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Friday, July 18th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

2 Kings 2:17

But when they pressed him to the point of embarrassment, he said, "Send them." And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find Elijah.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Ascension;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Jericho;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Miracle;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Heaven;   Prophet;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Kings, 1 and 2;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Numbers (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Prophets, Sons of the;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Elijah;   Joab;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Jer'icho;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Ashamed;   Elisha;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
However, they urged him to the point of embarrassment, so he said, “Send them.” They sent fifty men, who looked for three days but did not find him.
Hebrew Names Version
When they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but didn't find him.
King James Version
And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.
English Standard Version
But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, "Send." They sent therefore fifty men. And for three days they sought him but did not find him.
New Century Version
When the groups of prophets had begged Elisha until he couldn't refuse them anymore, he said, "Send them." So they sent fifty men who looked for three days, but they could not find him.
New English Translation
But they were so insistent, he became embarrassed. So he said, "Send them out." They sent the fifty men out and they looked for three days, but could not find Elijah.
Amplified Bible
But when they urged him until he was embarrassed [to refuse them], he said, "Send them." So they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find Elijah.
New American Standard Bible
Yet when they urged him until he was ashamed to refuse, he said, "Send them." So they sent fifty men; and they searched for three days, but did not find him.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Yet they were instant vpon him, til he was ashamed: wherefore he saide, Sende. So they sent fiftie men, which sought three dayes, but founde him not.
Legacy Standard Bible
But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, "Send." They sent therefore fifty men; and they searched three days but did not find him.
Contemporary English Version
They kept begging until he was embarrassed to say no. He finally agreed, and the prophets sent the men out. They looked three days for Elijah but never found him.
Complete Jewish Bible
But they kept pressing him until finally, embarrassed, he said to send them. So they sent fifty men. For three days they searched, but they didn't find him.
Darby Translation
And they pressed him till he was ashamed, and he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men, and they sought three days, but did not find him.
Easy-to-Read Version
The group of prophets begged Elisha until he was embarrassed. Then Elisha said, "Send the men to look for Elijah." The group of prophets sent the 50 men to look for Elijah. They looked three days, but they could not find him.
George Lamsa Translation
And when they urged him till he was embarrassed, he said, Send. So they sent therefore fifty men; and they sought him for three days, but found him not.
Good News Translation
But they insisted until he gave in and let them go. The fifty of them went and looked high and low for Elijah for three days, but didn't find him.
Lexham English Bible
But they urged him until embarrassing him, so he said, "Send them." So they sent fifty men, and they looked for three days, but they could not find him.
Literal Translation
And they pressed on him until he was ashamed. And he said, Send. And they sent fifty men, and they sought three days and did not find him.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Neuertheles they constrayned him, tyll he was ashamed, and sayde: Let them go. And they sent fiftye men, which soughte him thre dayes: but they founde him not,
American Standard Version
And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.
Bible in Basic English
But when they kept on requesting him, he was shamed and said, Send, then. So they sent fifty men; but after searching for three days, they came back without having seen him.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And when they laye vpon him tyll he was ashamed, he said: Send. They sent therefore fiftie men, which sought him three dayes, but found him not.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said: 'Send.' They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.
King James Version (1611)
And when they vrged him, till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fiftie men, and they sought three dayes, but found him not.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they pressed him until he was ashamed; and he said, Send. And they sent fifty men, and sought three days, and found him not.
English Revised Version
And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Which seide, `Nyle ye sende. And thei constreyneden hym, til he assentide to hem, and seide, Sende ye. And thei senten fifti men; and whanne thei hadden souyt bi thre daies, thei founden not.
Young's Literal Translation
And they press upon him, till he is ashamed, and he saith, `Send ye;' and they send fifty men, and they seek three days, and have not found him;
Update Bible Version
And when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but did not find him.
Webster's Bible Translation
And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.
World English Bible
When they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but didn't find him.
New King James Version
But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, "Send them!" Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find him.
New Living Translation
But they kept urging him until they shamed him into agreeing, and he finally said, "All right, send them." So fifty men searched for three days but did not find Elijah.
New Life Bible
But they talked to him until he was ashamed, and he said, "Send them." So they sent fifty men to look for Elijah. But after three days they did not find him.
New Revised Standard
But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, "Send them." So they sent fifty men who searched for three days but did not find him.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said - Send. So they sent fifty men, and made search three days, but found him not.
Douay-Rheims Bible
But they pressed him, till he consented, and said: Send. And they sent fifty men: and they sought three days, but found him not.
Revised Standard Version
But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, "Send." They sent therefore fifty men; and for three days they sought him but did not find him.
THE MESSAGE
But they pestered him until he caved in: "Go ahead then. Send them." So they sent the fifty men off. For three days they looked, searching high and low. Nothing.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, "Send." They sent therefore fifty men; and they searched three days but did not find him.

Contextual Overview

13Elisha also picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah, and he went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. And when he had struck the waters, they parted to the right and to the left, and Elisha crossed over. 15When the sons of the prophets who were facing him from Jericho saw what had happened, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." And they went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him. 16"Look now," they said to Elisha, "we your servants have fifty valiant men. Please let them go and search for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and put him on one of the mountains or in one of the valleys." "Do not send them," Elisha replied. 17But when they pressed him to the point of embarrassment, he said, "Send them." And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find Elijah.18When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, "Didn't I tell you not to go?"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

they urged: 2 Samuel 18:22, 2 Samuel 18:23, Luke 11:8, Romans 10:2

found him not: Hebrews 11:5

Reciprocal: Genesis 33:11 - urged him 2 Kings 2:7 - fifty men 2 Kings 5:23 - And he urged him John 8:21 - I go

Cross-References

Genesis 2:1
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
Genesis 2:4
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made them.
Genesis 2:6
But springs welled up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.
Genesis 2:9
Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:10
Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it branched into four headwaters:
Genesis 2:12
And the gold of that land is pure, and bdellium and onyx are found there.
Genesis 2:13
The name of the second river is Gihon; it winds through the whole land of Cush.
Genesis 2:18
The LORD God also said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper."
Genesis 2:20
The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
Genesis 2:21
So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man's ribs and closed up the area with flesh.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when they urged him until he was ashamed,.... To deny them any longer, being so very pressing and importunate:

he said, send; lest they should think he had not the respect for his master he should have had; or was so fond of his office, that he did not choose he should be found alive if he could, and return and reassume it:

they sent therefore fifty men; some one way, and some another:

and they sought three days, but found him not; and then returned.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Till he was ashamed - i. e. to refuse them any longer.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 2:17. Till he was ashamed — He saw they would not be satisfied unless they made the proposed search; he felt therefore that he could not, with any good grace, resist their importunity any longer.


 
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