Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. New Living Translation Elisha turned around and looked at them, and he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of them. English Standard Version And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys. Berean Standard Bible Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. King James Bible And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. New King James Version So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. New American Standard Bible When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two of the boys. NASB 1995 When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number. NASB 1977 When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number. Legacy Standard Bible Then he looked behind him and saw them. And he cursed them in the name of Yahweh. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number. Amplified Bible When he turned around and looked at them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore to pieces forty-two of the boys. Christian Standard Bible He turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the children. Holman Christian Standard Bible He turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of the children. American Standard Version And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two lads of them. Aramaic Bible in Plain English And he turned back and he saw them, and he cursed them in the name of LORD JEHOVAH. And two she bears went out from the forest and lacerated fortytwo boys of them. Brenton Septuagint Translation And he turned after them, and saw them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And, behold, there came out two bears out of the wood, and they tore forty and two children of them. Contemporary English Version Elisha turned around and stared at the boys. Then he cursed them in the name of the LORD. At once two bears ran out of the woods and ripped to pieces 42 of the boys. Douay-Rheims Bible And looking back, he saw them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord: and there came forth two bears out of the forest, and tore of them two and forty boys. English Revised Version And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. GOD'S WORD® Translation Looking back, he saw them and cursed them in the LORD's name. Two bears came out of the woods and tore 42 of these youths apart. Good News Translation Elisha turned around, glared at them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys to pieces. International Standard Version He looked behind him, took note of the young men, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears emerged from the woods and mauled 42 of the young men. JPS Tanakh 1917 And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tore forty and two children of them. Literal Standard Version And he looks behind him, and sees them, and declares them vile in the Name of YHWH, and two bears come out of the forest and ripped apart forty-two of the boys. Majority Standard Bible Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. New American Bible The prophet turned and saw them, and he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the children to pieces. NET Bible When he turned around and saw them, he called God's judgment down on them. Two female bears came out of the woods and ripped forty-two of the boys to pieces. New Revised Standard Version When he turned around and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. New Heart English Bible He looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. Two female bears came out of the woods, and mauled forty-two of those youths. Webster's Bible Translation And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tore forty and two children of them. World English Bible He looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in Yahweh’s name. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of those youths. Young's Literal Translation And he looketh behind him, and seeth them, and declareth them vile in the name of Jehovah, and two bears come out of the forest, and rend of them forty and two lads. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Elisha Mocked23From there, Elisha went up to Bethel, and as he was walking up the road, a group of boys came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” 24Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25And Elisha went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.… Cross References Nehemiah 13:25 I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, "You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves! 2 Kings 2:25 And Elisha went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria. Treasury of Scripture And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. cursed them 2 Kings 1:10-12 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty… Genesis 9:25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. Deuteronomy 28:15-26 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: … she bears 2 Samuel 17:8 For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people. Proverbs 17:12 Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly. Proverbs 28:15 As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people. children of them Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 1 Kings 13:24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. 