2 Kings 6:22 (WEB)

Passage

He answered, “You shall not strike them. Would you strike those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.”

Nearby Context

2 Kings 6:20 When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “Yahweh, open these men’s eyes, that they may see.” Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the middle of Samaria.

2 Kings 6:21 The king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, “My father, shall I strike them? Shall I strike them?”

2 Kings 6:22 He answered, “You shall not strike them. Would you strike those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.”

2 Kings 6:23 He prepared a great feast for them. When they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria stopped raiding the land of Israel.

2 Kings 6:24 After this, Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "answered", "shall", "strike", "taken", "captive", "sword", and "bread". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "answered" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "The king of Israel said to Elisha..." into verse 23's "He prepared a great feast for them...", so "answered" and "shall" 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 "answered" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.