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THE MESSAGE

2 Kings 3:13

Elisha addressed the king of Israel, "What do you and I have in common? Go consult the puppet-prophets of your father and mother." "Never!" said the king of Israel. "It's God who has gotten us into this fix, dumping all three of us kings into the hand of Moab."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Armies;   Idolatry;   Jezebel;   Moabites;   Reproof;   Thompson Chain Reference - Elisha;   Jehoshaphat;   Magistrates;   Nation, the;   Rebuke;   Rulers;   Wicked, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Mesha;   Moabites;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Elisha;   Jehoram;   Moab;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Prophet, Prophetess, Prophecy;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Elisha;   Jehoram;   Jehoshaphat;   Moabite Stone;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Dibon;   Elisha;   Jehoram;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Elisha;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Kir-Hareseth;   Mesha;   Oracles;   Queen;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Edom, Edomites;   Elisha;   Jehoshaphat;   Medeba;   Mesha;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Joram, Jehoram;   Mesha ;   Moab, Moabites ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Kirharaseth;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Armor;   Arms;   Jehoshaphat;   Mesha;   Moab;   Samaria;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Eli'sha;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Urim and Thummim;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Army;   Elisha;   Jehoram;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Holy Spirit;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
However, Elisha said to King Joram of Israel, “What do we have in common? Go to the prophets of your father and your mother!”
Hebrew Names Version
Elisha said to the king of Yisra'el, What have I to do with you? get you to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother. The king of Yisra'el said to him, No; for the LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Mo'av.
King James Version
And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.
English Standard Version
And Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother." But the king of Israel said to him, "No; it is the Lord who has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab."
New Century Version
Elisha said to the king of Israel, "I have nothing to do with you. Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother!" The king of Israel said to Elisha, "No, the Lord has called us three kings together to hand us over to the Moabites."
New English Translation
Elisha said to the king of Israel, "Why are you here? Go to your father's prophets or your mother's prophets!" The king of Israel replied to him, "No, for the Lord is the one who summoned these three kings so that he can hand them over to Moab."
Amplified Bible
Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What business do you have with me? Go to the prophets of your [wicked] father [Ahab] and to the prophets of your [pagan] mother [Jezebel]." But the king of Israel said to him, "No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to be handed over to Moab."
New American Standard Bible
Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What business do you have with me? Go to your father's prophets and your mother's prophets." But the king of Israel said to him, "No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to hand them over to Moab."
Geneva Bible (1587)
And Elisha sayde vnto the King of Israel, What haue I to doe with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father and to the prophets of thy mother. And the King of Israel saide vnto him, Nay: for the Lord hath called these three Kings, to giue them into the hande of Moab.
Legacy Standard Bible
Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What do I have to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother." And the king of Israel said to him, "No, for Yahweh has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab."
Contemporary English Version
and he asked Joram, "Why did you come to me? Go talk to the prophets of the foreign gods your parents worshiped." "No," Joram answered. "It was the Lord who led us out here, so that Moab's army could capture us."
Complete Jewish Bible
Elisha said to the king of Isra'el, "What do you and I have in common? Go, consult your father's prophets and your mother's prophets!" But the king of Isra'el answered him, "No, because Adonai has called these three kings together to hand them over to Mo'av."
Darby Translation
And Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? go to the prophets of thy father and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said to him, Not so, for Jehovah has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.
Easy-to-Read Version
Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What do you want from me? Go to the prophets of your father and mother." The king of Israel said to Elisha, "No, we have come to see you because the Lord called us three kings together to let the Moabites defeat us."
George Lamsa Translation
And Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother. And the king of Israel said to him, Truly for this the LORD has called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.
Good News Translation
"Why should I help you?" Elisha said to the king of Israel. "Go and consult those prophets that your father and mother consulted." "No!" Joram replied. "It is the Lord who has put us three kings at the mercy of the king of Moab."
Lexham English Bible
Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What do we have in common? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother." Then the king of Israel said to him, "No, for Yahweh has called for these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab."
Literal Translation
And Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother. And the king of Israel said to him, No, for Jehovah has called these three kings in order to give theminto the hand of Moab.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But Eliseus sayde vnto the kynge of Israel: What hast thou to do wt me? go to the prophetes of thy father & to yi mothers prophetes. The kinge of Israel saide vnto him: No, for ye LORDE hath called these thre kynges, to delyuer them in to the handes of the Moabites.
American Standard Version
And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay; for Jehovah hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.
Bible in Basic English
But Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? go to the prophets of your father and your mother. And the king of Israel said, No; for the Lord has got these three kings together to give them up into the hands of Moab.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Elias saide vnto the king of Israel: What haue I to do with thee? Get thee to the prophetes of thy father, & to the prophetes of thy mother. And the king of Israel saide vnto him, Oh naye: for the Lorde hath called these three kinges together, to deliuer them into the hand of Moab.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Elisha said unto the king of Israel: 'What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother.' And the king of Israel said unto him: 'Nay; for the LORD hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.'
King James Version (1611)
And Elisha saide vnto the king of Israel, What haue I to doe with thee? Get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said vnto him, Nay: for the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliuer them into the hand of Moab.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Elisaie said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? go to the prophets of thy father, and the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said to him, Has the Lord called the three kings to deliver them into the hands of Moab?
English Revised Version
And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.
Berean Standard Bible
Elisha, however, said to the king of Israel, "What have we to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and of your mother!" "No," replied the king of Israel, "for it is the LORD who has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe Elise seide to the kyng of Israel, What is to me and to thee? Go thou to the prophetis of thi fadir and of thi modir. And the kyng of Israel seide to hym, Whi hath the Lord gaderid these thre kyngis, to bitake hem into the hondis of Moab?
Young's Literal Translation
And Elisha saith unto the king of Israel, `What -- to me and to thee? go unto the prophets of thy father, and unto the prophets of thy mother;' and the king of Israel saith to him, `Nay, for Jehovah hath called for these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.'
Update Bible Version
And Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? go to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother. And the king of Israel said to him, No; for Yahweh has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? go to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said to him, No: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.
World English Bible
Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? get you to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother. The king of Israel said to him, No; for Yahweh has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.
New King James Version
Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother." But the king of Israel said to him, "No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab."
New Living Translation
"Why are you coming to me?" Elisha asked the king of Israel. "Go to the pagan prophets of your father and mother!" But King Joram of Israel said, "No! For it was the Lord who called us three kings here—only to be defeated by the king of Moab!"
New Life Bible
Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What have I to do with you? Go to the men who tell what will happen in the future that your father and mother have gone to." And the king of Israel said to him, "No. It is the Lord Who has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab."
New Revised Standard
Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What have I to do with you? Go to your father's prophets or to your mother's." But the king of Israel said to him, "No; it is the Lord who has summoned us, three kings, only to be handed over to Moab."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Elisha said unto the king of Israel - What have I and thou in common? get thee unto the prophets of thy father, and unto the prophets of thy mother. But the king of Israel said to him - Nay! for Yahweh hath called together these three kings, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Eliseus said to the king of Israel: What have I to do with thee? go to the prophets of thy father, and thy mother. And the king of Israel said to him: Why hath the Lord gathered together these three kings, to deliver them into the hands of Moab?
Revised Standard Version
And Eli'sha said to the king of Israel, "What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother." But the king of Israel said to him, "No; it is the LORD who has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What do I have to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother." And the king of Israel said to him, "No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab."

Contextual Overview

8Joram of Israel Joram son of Ahab began his rule over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. He was king for twelve years. In God 's sight he was a bad king. But he wasn't as bad as his father and mother—to his credit he destroyed the obscene Baal stone that his father had made. But he hung on to the sinful practices of Jeroboam son of Nebat, the ones that had corrupted Israel for so long. He wasn't about to give them up. King Mesha of Moab raised sheep. He was forced to give the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and another 100,000 rams. When Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. So King Joram set out from Samaria and prepared Israel for war. His first move was to send a message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Would you join me and fight him?" "I'm with you all the way," said Jehoshaphat. "My troops are your troops, my horses are your horses. Which route shall we take?" "Through the badlands of Edom." 9 The king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom started out on what proved to be a looping detour. After seven days they had run out of water for both army and animals. 10 The king of Israel said, "Bad news! God has gotten us three kings out here to dump us into the hand of Moab." 11 But Jehoshaphat said, "Isn't there a prophet of God anywhere around through whom we can consult God ?" One of the servants of the king of Israel said, "Elisha son of Shaphat is around somewhere—the one who was Elijah's right-hand man." 12 Jehoshaphat said, "Good! A man we can trust!" So the three of them—the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom—went to meet him. 13 Elisha addressed the king of Israel, "What do you and I have in common? Go consult the puppet-prophets of your father and mother." "Never!" said the king of Israel. "It's God who has gotten us into this fix, dumping all three of us kings into the hand of Moab." 14Elisha said, "As God -of-the-Angel-Armies lives, and before whom I stand ready to serve, if it weren't for the respect I have for Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I wouldn't give you the time of day. But considering—bring me a minstrel." (When a minstrel played, the power of God came on Elisha.) 16He then said, " God 's word: Dig ditches all over this valley. Here's what will happen—you won't hear the wind, you won't see the rain, but this valley is going to fill up with water and your army and your animals will drink their fill. This is easy for God to do; he will also hand over Moab to you. You will ravage the country: Knock out its fortifications, level the key villages, clear-cut the orchards, clog the springs, and litter the cultivated fields with stones."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

