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Read the Bible

King James Version (1611 Edition)

2 Kings 13:18

And he sayd, Take the arrowes. And he tooke them. And hee said vnto the king of Israel, Smite vpon the ground. And he smote thrise, and stayed.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Arrow;   Doubting;   Elisha;   Jehoash;   Prophecy;   Symbols and Similitudes;   Thompson Chain Reference - Earnestness-Indifference;   Elisha;   Half-Heartedness;   Service;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Kings;   Syria;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Ben-Hadad;   Elisha;   Joash or Jehoash;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Elisha;   Jehoash;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Kings, First and Second, Theology of;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Zeal;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Elisha;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Ben-Hadad;   Damascus;   Jonah;   Judah, Kingdom of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Aphek;   Damascus;   Joash;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Lots;   Numbers (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Damascus;   Elisha ;   Jehoahaz ;   Joash ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Joash;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Eli'sha;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Augury;   Elisha;   Jehoash;   Kings, Books of;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then Elisha said, “Take the arrows!” So he took them. Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground!” So he struck the ground three times and stopped.
Hebrew Names Version
He said, Take the arrows; and he took them. He said to the king of Yisra'el, Smite on the ground; and he struck thrice, and stayed.
King James Version
And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.
English Standard Version
And he said, "Take the arrows," and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground with them." And he struck three times and stopped.
New Century Version
Elisha said, "Take the arrows." So Jehoash took them. Then Elisha said to him, "Strike the ground." So Jehoash struck the ground three times and stopped.
New English Translation
Then Elisha said, "Take the arrows," and he did so. He told the king of Israel, "Strike the ground!" He struck the ground three times and stopped.
Amplified Bible
Then he said, "Take the arrows," and he took them. And Elisha said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground," and he struck it three times and stopped.
New American Standard Bible
Then he said, "Take the arrows," and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground," and he struck it three times and stopped.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Againe he said, Take the arrowes. And he tooke them. And he sayde vnto the King of Israel, Smite the ground. And he smote thrise, and ceased.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then he said, "Take the arrows," and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground," and he struck it three times and stood still.
Contemporary English Version
Elisha said, "Pick up the arrows and hit the ground with them." Jehoash grabbed the arrows and hit the ground three times, then stopped.
Complete Jewish Bible
He said, "Take the arrows"; and he took them. He told the king of Isra'el, "Strike the ground." He struck three times, then stopped.
Darby Translation
And he said, Take the arrows. And he took [them]. And he said to the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.
Easy-to-Read Version
Elisha said, "Take the arrows." Jehoash took the arrows. Then Elisha said to him, "Hit on the ground." Jehoash hit the ground three times. Then he stopped.
George Lamsa Translation
And he said to him, Take an arrow. And he took it. And he said, Strike upon the ground. And he struck three times and stopped.
Good News Translation
Then Elisha told the king to take the other arrows and strike the ground with them. The king struck the ground three times, and then stopped.
Lexham English Bible
Then he said, "Take the arrows," so he took them. He said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground," so he struck three times and stopped.
Literal Translation
And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them up. And he said to the king of Israel, Strike the earth. And he struck three times, and stopped.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And he sayde: Take ye arowes. And wha he had taken them, he sayde vnto the kynge of Israel: Smyte the earth. And he smote thre tymes and stode still.
American Standard Version
And he said, Take the arrows; and he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground; and he smote thrice, and stayed.
Bible in Basic English
And he said, Take the arrows: and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Send them down into the earth; and he did so three times and no more.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he saide: Take the arrowes. And he toke them: And he said vnto the king of Israel, Smyte the grounde. And he smote thrise, and ceassed.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he said: 'Take the arrows'; and he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel: 'Smite upon the ground'; and he smote thrice, and stayed.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Elisaie said to him, Take bow and arrows. And he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And the king smote three times, and stayed.
English Revised Version
And he said, Take the arrows: and he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground: and he smote thrice, and stayed.
Berean Standard Bible
Then Elisha said, "Take the arrows!" So he took them, and Elisha said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground!" So he struck the ground three times and stopped.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Elisee seide, Take awei the arowis. And whanne he hadde take awei, Elisee seide eft to him, Smyte thou the erthe with a dart. And whanne he hadde smyte thre tymes,
Young's Literal Translation
And he saith, `Take the arrows,' and he taketh; and he saith to the king of Israel, `Smite to the earth;' and he smiteth three times, and stayeth.
Update Bible Version
And he said, Take the arrows; and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Smite on the ground; and he smote three times, and stayed.
Webster's Bible Translation
And he said, Take the arrows. And he took [them]. And he said to the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and ceased.
World English Bible
He said, Take the arrows; and he took them. He said to the king of Israel, Smite on the ground; and he struck thrice, and stayed.
New King James Version
Then he said, "Take the arrows"; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground"; so he struck three times, and stopped.
New Living Translation
Then he said, "Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground." So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times.
New Life Bible
Then Elisha said, "Take the arrows," and he took them. He said to the king of Israel, "Hit the ground," and he hit it three times, and stopped.
New Revised Standard
He continued, "Take the arrows"; and he took them. He said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground with them"; he struck three times, and stopped.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he said - Take the arrows. So he took them. Then said he unto the king of Israel - Smite unto the ground. So he smote three times, and then stayed.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said: Take the arrows. And when he had taken them, he said to him: Strike with an arrow upon the ground. And he struck three times, and stood still.
Revised Standard Version
And he said, "Take the arrows"; and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground with them"; and he struck three times, and stopped.
THE MESSAGE
"Now pick up the other arrows," said Elisha. He picked them up. Then he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground." The king struck the ground three times and then quit.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then he said, "Take the arrows," and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground," and he struck it three times and stopped.

