2 Kings 6:22 (YLT)

Passage

And he saith, `Thou dost not smite; those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow art thou smiting? set bread and water before them, and they eat, and drink, and go unto their lord.'

Nearby Context

2 Kings 6:20 And it cometh to pass, at their coming in to Samaria, that Elisha saith, `Jehovah, open the eyes of these, and they see;' and Jehovah openeth their eyes, and they see, and lo, in the midst of Samaria!

2 Kings 6:21 And the king of Israel saith unto Elisha, at his seeing them, `Do I smite--do I smite--my father?'

2 Kings 6:22 And he saith, `Thou dost not smite; those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow art thou smiting? set bread and water before them, and they eat, and drink, and go unto their lord.'

2 Kings 6:23 And he prepareth for them great provision, and they eat and drink, and he sendeth them away, and they go unto their lord: and troops of Aram have not added any more to come in to the land of Israel.

2 Kings 6:24 And it cometh to pass afterwards, that Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathereth all his camp, and goeth up, and layeth siege to Samaria,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "saith", "thou", "dost", "smite", "hast", "taken", and "captive". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "saith" and "thou", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "And the king of Israel saith unto..." into verse 23's "And he prepareth for them great provision...", so "saith" and "thou" 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 "saith" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.