to me so he may know there is a prophet in Israel.”

2 Raja-raja 5:22

5:22 He answered, “Everything is fine. ²⁸  My master sent me with this message, ‘Look, two servants of the prophets just arrived from the Ephraimite hill country. ²⁹  Please give them a talent ³⁰  of silver and two suits of clothes.’”

2 Raja-raja 7:13

7:13 One of his advisers replied, “Pick some men and have them take five of the horses that are left in the city. (Even if they are killed, their fate will be no different than that of all the Israelite people – we’re all going to die!) ³¹  Let’s send them out so we can know for sure what’s going on.” ³² 

2 Raja-raja 8:9

8:9 So Hazael went to visit Elisha. ³³  He took along a gift, ³⁴  as well as ³⁵  forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, “Your son, ³⁶  King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question, ³⁷  ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

2 Raja-raja 8:12

8:12 Hazael asked, “Why are you crying, my master?” He replied, “Because I know the trouble you will cause the Israelites. You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to bits, and rip open their pregnant women.”

2 Raja-raja 9:17

9:17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and saw Jehu’s troops approaching. ³⁸  He said, “I see troops!” ³⁹  Jehoram ordered, ⁴⁰  “Send a rider out to meet them and have him ask, ‘Is everything all right?’” ⁴¹ 

2 Raja-raja 9:19

9:19 So he sent a second horseman out to them ⁴²  and he said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” ⁴³  Jehu replied, “None of your business! Follow me.”

2 Raja-raja 10:5

10:5 So the palace supervisor, ⁴⁴  the city commissioner, ⁴⁵  the leaders, ⁴⁶  and the guardians sent this message to Jehu, “We are your subjects! ⁴⁷  Whatever you say, we will do. We will not make anyone king. Do what you consider proper.” ⁴⁸ 

2 Raja-raja 10:21

10:21 Jehu sent invitations throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one was absent. They arrived at the temple of Baal and filled it up from end to end. ⁴⁹ 

2 Raja-raja 11:4

11:4 In the seventh year Jehoiada summoned ⁵⁰  the officers of the units of hundreds of the Carians ⁵¹  and the royal bodyguard. ⁵²  He met with them ⁵³  in the Lord’s temple. He made an agreement ⁵⁴  with them and made them swear an oath of allegiance in the Lord’s temple. Then he showed them the king’s son.

2 Raja-raja 16:7

16:7 Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your dependent. ⁵⁵  March up and rescue me from the power ⁵⁶  of the king of Syria and the king of Israel, who have attacked ⁵⁷  me.”

2 Raja-raja 16:10-11

16:10 When King Ahaz went to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria in Damascus, he saw the altar there. ⁵⁸  King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a drawing of the altar and a blueprint for its design. ⁵⁹  16:11 Uriah the priest built an altar in conformity to the plans King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. ⁶⁰  Uriah the priest finished it before King Ahaz arrived back from Damascus. ⁶¹ 

2 Raja-raja 17:4

17:4 The king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was planning a revolt. ⁶²  Hoshea had sent messengers to King So ⁶³  of Egypt and had not sent his annual tribute to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria arrested him and imprisoned him. ⁶⁴ 

2 Raja-raja 17:13

17:13 The Lord solemnly warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and all the seers, “Turn back from your evil ways; obey my commandments and rules that are recorded in the law. I ordered your ancestors to keep this law and sent my servants the prophets to remind you of its demands.” ⁶⁵ 

2 Raja-raja 17:26

17:26 The king of Assyria was told, ⁶⁶  “The nations whom you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land, so he has sent lions among them. They are killing the people ⁶⁷  because they do not know the requirements of the God of the land.”

2 Raja-raja 18:27

18:27 But the chief adviser said to them, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. ⁶⁸  His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you.” ⁶⁹ 

2 Raja-raja 19:4

19:4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. ⁷⁰  When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. ⁷¹  So pray for this remnant that remains.’” ⁷² 

2 Raja-raja 19:20

19:20 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I have heard your prayer concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria. ⁷³ 

2 Raja-raja 22:18

22:18 Say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to seek an oracle from the Lord: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says concerning the words you have heard:

2 Raja-raja 23:16

23:16 When Josiah turned around, he saw the tombs there on the hill. So he ordered the bones from the tombs to be brought; ⁷⁴  he burned them on the altar and defiled it. This fulfilled the Lord’s announcement made by the prophet while Jeroboam stood by the altar during a festival. King Josiah ⁷⁵  turned and saw the grave of the prophet who had foretold this. ⁷⁶ 

[1:2]  ¹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “and he sent messengers and said to them.”

[1:2]  ³ tn That is, “seek an oracle from.”

[1:2]  ⁴ sn Apparently Baal Zebub refers to a local manifestation of the god Baal at the Philistine city of Ekron. The name appears to mean “Lord of the Flies,” but it may be a deliberate scribal corruption of Baal Zebul, “Baal, the Prince,” a title known from the Ugaritic texts. For further discussion and bibliography, see HALOT 261 s.v. זְבוּב בַּעַל and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 25.

[1:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “officer of fifty and his fifty.”

[1:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “to him.”

[1:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the captain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ⁹ sn The prophet Elijah’s position on the top of the hill symbolizes his superiority to the king and his messengers.

[1:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 10, 11, 12, 13).

[1:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:13]  ¹² tn Heb “went up and approached and kneeled.”

[2:2]  ¹³ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[2:4]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[2:16]  ¹⁵ tn Or “the spirit of the Lord.”

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

[3:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “went and sent.”

[3:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoshaphat) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I will go up – like me, like you; like my people, like your people; like my horses; like your horses.”

[5:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:5]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 750 pounds of silver (cf. NCV, NLT, CEV).

[5:5]  ²² tn Heb “six thousand gold […].” The unit of measure is not given in the Hebrew text. A number of English versions supply “pieces” (e.g., KJV, ASV, NAB, TEV) or “shekels” (e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[5:6]  ²³ tn Heb “and now when this letter comes to you, look, I have sent to you Naaman my servant.”

[5:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Am I God, killing and restoring life, that this one sends to me to cure a man from his skin disease?” In the Hebrew text this is one lengthy rhetorical question, which has been divided up in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[5:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Indeed, know and see that he is seeking an occasion with respect to me.”

[5:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 15, 20).

[5:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Let him come.”

[5:22]  ²⁸ tn Heb “peace.”

[5:22]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Look now, here, two servants came to me from the Ephraimite hill country, from the sons of the prophets.”

[5:22]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75 pounds of silver (cf. NCV, NLT, CEV).

[7:13]  ³¹ tn Heb “Let them take five of the remaining horses that remain in it. Look, they are like all the people of Israel that remain in it. Look, they are like all the people of Israel that have come to an end.” The MT is dittographic here; the words “that remain in it. Look they are like all the people of Israel” have been accidentally repeated. The original text read, “Let them take five of the remaining horses that remain in it. Look, they are like all the people of Israel that have come to an end.”

[7:13]  ³² tn Heb “and let us send so we might see.”

[8:9]  ³³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:9]  ³⁴ tn The Hebrew text also has “in his hand.”

[8:9]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and.” It is possible that the conjunction is here explanatory, equivalent to English “that is.” In this case the forty camel loads constitute the “gift” and one should translate, “He took along a gift, consisting of forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus.”

[8:9]  ³⁶ sn The words “your son” emphasize the king’s respect for the prophet.

[8:9]  ³⁷ tn Heb “saying.”

[9:17]  ³⁸ tn Heb “the quantity [of the men] of Jehu, when he approached.” Elsewhere שִׁפְעַה (shif’ah), “quantity,” is used of a quantity of camels (Isa 60:6) or horses (Ezek 26:10) and of an abundance of water (Job 22:11; 38:34).

[9:17]  ³⁹ tn The term שִׁפְעַת (shifat) appears to be a construct form of the noun, but no genitive follows.

[9:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “said.”

[9:17]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Get a rider and send [him] to meet him and let him ask, ‘Is there peace?’”

[9:19]  ⁴² tn Heb “and he came to them.”

[9:19]  ⁴³ tc The MT has simply “peace,” omitting the prefixed interrogative particle. It is likely that the particle has been accidentally omitted; several ancient witnesses include it or assume its presence.

[10:5]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “the one who was over the house.”

[10:5]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “the one who was over the city.”

[10:5]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “elders.”

[10:5]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “servants.”

[10:5]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “Do what is good in your eyes.”

[10:21]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “and the house of Baal was filled mouth to mouth.”

[11:4]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “Jehoiada sent and took.”

[11:4]  ⁵¹ sn The Carians were apparently a bodyguard, probably comprised of foreigners. See HALOT 497 s.v. כָּרִי and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 126.

[11:4]  ⁵² tn Heb “the runners.”

[11:4]  ⁵³ tn Heb “he brought them to himself.”

[11:4]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “covenant.”

[16:7]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “son.” Both terms (“servant” and “son”) reflect Ahaz’s subordinate position as Tiglath-pileser’s subject.

[16:7]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “hand, palm.”

[16:7]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “who have arisen against.”

[16:10]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “in Damascus.”

[16:10]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “the likeness of the altar and its pattern for all its work.”

[16:11]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “according to all that King Ahaz sent from Damascus.”

[16:11]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “so Uriah the priest did, until the arrival of King Ahaz from Damascus.”

[17:4]  ⁶² tn Heb “and the king of Assyria found in Hoshea conspiracy.”

[17:4]  ⁶³ sn For discussion of this name, see HALOT 744 s.v. סוֹא and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 196.

[17:4]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “and bound him in the house of confinement.”

[17:13]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “obey my commandments and rules according to all the law which I commanded your fathers and which I sent to you by the hand of my servants the prophets.”

[17:26]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “and they said to the king of Assyria, saying.” The plural subject of the verb is indefinite.

[17:26]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “Look they are killing them.”

[18:27]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.

[18:27]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”

[18:27]  sn The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.

[19:4]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”

[19:4]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”

[19:4]  ⁷² tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”

[19:20]  ⁷³ tn Heb “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in the parallel passage in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense, “because.”

[23:16]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “and he sent and took the bones from the tombs.”

[23:16]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “the king”; this has been specified as “King Josiah” in the translation for clarity (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).

[23:16]  ⁷⁶ tc The MT is much shorter than this. It reads, “according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.” The LXX has a much longer text at this point. It reads: “[which was proclaimed by the man of God] while Jeroboam stood by the altar at a celebration. Then he turned and saw the grave of the man of God [who proclaimed these words].” The extra material attested in the LXX was probably accidentally omitted in the Hebrew tradition when a scribe’s eye jumped from the first occurrence of the phrase “man of God” (which appears right before the extra material) and the second occurrence of the phrase (which appears at the end of the extra material).

[23:16]  sn This recalls the prophecy recorded in 1 Kgs 13:2.