Contextual Overview

10 In the thirty and seuenth yeere of Ioash king of Iudah, beganne Iehoash the sonne of Iehoahaz to reigne ouer Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteene yeeres. 11 And hee did that which was euill in the sight of the Lord; hee departed not from all the sinnes of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat, who made Israel sinne: but hee walked therein. 12 And the rest of the actes of Ioash, and all that hee did, and his might, wherewith hee fought against Amaziah king of Iudah, are they not written in the booke of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 13 And Ioash slept with his fathers, and Ieroboam sate vpon his throne: and Ioash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. 14 Nowe Elisha was fallen sicke, of his sicknesse whereof he died, and Ioash the king of Israel came downe vnto him, and wept ouer his face, and said, O my father, my father, the charet of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. 15 And Elisha said vnto him, Take bowe and arrowes. And he tooke vnto him bowe and arrowes. 16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand vpon the bowe. And he put his hand vpon it: and Elisha put his hands vpon the kings hands. 17 And he sayd, Open the window Eastward. And hee opened it. Then Elisha sayd, Shoote. And he shot. And he said; The arrowe of the Lords deliuerance, and the arrowe of deliuerance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou haue consumed them. 18 And he sayd, Take the arrowes. And he tooke them. And hee said vnto the king of Israel, Smite vpon the ground. And he smote thrise, and stayed. 19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and saide, Thou shouldest haue smitten fiue or sixe times, then haddest thou smitten Syria till thou haddest consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Smite: Isaiah 20:2-4, Ezekiel 4:1-10, Ezekiel 5:1-4, Ezekiel 12:1-7

he smote thrice: 2 Kings 4:6, Exodus 17:11

Reciprocal: Joshua 13:4 - Aphek 2 Kings 4:3 - borrow not a few 2 Kings 13:25 - took again

Cross-References

Genesis 8:20
And Noah builded an Altar vnto the LORD, and tooke of euery cleane beast, and of euery cleane fowle, and offred burnt offrings on the Altar.
Genesis 13:4
Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the Name of the LORD.
Genesis 13:7
And there was a strife betweene the heardmen of Abrams cattell, and the heardmen of Lots cattell: And the Canaanite, and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
Genesis 13:8
And Abram said vnto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, betweene mee and thee, and betweene my heardmen and thy heardmen: for wee bee brethren.
Genesis 14:13
And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew, for hee dwelt in the plaine of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.
Genesis 18:1
And the LORD appeared vnto him, in the plaines of Mamre: and he sate in the tent doore, in the heat of the day.
Genesis 23:2
And Sarah died in Kiriath arba, the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: And Abraham came to mourne for Sarah, and to weepe for her.
Genesis 35:27
And Iacob came vnto Isaac his father vnto Mamre, vnto the citie of Arbah (which is Hebron) where Abraham and Isaac soiourned.
Genesis 37:14
And he said to him, Goe, I pray thee, see whether it bee well with thy brethren, and well with the flockes, and bring me word againe: so hee sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
Numbers 13:22
And they ascended by the South, and came vnto Hebron: where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak were: Now Hebron was built seuen yeeres before Zoan in Egypt.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he said, take the arrows, and he took them,.... The rest of them:

and he said unto the king of Israel, smite upon the ground; the floor of the room in which the prophet lay:

and he smote thrice, and stayed; made a stop, ceased smiting; he might think this action trifling, and beneath him, only was willing to please the prophet, but did not do it with a good will, and therefore smote no more; though this was an emblem of his smiting the Syrians, which he might not understand.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Smite upon the ground - Some prefer to render - “Shoot to the ground;” i. e. “Shoot arrows from the window into the ground outside, as if thou wert shooting against an enemy.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 13:18. Smite upon the ground — As he was ordered to take his arrows, the smiting on the ground must mean shooting arrows into it.

He smote thrice, and stayed. — The prophet knew that this shooting was emblematical: probably the king was not aware of what depended on the frequency of the action; and perhaps it was of the Lord that he smote only thrice, as he had determined to give Israel those three victories only over the Syrians. Elisha's being wroth because there were only three instead of five or six shots does not prove that God was wroth, or that he had intended to give the Syrians five or six overthrows.


 
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