2 Kings 6:17 (ASV)

Passage

And Elisha prayed, and said, Jehovah, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And Jehovah opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

Nearby Context

2 Kings 6:15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, a host with horses and chariots was round about the city. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

2 Kings 6:16 And he answered, Fear not; for they that are with us are more than they that are with them.

2 Kings 6:17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Jehovah, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And Jehovah opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

2 Kings 6:18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto Jehovah, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

2 Kings 6:19 And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. And he led them to Samaria.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "elisha", "prayed", "said", "jehovah", "thee", "open", and "eyes". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "elisha" and "prayed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "And he answered Fear not for they..." into verse 18's "And when they came down to him...", so "elisha" and "prayed" belong inside that flow. In 2 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "elisha" and "prayed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.