2 Raja-raja 4:1

Elisha Helps a Widow and Her Sons

4:1 Now a wife of one of the prophets ¹  appealed ²  to Elisha for help, saying, “Your servant, my husband is dead. You know that your servant was a loyal follower of the Lord. ³  Now the creditor is coming to take away my two boys to be his servants.”

2 Raja-raja 4:27

4:27 But when she reached the prophet on the mountain, she grabbed hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to push her away, but the prophet said, “Leave her alone, for she is very upset. ⁴  The Lord has kept the matter hidden from me; he didn’t tell me about it.”

2 Raja-raja 5:26

5:26 Elisha ⁵  replied, “I was there in spirit when a man turned and got down from his chariot to meet you. ⁶  This is not the proper time to accept silver or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, cattle, and male and female servants. ⁷ 

2 Raja-raja 14:9

14:9 King Jehoash of Israel sent this message back to King Amaziah of Judah, “A thornbush in Lebanon sent this message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ Then a wild animal ⁸  of Lebanon came by and trampled down the thorn. ⁹ 

[4:1]  ¹ tn Heb “a wife from among the wives of the sons of the prophets.”

[4:1]  ² tn Or “cried out.”

[4:1]  ³ tn Heb “your servant feared the Lord.” “Fear” refers here to obedience and allegiance, the products of healthy respect for the Lord’s authority.

[4:27]  ⁴ tn Heb “her soul [i.e., ‘disposition’] is bitter.”

[5:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:26]  ⁶ tn Heb “Did not my heart go as a man turned from his chariot to meet you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes that he was indeed present in “heart” (or “spirit”) and was very much aware of what Gehazi had done. In the MT the interrogative particle has been accidentally omitted before the negative particle.

[5:26]  ⁷ tn In the MT the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Is this the time…?” It expects an emphatic negative response.

[14:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “the animal of the field.”

[14:9]  ⁹ sn Judah is the thorn in the allegory. Amaziah’s success has deceived him into thinking he is on the same level as the major powers in the area (symbolized by the cedar). In reality he is not capable of withstanding an attack by a real military power such as Israel (symbolized by the wild animal).