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Sunday, September 7th, 2025
the Week of Proper 18 / Ordinary 23
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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

2 Kings 6:8

One time when the king of Aram was at war with Israel, after consulting with his officers, he said, "At such and such a place I want an ambush set."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Israel;   Joram;   Prophets;   Samaria;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Syria;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Ben-Hadad;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Elisha;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Jehoram;   Kings, the Books of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ben-Hadad;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Elisha;   Jehoram;   Prophecy, Prophets;   Samaria;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Elisha ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Elisha;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Eli'sha;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Benhadad;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Prophecy;   Samaria, City of;   Take;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Benhadad;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - War;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When the king of Aram was waging war against Israel, he conferred with his servants, “My camp will be at such and such a place.”
Hebrew Names Version
Now the king of Aram was warring against Yisra'el; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
King James Version
Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
English Standard Version
Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, "At such and such a place shall be my camp."
New Century Version
The king of Aram was at war with Israel. He had a council meeting with his officers and said, "I will set up my camp in this place."
New English Translation
Now the king of Syria was at war with Israel. He consulted his advisers, who said, "Invade at such and such a place."
Amplified Bible
Now the king of Aram (Syria) was making war against Israel, and he consulted with his servants, saying, "My camp shall be in such and such a place."
New American Standard Bible
Now the king of Aram was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, "In such and such a place shall be my camp."
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then the King of Aram warred against Israel, and tooke counsell with his seruants, and said, In such and such a place shalbe my campe.
Legacy Standard Bible
Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he counseled with his servants saying, "In such and such a place shall be my camp."
Contemporary English Version
Time after time, when the king of Syria was at war against the Israelites, he met with his officers and announced, "I've decided where we will set up camp."
Complete Jewish Bible
Now the king of Aram went to war against Isra'el; and in consulting his servants he said, "I'll set up my ambush camp in such-and-such a place."
Darby Translation
And the king of Syria warred against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place [shall be] my camp.
Easy-to-Read Version
The king of Aram was making war against Israel. He had a council meeting with his army officers. He said, "Go to such and such a place and prepare to attack the Israelites when they come by."
George Lamsa Translation
Then the king of Aram warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall we lie in wait.
Good News Translation
The king of Syria was at war with Israel. He consulted his officers and chose a place to set up his camp.
Lexham English Bible
The king of Aram was fighting with Israel, so he consulted with his officers, saying, "My camp is at such and such a place."
Literal Translation
And the king of Syria was fighting against Israel, and rose up with his servants, saying, At such and such a place shall be my camp.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the kynge of Syria warred agaynst Israel, and toke councell at his seruauntes, and sayde: There & there will we lye.
American Standard Version
Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
Bible in Basic English
At that time the king of Aram was making war against Israel; and he had a meeting with the chiefs of his army and said, I will be waiting in secret in some named place.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
But the king of Syria warred against Israel, and toke counsell with his seruauntes, and sayde: In such and such a place shalbe my campe.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Now the king of Aram warred against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying: 'In such and such a place shall be my camp.'
King James Version (1611)
Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and tooke counsell with his seruants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my campe.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the king of Syria was at war with Israel: and he consulted with his servants, saying, I will encamp in such a place.
English Revised Version
Now the king of Syria warred against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
Berean Standard Bible
Now the king of Aram was at war against Israel. After consulting with his servants, he said, "My camp will be in such and such a place."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe the kyng of Syrie fauyte ayens Israel; and he took counseil with hise seruauntis, and seide, Sette we buschementis in this place and that.
Young's Literal Translation
And the king of Aram hath been fighting against Israel, and taketh counsel with his servants, saying, `At such and such a place [is] my encamping.'
Update Bible Version
Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel; and he took counsel with his slaves, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
Webster's Bible Translation
Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place [shall be] my camp.
World English Bible
Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
New King James Version
Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, "My camp will be in such and such a place."
New Living Translation
When the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he would confer with his officers and say, "We will mobilize our forces at such and such a place."
New Life Bible
Now the king of Syria was fighting a war against Israel. He had a meeting with his servants, and said, "This is the place where I will be staying."
New Revised Standard
Once when the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he took counsel with his officers. He said, "At such and such a place shall be my camp."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, the king of Syria, was making war against Israel, - so he took counsel with his servants, saying - In such and such a place, shall be my encampment.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying: In such and such a place, let us lay an ambush.
Revised Standard Version
Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, "At such and such a place shall be my camp."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he counseled with his servants saying, "In such and such a place shall be my camp."

