2 Kings 6:21 (DRB)

Passage

And the king of Israel said to Eliseus, when he saw them: My father, shall I kill them?

Nearby Context

2 Kings 6:19 And Eliseus said to them: This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will shew you the man whom you seek. So he led them into Samaria.

2 Kings 6:20 And when they were come into Samaria, Eliseus said: Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw themselves to be in the midst of Samaria.

2 Kings 6:21 And the king of Israel said to Eliseus, when he saw them: My father, shall I kill them?

2 Kings 6:22 And he said: Thou shalt not kill them: for thou didst not take them with thy sword, or thy bow, that thou mayst kill them: but set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.

2 Kings 6:23 And a great provision of meats was set before them, and they ate and drank; and he let them go: and they went away to their master: and the robbers of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "king", "israel", "said", "eliseus", "father", "shall", and "kill". 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 when they were come into Samaria..." into verse 22's "And he said Thou shalt not kill...", 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.