What: Ezekiel 14:3-5, Matthew 8:29, John 2:4, 2 Corinthians 5:16, 2 Corinthians 6:15

get: Judges 10:14, Ruth 1:15, Proverbs 1:28, Jeremiah 2:27, Jeremiah 2:28

the prophets: 1 Kings 18:19, 1 Kings 22:6, 1 Kings 22:10, 1 Kings 22:11, 1 Kings 22:22-25

Nay: 2 Kings 3:10, Deuteronomy 32:37-39, Hosea 6:1

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 17:18 - What have I 1 Kings 22:15 - Go and prosper 2 Kings 10:19 - all the prophets 2 Chronicles 18:5 - prophets Psalms 15:4 - a vile Proverbs 28:4 - but Isaiah 57:13 - let Jeremiah 37:19 - Where Lamentations 3:39 - a man Ezekiel 13:12 - Where Ezekiel 20:1 - that certain Ezekiel 20:31 - and shall Ezekiel 20:39 - Go ye Daniel 5:17 - Let Mark 6:20 - feared Mark 14:41 - Sleep

Cross-References

Genesis 3:4
The serpent told the Woman, "You won't die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you'll see what's really going on. You'll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil."
Genesis 3:6
When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she'd know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.
Genesis 3:9
God called to the Man: "Where are you?"
Genesis 3:10
He said, "I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid."
Genesis 3:12
The Man said, "The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it." God said to the Woman, "What is this that you've done?"
Genesis 44:15
Joseph accused them: "How can you have done this? You have to know that a man in my position would have discovered this."
1 Samuel 13:11
Samuel said, "What on earth are you doing?" Saul answered, "When I saw I was losing my army from under me, and that you hadn't come when you said you would, and that the Philistines were poised at Micmash, I said, ‘The Philistines are about to come down on me in Gilgal, and I haven't yet come before God asking for his help.' So I took things into my own hands, and sacrificed the burnt offering."
2 Samuel 3:24
Joab went straight to the king: "What's this you've done? Abner shows up, and you let him walk away scot-free? You know Abner son of Ner better than that. This was no friendly visit. He was here to spy on you, figure out your comings and goings, find out what you're up to."
John 18:35
Pilate said, "Do I look like a Jew? Your people and your high priests turned you over to me. What did you do?"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, what have I to do with thee?.... An idolater; I can hold no discourse nor have any conversation with thee, nor give thee any advice or assistance:

get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother; the prophets of Baal, and of the groves:

and the king of Israel said unto him, nay; meaning, he would not apply to them, who he was sensible could give him no relief, only to the Lord God, from whom this affliction was, and therefore begs he would pray to him to have mercy on them; so the Targum,

"I beseech thee remember not the sins of that wickedness, pray for mercy for us:''

for the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab; signifying, that he should not perish alone, but the other two kings with him, who had no connection with the prophets of his father and mother in their idolatry, and therefore hoped for their sakes mercy would be shown.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Jehoram’s humility in seeking 2 Kings 3:12 instead of summoning Elisha, does not save him from rebuke. His reformation 2 Kings 3:2 had been but a half reformation - a compromise with idolatry.

Nay: for the Lord hath called ... - The force of this reply seems to be - “Nay, reproach me not, since I am in a sore strait - and not only I, but these two other kings also. The Lord - Yahweh - is about to deliver us into the hand of Moab. If thou canst not, or wilt not help, at least do not reproach.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 3:13. Get thee to the prophets of thy father — This was a just, but cutting reproof.

Nay — The Chaldee adds here, I beseech thee, do not call the sins of this impiety to remembrance, but ask mercy for us; because the Lord hath called, c. The Arabic has, I beseech thee, do not mention of our transgressions, but use kindness towards us. It is very likely that some such words were spoken on the occasion but these are the only versions which make this addition.


 
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