Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, August 21st, 2025
the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
Attention!
For 10¢ a day you can enjoy StudyLight.org ads
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

Literal Standard Version

2 Kings 2:7

and fifty men of the sons of the prophets have gone on, and stand opposite [them] far off—and both of them have stood by the Jordan.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Ascension;   Elisha;   Jordan;   Prophecy;   Prophets;   Students;   Translation;   Water;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Elisha;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Prophecy, prophet;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Elijah;   Miracle;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Heaven;   Prophet;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Elijah;   Schools of the Prophets;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Elijah;   Leper;   Music;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Elijah;   Hell;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Miracles;   Prophets, Sons of the;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Jordan;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chief parables and miracles in the bible;   Elijah;   Elisha;   Joab;   School;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Jer'icho;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Child;   Elijah;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Fifty men from the sons of the prophets came and stood observing them at a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan.
Hebrew Names Version
Fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood over against them afar off: and they two stood by the Yarden.
King James Version
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
English Standard Version
Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.
New Century Version
Fifty men of the groups of prophets came and stood far from where Elijah and Elisha were by the Jordan.
New English Translation
The fifty members of the prophetic guild went and stood opposite them at a distance, while Elijah and Elisha stood by the Jordan.
Amplified Bible
Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood opposite them [to watch] at a distance; and the two of them stood by the Jordan.
New American Standard Bible
Now fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And fiftie men of the sonnes of the Prophets went and stoode on the other side a farre off, and they two stoode by Iorden.
Legacy Standard Bible
Now fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, but the two of them stood by the Jordan.
Contemporary English Version
Fifty prophets followed Elijah and Elisha from Jericho, then stood at a distance and watched as the two men walked toward the river.
Complete Jewish Bible
Fifty of the guild prophets went and stood watching them from a distance, while they stood by the Yarden.
Darby Translation
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite afar off; and they two stood by the Jordan.
Easy-to-Read Version
There were 50 men from the group of prophets who followed them. Elijah and Elisha stopped at the Jordan River. The 50 men stood far away from Elijah and Elisha.
George Lamsa Translation
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood to watch from afar; and they two stood by the Jordan.
Good News Translation
and fifty of the prophets followed them to the Jordan. Elijah and Elisha stopped by the river, and the fifty prophets stood a short distance away.
Lexham English Bible
Then fifty men from the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan.
Literal Translation
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went on and stood afar off, across from them . And they both stood by the Jordan.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But fyftye men of ye prophetes children wete forth, and stode ouer agaynst the a farre of: but they both stode by Iordane.
American Standard Version
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood over against them afar off: and they two stood by the Jordan.
Bible in Basic English
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went out and took their places facing them a long way off, while the two of them were by the edge of Jordan.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And fiftie men of the sonnes of the prophetes came & stoode on the other syde a farre of: and they two stoode by Iordane.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood over against them afar off; and they two stood by the Jordan.
King James Version (1611)
And fiftie men of the sonnes of the Prophets went, and stood to view afarre off: and they two stood by Iordan.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went also, and they stood opposite afar off: and both stood on the bank of Jordan.
English Revised Version
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood over against them afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
Berean Standard Bible
Then a company of fifty of the sons of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing Elijah and Elisha as the two of them stood by the Jordan.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and fifti men of the sones of prophetis sueden, which also stoden fer euen ayens; sothely thei bothe stoden ouer Jordan.
Young's Literal Translation
-- and fifty men of the sons of the prophets have gone on, and stand over-against afar off -- and both of them have stood by the Jordan.
Update Bible Version
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood across from them far off: and both of them stood by the Jordan.
Webster's Bible Translation
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
World English Bible
Fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood over against them afar off: and they two stood by the Jordan.
New King James Version
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan.
New Living Translation
Fifty men from the group of prophets also went and watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha stopped beside the Jordan River.
New Life Bible
Now fifty sons of the men who tell what will happen in the future went and stood on the other side of the Jordan River a long way off from the two of them who were standing by the Jordan.
New Revised Standard
Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, fifty men of the sons of the prophets, came, and stood over against them, afar off, - and, they two, stood by the Jordan.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And fifty men, of the sons of the prophets, followed them, and stood in sight, at a distance: but they two stood by the Jordan.
Revised Standard Version
Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.
THE MESSAGE
Meanwhile, fifty men from the guild of prophets gathered some distance away while the two of them stood at the Jordan.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan.

