2 Kings 6:30 (GNV)

Passage

And when the King had heard the wordes of the woman, he rent his clothes, (and as he went vpon the wall, the people looked, and behold, he had sackecloth within vpon his flesh)

Nearby Context

2 Kings 6:28 Also the King said vnto her, What ayleth thee? And she answered, This woman sayde vnto me, Giue thy sonne, that we may eate him to day, and we will eate my sonne to morowe,

2 Kings 6:29 So we sod my sonne, and did eate him: and I saide to her the day after, Giue thy sonne, that we may eate him, but she hath hid her sonne.

2 Kings 6:30 And when the King had heard the wordes of the woman, he rent his clothes, (and as he went vpon the wall, the people looked, and behold, he had sackecloth within vpon his flesh)

2 Kings 6:31 And he saide, God doe so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the sonne of Shaphat shall stande on him this day.

2 Kings 6:32 (Nowe Elisha sate in his house, and the Elders sate with him.) And the King sent a man before him: but before the messenger came to him, he saide to the Elders, See ye not howe this murtherers sonne hath sent to take away mine head? take heede when the messenger commeth, and shut the doore and handle him roughly at the doore: is not the sounde of his masters feete behinde him?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "king", "heard", "wordes", "woman", "rent", "clothes", "went", and "vpon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "king" and "heard", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 29's "So we sod my sonne and did..." into verse 31's "And he saide God doe so to...", so "king" and "heard" 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 "heard" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.