1 Kings 19:17 And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Jump to Previous Bears Children Cursed Declareth Female Forest Forth Forty Forty-Two Lads Mauled Rend Tare Tore Turned Turning Vile Wood Woods YouthsJump to Next Bears Children Cursed Declareth Female Forest Forth Forty Forty-Two Lads Mauled Rend Tare Tore Turned Turning Vile Wood Woods Youths2 Kings 2 1. Elijah, taking his leave of Elisha, with his mantle divides Jordan9. and, granting Elisha his request, is taken up by a fiery chariot into heaven 12. Elisha, dividing Jordan with Elijah's mantle, is acknowledged his successor 16. The young prophets, hardly obtaining leave to seek Elijah, cannot find him. 19. Elisha with salt heals the unwholesome waters 23. Bears destroy the children that mocked Elisha (24) He turned back.--The boys were following him with their jeers. Thenius says, "The wanton young people, who had not courage to attack except in the rear, had stolen round him." Cursed them.--"To avenge the honour of Jehovah, violated in his person" (Keil). (Comp. Exodus 16:8; Acts 5:4.) And there came forth.--Whether at once, and in the presence of Elisha, or not, is uncertain. Thenius supposes that on some occasion or other a terrible calamity had fallen on some person or persons after such a mockery of Elisha, or of some other prophet (!); and that in the desire to magnify the divinely maintained inviolability of the prophetic office, the author of the above narrative has overlooked the immoral character of cursing, especially in the case of wanton children. He then contrasts the behaviour of the "historical" David (2Samuel 16:10). But (1) the curse of a prophet was an inspired prediction of punitive disaster; (2) Beth-el was a chief seat of idolatry (1Kings 12:29, seq.; Amos 4:4; Amos 5:5; Amos 7:10), and the mobbing of the new prophetic leader may have been premeditated; (3) at all events, the narrative is too brief to enable us to judge of the merits of the case; and (4) what is related belongs to that dispensation in which judgment was made more prominent than mercy, and directly fulfils the menace of Leviticus 26:21, seq. . . . Verse 24. - And he turned back, and looked on them; rather, and he looked behind him, and saw them, as in the Revised Version. The boys, after the manner of boys, were following him, hanging upon him, not daring to draw too near, hooting him from behind, as ill-bred and ill-intentioned youths are apt to do. And cursed them in the name of the Lord. The action cannot be defended from a Christian point of view - Christians have no right to curse any one. But we can well understand that, under the old covenant, a prophet newly installed in office, and commencing his ministry, might deem it right to vindicate the honor of his office by visiting such conduct as that of these misguided youths with a malediction. Under the Law God's ministers were required to curse the disobedient (Deuteronomy 27:14-26). Elisha could not tell what would be the effect of his curse. It could have no effect at all excepting through the will and by the action of God. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood; or, the forest; i.e. the forest, which, as all knew, lay within a short distance of Bethel, and was the haunt of wild beasts (see 1 Kings 3:24). And tare forty and two children of them. It is not said how far the lads were injured, whether fatally or not. But the punishment, whatever its severity, came from God, not from the prophet, and we may be sure was just. For "shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" A severe example may have been needed under the circumstances of the time, when a new generation was growing up in contempt of God and of religion; and the sin of the lads was not a small one, but indicated that determined bent of the will against good, and preference of evil, which is often developed early, and generally goes on from bad to worse.Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Then he turnedוַיִּ֤פֶן (way·yi·p̄en) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 6437: To turn, to face, appear, look around, אַֽחֲרָיו֙ (’a·ḥă·rāw) Preposition | third person masculine singular Strong's 310: The hind or following part looked at them, וַיִּרְאֵ֔ם (way·yir·’êm) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural Strong's 7200: To see and called down a curse on them וַֽיְקַלְלֵ֖ם (way·qal·lêm) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural Strong's 7043: To be slight, swift or trifling in the name בְּשֵׁ֣ם (bə·šêm) Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 8034: A name of the LORD. יְהוָ֑ה (Yah·weh) Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel Suddenly two שְׁתַּ֤יִם (šə·ta·yim) Number - fd Strong's 8147: Two (a cardinal number) female bears דֻּבִּים֙ (dub·bîm) Noun - feminine plural Strong's 1677: The bear came out וַתֵּצֶ֨אנָה (wat·tê·ṣe·nāh) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine plural Strong's 3318: To go, bring, out, direct and proxim of מִן־ (min-) Preposition Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of the woods הַיַּ֔עַר (hay·ya·‘ar) Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 3293: A copse of bushes, a forest, honey in the comb and mauled וַתְּבַקַּ֣עְנָה (wat·tə·ḇaq·qa‘·nāh) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine plural Strong's 1234: To cleave, to rend, break, rip, open forty-two אַרְבָּעִ֥ים (’ar·bā·‘îm) Number - common plural Strong's 705: Forty of the young men. יְלָדִֽים׃ (yə·lā·ḏîm) Noun - masculine plural Strong's 3206: Something born, a lad, offspring Links 2 Kings 2:24 NIV2 Kings 2:24 NLT 2 Kings 2:24 ESV 2 Kings 2:24 NASB 2 Kings 2:24 KJV 2 Kings 2:24 BibleApps.com 2 Kings 2:24 Biblia Paralela 2 Kings 2:24 Chinese Bible 2 Kings 2:24 French Bible 2 Kings 2:24 Catholic Bible OT History: 2 Kings 2:24 He looked behind him and saw them (2Ki iiKi ii ki 2 kg 2kg) |
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