2 Kings 6:17 (GNV)

Passage

Then Elisha prayed, and saide, Lord, I beseech thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the seruant, and he looked, and beholde, the mountaine was full of horses and charets of fyre round about Elisha.

Nearby Context

2 Kings 6:15 And when the seruant of the man of God arose earely to goe out, beholde, an hoste compassed the citie with horses and charets. Then his seruant sayde vnto him, Alas master, howe shall we doe?

2 Kings 6:16 And he answered, Feare not: for they that be with vs, are moe then they that be with them.

2 Kings 6:17 Then Elisha prayed, and saide, Lord, I beseech thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the seruant, and he looked, and beholde, the mountaine was full of horses and charets of fyre round about Elisha.

2 Kings 6:18 So they came downe to him, but Elisha prayed vnto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindnesse. And he smote them with blindnes, according to the worde of Elisha.

2 Kings 6:19 And Elisha said vnto them, This is not the way, neither is this the citie: follow me, and I will leade you to the man whome ye seeke. But he ledde them to Samaria.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "elisha", "prayed", "saide", "lord", "beseech", "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 Feare not for they..." into verse 18's "So they came downe to him but...", 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.