2 Kings 6:21 (GNV)

Passage

And the King of Israel sayde vnto Elisha when he sawe them, My father, shall I smite them, shall I smite them?

Nearby Context

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.

2 Kings 6:20 And when they were come to Samaria, Elisha saide, Lord, open their eyes that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw, and beholde, they were in the mids of Samaria.

2 Kings 6:21 And the King of Israel sayde vnto Elisha when he sawe them, My father, shall I smite them, shall I smite them?

2 Kings 6:22 And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: doest thou not smite them that thou hast taken with thy sworde, and with thy bowe? but set bread and water before them, that they may eate and drinke and goe to their master.

2 Kings 6:23 And he made great preparation for them: and when they had eaten and drunken, he sent them away: and they went to their master. So ye bands of Aram came no more into the land of Israel.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "king", "israel", "sayde", "vnto", "elisha", "sawe", "father", and "shall". 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 to Samaria..." into verse 22's "And he answered 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.