2 Kings 6:32 (ASV)

Passage

But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him; and [the king] sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away my head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold the door fast against him: is not the sound of his master`s feet behind him?

Nearby Context

2 Kings 6:30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes (now he was passing by upon the wall); and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.

2 Kings 6:31 Then he said, God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.

2 Kings 6:32 But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him; and [the king] sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away my head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold the door fast against him: is not the sound of his master`s feet behind him?

2 Kings 6:33 And while he was yet talking with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of Jehovah; why should I wait for Jehovah any longer?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "elisha", "sitting", "house", "elders", "king", "sent", and "before". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "elisha" and "sitting", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 31's "Then he said God do so to..." into verse 33's "And while he was yet talking with...", so "elisha" and "sitting" 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 "sitting" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.