Contextual Overview

1And it comes to pass, at YHWH's taking up Elijah to the heavens in a whirlwind, that Elijah goes, and Elisha, from Gilgal, 2and Elijah says to Elisha, "Please abide here, for YHWH has sent me to Beth-El"; and Elisha says, "YHWH lives, and your soul lives, if I leave you"; and they go down to Beth-El. 3And sons of the prophets who [are] in Beth-El come out to Elisha, and say to him, "Have you known that today YHWH is taking your lord from your head?" And he says, "I also have known—keep silent." 4And Elijah says to him, "Elisha, please abide here, for YHWH has sent me to Jericho"; and he says, "YHWH lives, and your soul lives, if I leave you"; and they come to Jericho. 5And sons of the prophets who [are] in Jericho come near to Elisha, and say to him, "Have you known that today YHWH is taking your lord from your head?" And he says, "I also have known—keep silent." 6And Elijah says to him, "Please abide here, for YHWH has sent me to the Jordan"; and he says, "YHWH lives, and your soul lives, if I leave you"; and both of them go on— 7and fifty men of the sons of the prophets have gone on, and stand opposite [them] far off—and both of them have stood by the Jordan.8And Elijah takes his robe, and wraps [it] together, and strikes the waters, and they are halved, here and there, and both of them pass over on dry land.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

fifty men: 2 Kings 2:17, 1 Kings 18:4, 1 Kings 18:13

to view afar off: Heb. in sight, or over against

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 20:35 - of the sons 2 Kings 2:3 - And the sons 2 Kings 2:15 - to view Amos 7:14 - neither Revelation 11:12 - and their

Cross-References

Genesis 2:14
and the name of the third river [is] Hiddekel, it [is] that which is going east of Asshur; and the fourth river is the Euphrates.
Genesis 2:15
And YHWH God takes the man, and causes him to rest in the Garden of Eden, to serve it and to keep it.
Genesis 2:20
And the man calls names to all the livestock, and to bird of the heavens, and to every beast of the field; but for man a helper has not been found as his counterpart.
Genesis 2:21
And YHWH God causes a deep sleep to fall on the man, and he sleeps, and He takes one of his ribs, and closes up flesh in its stead.
Genesis 3:23
YHWH God sends him forth from the Garden of Eden to serve the ground from which he has been taken;
Genesis 7:22
all in whose nostrils [is] breath of a living spirit—of all that [is] in the dry land—have died.
Numbers 16:22
and they fall on their faces, and say, "God, God of the spirits of all flesh—one man sins, and are You angry against all the congregation?"
Numbers 27:16
"YHWH, God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation,
Job 4:19
Also—the inhabitants of houses of clay || (Whose foundation [is] in the dust, || They bruise them before a moth).
Job 27:3
For all the while my breath [is] in me, || And the wind of God in my nostrils.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off,.... To have a view, if they could, of the assumption of Elijah to heaven, and be witnesses of it:

and they two stood by Jordan; on the banks of it, even Elijah and Elisha.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Fifty men of the sons of the prophets - We see by this how large were the prophetical schools. It is implied that the “fifty” were only a portion of the school of Jericho. They ascended the abrupt heights behind the town, from where they would command a view of the whole course of the river and of the opposite bank for many miles.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 2:7. Fifty men of the sons of the prophets — They fully expected this extraordinary event, and they could have known it only from Elijah himself, or by a direct revelation from God.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile