2 Kings 6:23 (GNV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

2 Kings 6:24 But afterward Ben-hadad King of Aram gathered all his hoste, and went vp, and besieged Samaria.

2 Kings 6:25 So there was a great famine in Samaria: for loe, they besieged it vntill an asses head was at foure score pieces of siluer, and the fourth part of a kab of doues doung at fiue pieces of siluer.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "great", "preparation", "eaten", "drunken", "sent", "away", "went", and "master". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "great" and "preparation", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "And he answered Thou shalt not smite..." into verse 24's "But afterward Ben-hadad King of Aram gathered...", so "great" and "preparation" 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 "great" and "preparation" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.