2 Kings 6:17 (DBY)

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 attendant of the man of God rose early and went forth, behold, an army surrounded the city, with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

2 Kings 6:16 And he said, 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 they came down to him; and Elisha prayed to Jehovah and said, Smite this nation, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

2 Kings 6:19 And Elisha said to 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 said Fear not for they..." into verse 18's "And they came down to him and...", 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.