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Good News Translation

2 Kings 2:16

and said, "There are fifty of us here, all strong men. Let us go and look for your master. Maybe the spirit of the Lord has carried him away and left him on some mountain or in some valley." "No, you must not go," Elisha answered.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Ascension;   Scofield Reference Index - Holy Spirit;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Holy spirit;   Jericho;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Holy Spirit;   Miracle;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Heaven;   Prophet;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Shalamite;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Kings, 1 and 2;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Man;   Son;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Elijah;   Joab;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Jer'icho;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Elisha;   Holy Spirit;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Since there are fifty strong men here with your servants, please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord has carried him away and put him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys.”
Hebrew Names Version
They said to him, See now, there are with your servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray you, and seek your master, lest the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up, and cast him on some mountain, or into some valley. He said, You shall not send.
King James Version
And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.
English Standard Version
And they said to him, "Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. It may be that the Spirit of the Lord has caught him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "You shall not send."
New Century Version
They said to him, "There are fifty strong men with us. Please let them go and look for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord has taken Elijah up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley." But Elisha answered, "No, don't send them."
New English Translation
They said to him, "Look, there are fifty capable men with your servants. Let them go and look for your master, for the wind sent from the Lord may have carried him away and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys." But Elisha replied, "Don't send them out."
Amplified Bible
Then they said to Elisha, "Behold now, there are among your servants fifty strong men; please let them go and search for your master. It may be that the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "You shall not send anyone."
New American Standard Bible
Then they said to him, "Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men; please let them go and search for your master, in case the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley." But he said, "You shall not send anyone."
Geneva Bible (1587)
And said vnto him, Beholde nowe, there be with thy seruants fiftie strong men: let them go, we pray thee, and seeke thy master, if so be the Spirite of the Lord hath taken him vp, and cast him vpon some mountaine, or into some valley. But he said, Ye shall not sende.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then they said to him, "Behold now, there are with your servants fifty excellent men, please let them go and search for your master, lest the Spirit of Yahweh has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "You shall not send."
Contemporary English Version
and said, "There are fifty strong men here with us. Please let them go look for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord carried him off to some mountain or valley." "No," Elisha replied, "they won't find him."
Complete Jewish Bible
and said to him, "Here now, your servants include fifty strong men. Please let them go and look for your master, in the event that the Spirit of Adonai has taken him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley." He answered, "Don't send them."
Darby Translation
and said to him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty valiant men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master, lest perhaps the Spirit of Jehovah have taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some ravine. And he said, Ye shall not send.
Easy-to-Read Version
They said, "Look, we have 50 good men. Please let them go and look for your master. Maybe the Lord 's Spirit has taken Elijah up and dropped him on some mountain or in some valley." But Elisha answered, "No, don't send men to look for Elijah!"
George Lamsa Translation
And they said to him, Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men; let them go and seek your master, lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him upon one of the mountains or into one of the valleys. And he said, You shall not send.
Lexham English Bible
Then they said to him, "Look, there are with your servants fifty able men. Please let them go and look for your master, lest the Spirit of Yahweh has lifted him up and thrown him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys," but he said, "You must not send them."
Literal Translation
And they said to him, Behold, now, there are with your servants fifty men, mighty sons. Please let them go, and they shall seek your lord, lest the Spirit of Jehovah has taken him up and hascast him on one of the mountains, or intoone of the valleys. And he said, You shall not send.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and sayde vnto him: Beholde, there are fiftye valeaunt me amonge thy seruauntes, let them go and seke thy lorde, peraduenture the sprete of the LORDE hath taken him, and cast him vpon some mountaine or in some valley. But he saide: Sende them not.
American Standard Version
And they said unto him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master, lest the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.
Bible in Basic English
And they said, Your servants have with us here fifty strong men; be pleased to let them go in search of Elijah; for it may be that the spirit of the Lord has taken him up and put him down on some mountain or in some valley. But he said, Do not send them.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And saide vnto him: See, now there be with thy seruauntes fiftie strong men, let the go we pray thee & seeke thy maister: yf happly the spirite of the Lorde hath taken him vp, and cast him vpon some mountaine, or into some valley. And he saide: Ye shall send none.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And they said unto him: 'Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master; lest peradventure the spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley.' And he said: 'Ye shall not send.'
King James Version (1611)
And they said vnto him, Behold now, there bee with thy seruants fiftie strong men, let them goe, we pray thee, and seeke thy master: lest peraduenture the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him vp, and cast him vpon some mountaine, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they said to him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty men of strength: let them go now, and seek thy lord: peradventure the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up, and cast him into Jordan, or on one of the mountains, or on one of the hills. And Elisaie said, Ye shall not send.
English Revised Version
And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.
Berean Standard Bible
"Look now," they said to Elisha, "we your servants have fifty valiant men. Please let them go and search for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and put him on one of the mountains or in one of the valleys." "Do not send them," Elisha replied.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And thei seiden to hym, Lo! with thi seruauntis ben fifti stronge men, that moun go, and seke thi lord, lest perauenture the Spirit of the Lord hath take hym, and hath cast forth hym in oon of the hillis, ethir in oon of the valeys.
Young's Literal Translation
and say unto him, `Lo, we pray thee, there are with thy servants fifty men, sons of valour: let them go, we pray thee, and they seek thy lord, lest the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and doth cast him on one of the hills, or into one of the valleys;' and he saith, `Ye do not send.'
Update Bible Version
And they said to him, Look now, there are with your slaves fifty strong men; let them go, we pray you, and seek your master, in case the Spirit of Yahweh has taken him up, and cast him on some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, You shall not send.
Webster's Bible Translation
And they said to him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest perhaps the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.
World English Bible
They said to him, See now, there are with your servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray you, and seek your master, lest the Spirit of Yahweh has taken him up, and cast him on some mountain, or into some valley. He said, You shall not send.
New King James Version
Then they said to him, "Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "You shall not send anyone."
New Living Translation
"Sir," they said, "just say the word and fifty of our strongest men will search the wilderness for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has left him on some mountain or in some valley." "No," Elisha said, "don't send them."
New Life Bible
They said to him, "Now see, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Let them go and look for your teacher. It might be that the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and put him down on some mountain or into some valley." And Elisha said, "Do not send them."
New Revised Standard
They said to him, "See now, we have fifty strong men among your servants; please let them go and seek your master; it may be that the spirit of the Lord has caught him up and thrown him down on some mountain or into some valley." He responded, "No, do not send them."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said they unto him - Lo! we pray thee, there are with thy servants fifty men, sons of valour - let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy lord, lest the Spirit of Yahweh have borne him away, and cast him on one of the mountains, or into one of the valleys. And he said - Ye shall not send.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they said to him: Behold, there are with thy servants, fifty strong men, that can go, and seek thy master, lest, perhaps, the spirit of the Lord, hath taken him up and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said: Do not send.
Revised Standard Version
And they said to him, "Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men; pray, let them go, and seek your master; it may be that the Spirit of the LORD has caught him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "You shall not send."
THE MESSAGE
They then said, "We're at your service. We have fifty reliable men here; let's send them out to look for your master. Maybe God 's spirit has swept him off to some mountain or dropped him into a remote ravine." Elisha said, "No. Don't send them."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
They said to him, "Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men, please let them go and search for your master; perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "You shall not send."