Contextual Overview

8 One time when the king of Aram was at war with Israel, after consulting with his officers, he said, "At such and such a place I want an ambush set." 9 The Holy Man sent a message to the king of Israel: "Watch out when you're passing this place, because Aram has set an ambush there." 10 So the king of Israel sent word concerning the place of which the Holy Man had warned him. This kind of thing happened all the time. 11 The king of Aram was furious over all this. He called his officers together and said, "Tell me, who is leaking information to the king of Israel? Who is the spy in our ranks?" 12 But one of his men said, "No, my master, dear king. It's not any of us. It's Elisha the prophet in Israel. He tells the king of Israel everything you say, even what you whisper in your bedroom."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the king: 2 Kings 6:24, 1 Kings 20:1, 1 Kings 20:34, 1 Kings 22:31

took: 1 Kings 20:23, Job 5:12, Job 5:13, Proverbs 20:18, Proverbs 21:30, Isaiah 7:5-7, Isaiah 8:10

camp: or, encamping

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 14:5 - the Lord 1 Kings 20:13 - Hast thou 2 Kings 6:23 - So the bands Daniel 2:19 - was John 15:15 - all Acts 13:11 - thou Acts 14:6 - were

Cross-References

Genesis 6:17
"I'm going to bring a flood on the Earth that will destroy everything alive under Heaven. Total destruction.
Psalms 145:20
God sticks by all who love him, but it's all over for those who don't.
Proverbs 12:2
A good person basks in the delight of God , and he wants nothing to do with devious schemers.
Jeremiah 31:2
This is the way God put it: "They found grace out in the desert, these people who survived the killing. Israel, out looking for a place to rest, met God out looking for them!" God told them, "I've never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love! And so now I'll start over with you and build you up again, dear virgin Israel. You'll resume your singing, grabbing tambourines and joining the dance. You'll go back to your old work of planting vineyards on the Samaritan hillsides, And sit back and enjoy the fruit— oh, how you'll enjoy those harvests! The time's coming when watchmen will call out from the hilltops of Ephraim: ‘On your feet! Let's go to Zion, go to meet our God !'"
Romans 4:4
If you're a hard worker and do a good job, you deserve your pay; we don't call your wages a gift. But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it's something only God can do, and you trust him to do it—you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked—well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift.
Romans 11:6
The Loyal Minority Does this mean, then, that God is so fed up with Israel that he'll have nothing more to do with them? Hardly. Remember that I, the one writing these things, am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham out of the tribe of Benjamin. You can't get much more Semitic than that! So we're not talking about repudiation. God has been too long involved with Israel, has too much invested, to simply wash his hands of them. Do you remember that time Elijah was agonizing over this same Israel and cried out in prayer? God, they murdered your prophets, They trashed your altars; I'm the only one left and now they're after me! And do you remember God's answer? I still have seven thousand who haven't quit, Seven thousand who are loyal to the finish. It's the same today. There's a fiercely loyal minority still—not many, perhaps, but probably more than you think. They're holding on, not because of what they think they're going to get out of it, but because they're convinced of God's grace and purpose in choosing them. If they were only thinking of their own immediate self-interest, they would have left long ago.
1 Corinthians 15:10
But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I'm not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven't I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn't amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it. So whether you heard it from me or from those others, it's all the same: We spoke God's truth and you entrusted your lives.
Titus 2:11
God's readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation's available for everyone! We're being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then the king of Syria warred against Israel,.... Proclaimed war against him; on what account, or how long it was after Naaman his general came with a letter of recommendation from him to the king of Israel, and had his cure, is not said:

and took counsel with his servants; his privy counsellors, or the general officers of his army:

saying, in such and such a place shall be my camp; in some covered hidden place, as the Targum; where he would lie encamped waiting in ambush, to fall upon the king of Israel unawares, as he and his forces should pass that way; the place, no doubt, was named by the king of Syria, though not recorded by the historian; or, as the words may be rendered,

the place of such and such a man; for, as Ben Melech observes, "peloni almoni" are used of persons whose names are either unknown or concealed.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The king of Syria - Probably the great Benhadad (see 2 Kings 6:24).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 6:8. The king of Syria warred against Israel — This was probably the same Ben-hadad who is mentioned 2 Kings 6:24. What was the real or pretended cause of this war we cannot tell; but we may say, in numberless war cases, as Calmet says in this: "An ambitious and restless prince always finds a sufficiency of reasons to colour his enterprises."

In such and such a place — The Syrian king had observed, from the disposition of the Israelitish army, in what direction it was about to make its movements; and therefore laid ambuscades where he might surprise it to the greatest advantage.


 
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