2 Kings 6:21 (DBY)

Passage

And the king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite? shall I smite [them]?

Nearby Context

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.

2 Kings 6:20 And it came to pass when they entered into Samaria, that Elisha said, Jehovah, open the eyes of these [men] that they may see. And Jehovah opened their eyes, and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.

2 Kings 6:21 And the king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite? shall I smite [them]?

2 Kings 6:22 And he said, Thou shalt not smite [them]: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.

2 Kings 6:23 And he prepared a great repast for them, and they ate and drank; and he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "king", "israel", "said", "elisha", "father", "shall", and "smite". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "king" and "israel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "And it came to pass when they..." into verse 22's "And he said Thou shalt not smite...", so "king" and "israel" 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 "king" and "israel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.