Contextual Overview

13 Then he picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He struck the water with Elijah's cloak and said, "Where is the Lord , the God of Elijah?" Then he struck the water again, and it divided, and he walked over to the other side. 15 The fifty prophets from Jericho saw him and said, "The power of Elijah is on Elisha!" They went to meet him, bowed down before him, 16 and said, "There are fifty of us here, all strong men. Let us go and look for your master. Maybe the spirit of the Lord has carried him away and left him on some mountain or in some valley." "No, you must not go," Elisha answered. 17 But they insisted until he gave in and let them go. The fifty of them went and looked high and low for Elijah for three days, but didn't find him. 18 Then they returned to Elisha, who had waited at Jericho, and he said to them, "Didn't I tell you not to go?"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

strong men: Heb. sons of strength

the Spirit: 1 Kings 18:12, Ezekiel 3:14, Ezekiel 8:3, Ezekiel 11:24, Ezekiel 40:2, Acts 8:39, 2 Corinthians 12:2, 2 Corinthians 12:3

some mountain: Heb. one of the mountains

Reciprocal: Ezekiel 3:12 - spirit Ezekiel 11:1 - the spirit Ezekiel 37:1 - carried Ezekiel 43:5 - the spirit Matthew 4:1 - of the spirit John 8:21 - I go 1 Thessalonians 4:17 - caught Hebrews 11:5 - and was Revelation 17:3 - he carried Revelation 21:10 - he carried

Cross-References

Genesis 2:1
And so the whole universe was completed.
Genesis 2:2
By the seventh day God finished what he had been doing and stopped working.
Genesis 2:9
He made all kinds of beautiful trees grow there and produce good fruit. In the middle of the garden stood the tree that gives life and the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad.
1 Samuel 15:22
Samuel said, "Which does the Lord prefer: obedience or offerings and sacrifices? It is better to obey him than to sacrifice the best sheep to him.
1 Timothy 4:4
Everything that God has created is good; nothing is to be rejected, but everything is to be received with a prayer of thanks,
1 Timothy 6:17
Command those who are rich in the things of this life not to be proud, but to place their hope, not in such an uncertain thing as riches, but in God, who generously gives us everything for our enjoyment.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And they said unto him, behold, now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men,.... Perhaps meaning themselves, 2 Kings 2:7 who were young, stout, and strong, and able to travel for days together:

let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master; for though they knew he was to be taken away, yet knew not for what time, and imagined he might be found again:

lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up; as it seems he was wont to do, see 1 Kings 18:12

and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley; where he sometimes had his abode; or they might fancy, if he was taken up to heaven, yet in his soul only, and that, when that was separated, his dead body would be left on a mountain, or in a valley; and therefore they were desirous of seeking and finding it, that it might not be exposed to birds and beasts of prey, but that they might bury it in a decent and honourable manner:

and he said, ye shall not send; he knew it was to no purpose, since he was translated to heaven, body and soul, and which he was an eyewitness of.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Compare the marginal references. The words “cast him upon some mountain,” rather imply that they expected to find the prophet alive.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 2:16. Fifty strong men — Probably the same fifty who are mentioned 2 Kings 2:7, and who saw Elijah taken up in the whirlwind.

Cast him upon some mountain — Though they saw him taken up towards heaven, yet they thought it possible that the Spirit of the Lord might have descended with him, and left him on some remote mountain or valley.

Ye shall not send. — He knew that he was translated to heaven, and that therefore it would be useless.


 
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