2 Kings 3:15

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Now, bring me a musician.”

Hebrew Names Version
But now bring me a minstrel. It happened, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came on him.

King James Version
But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.

English Standard Version
But now bring me a musician." And when the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon him.

New Century Version
Now bring me someone who plays the harp." While the harp was being played, the Lord gave Elisha power.

New English Translation
But now, get me a musician." When the musician played, the Lord energized him,

Amplified Bible
"But now bring me a musician." And it came about while the musician played, that the hand (power) of the LORD came upon Elisha.

New American Standard Bible
"But now bring me a musician." And it came about, when the musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

Geneva Bible (1587)
But nowe bring me a minstrel. And when the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came vpon him.

Legacy Standard Bible
So now bring me a musician." And it came about, when the musician played, that the hand of Yahweh came upon him.

Contemporary English Version
Then Elisha said, "Send for someone who can play the harp." The harpist began playing, and the Lord gave Elisha this message for Joram:

Complete Jewish Bible
But now, bring me a musician." As the musician played, the hand of Adonai fell on Elisha;

Darby Translation
And now fetch me a minstrel. And it came to pass when the minstrel played, that the hand of Jehovah was upon him.

Easy-to-Read Version
But now bring me someone who plays the harp." When the person played the harp, the Lord 's power came on Elisha.

George Lamsa Translation
But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, the hand of the LORD came upon him.

Good News Translation
Now get me a musician." As the musician played his harp, the power of the Lord came on Elisha,

Lexham English Bible
But now, bring me a musician." It happened that at the moment the musician played, the hand of Yahweh came upon him.

Literal Translation
And now, bring a minstrel to me. And it happened when the minstrel played, the hand of Jehovah was on him.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
So bringe me now a mynstrell. And whan the mynstrell played vpo the instrument, the hande of the LORDE came vpo him.

American Standard Version
But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of Jehovah came upon him.

Bible in Basic English
But now, get me a player of music, and it will come about that while the man is playing, the hand of the Lord will come on me and I will give you the word of the Lord: and they got a player of music, and while the man was playing, the hand of the Lord was on him.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But now bryng me a minstrell. And when the minstrell played, the hand of the Lorde came vpon him:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
But now bring me a minstrel.' And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

King James Version (1611)
But now bring me a minstrell. And it came to passe when the minstrell played, that the hand of the Lord came vpon him.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And now fetch me a harper. And it came to pass, as the harper harped, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.

English Revised Version
But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

Berean Standard Bible
But now, bring me a harpist." And while the harpist played, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Now forsothe brynge ye to me a sautrere. And whanne the sautrere song, the hond of the Lord was maad on hym, and he seide, The Lord seith these thingis,

Young's Literal Translation
and now, bring to me a minstrel; and it hath been, at the playing of the minstrel, that the hand of Jehovah is on him,

Update Bible Version
But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of Yahweh came on him.

Webster's Bible Translation
But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

World English Bible
But now bring me a minstrel. It happened, when the minstrel played, that the hand of Yahweh came on him.

New King James Version
But now bring me a musician." Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

New Living Translation
Now bring me someone who can play the harp." While the harp was being played, the power of the Lord came upon Elisha,

New Life Bible
But now bring me a man who plays music." And when the man played music, the power of the Lord came upon Elisha.

New Revised Standard
But get me a musician." And then, while the musician was playing, the power of the Lord came on him.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, now, bring me one that can touch the strings. For it used to be, when the player touched the strings, then would, the hand of Yahweh, be upon him.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But now bring me hither a minstrel. And when the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon him, and he said:

Revised Standard Version
But now bring me a minstrel." And when the minstrel played, the power of the LORD came upon him.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But now bring me a minstrel." And it came about, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

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

bring me: This was evidently intended to soothe and tranquillize the prophet's mind, which had been agitated and discomposed with holy indignation by the presence of the idolatrous king, and the recollection of his abomination. The soothing influence of music is generally acknowledged in every civilized nation. 1 Samuel 10:5, 1 Samuel 16:23, 1 Samuel 18:10, 1 Chronicles 25:2, 1 Chronicles 25:3, Ephesians 5:18, Ephesians 5:19

the hand: 1 Kings 18:46, Ezekiel 1:3, Ezekiel 3:14, Ezekiel 3:22, Ezekiel 8:1, Acts 11:21

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 16:16 - play 2 Samuel 6:5 - David 2 Kings 4:13 - to the king 1 Chronicles 13:8 - David 1 Chronicles 25:1 - prophesy Hosea 9:8 - with

Cross-References

Genesis 3:1
The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: "Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?"

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 3:7
Immediately the two of them did "see what's really going on"—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.

Genesis 3:8
When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.

Genesis 3:10
He said, "I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid."

Genesis 3:13
"The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."

Genesis 3:14
God told the serpent: "Because you've done this, you're cursed, cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals, Cursed to slink on your belly and eat dirt all your life. I'm declaring war between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers. He'll wound your head, you'll wound his heel."

Psalms 132:11
God gave David his word, he won't back out on this promise: "One of your sons I will set on your throne; If your sons stay true to my Covenant and learn to live the way I teach them, Their sons will continue the line— always a son to sit on your throne. Yes—I, God , chose Zion, the place I wanted for my shrine; This will always be my home; this is what I want, and I'm here for good. I'll shower blessings on the pilgrims who come here, and give supper to those who arrive hungry; I'll dress my priests in salvation clothes; the holy people will sing their hearts out! Oh, I'll make the place radiant for David! I'll fill it with light for my anointed! I'll dress his enemies in dirty rags, but I'll make his crown sparkle with splendor."

Matthew 3:7
When John realized that a lot of Pharisees and Sadducees were showing up for a baptismal experience because it was becoming the popular thing to do, he exploded: "Brood of snakes! What do you think you're doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? It's your life that must change, not your skin! And don't think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as father. Being a descendant of Abraham is neither here nor there. Descendants of Abraham are a dime a dozen. What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it's deadwood, it goes on the fire.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But now bring me a minstrel,.... A piper, a man that knows how to play upon the harp, as the Targum; according to Procopius Gazaeus, this was one of the Levites he ordered to be fetched, who was used to the spiritual melody of David, and could play on musical instruments as he directed. This he did to allay his passion, and compose his spirits, ruffled at the sight of Jehoram, and to fit him to receive prophetic inspiration, which sometimes came upon the Lord's prophets when thus employed, see 1 Samuel 10:5. Some think h the music the prophet called for is that sort the Greeks call "harmony", which is the gravest and saddest, and settles the affections:

and it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him; the spirit of prophecy, as the Targum, which came by the power of God, and as a gift from his hand.

h Weemse's Christ. Synagog. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 4. p. 143.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Music seems to have been a regular accompaniment of prophecy in the “schools of the prophets” (marginal reference), and an occasional accompaniment of it elsewhere Exodus 15:20.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 3:15. Bring me a minstrel. — A person who played on the harp. The rabbins, and many Christians, suppose that Elisha's mind was considerably irritated and grieved by the bad behaviour of the young men at Beth-el, and their tragical end, and by the presence of the idolatrous king of Israel; and therefore called for Divine psalmody, that it might calm his spirits, and render him more susceptible of the prophetic influence. To be able to discern the voice of God, and the operation of his hand, it is necessary that the mind be calm, and the passions all in harmony, under the direction of reason; that reason may be under the influence of the Divine Spirit.

The hand of the Lord came upon him. — The playing of the harper had the desired effect; his mind was calmed, and the power of God descended upon him. This effect of music was generally acknowledged in every civilized nation. Cicero, in his Tusculan Questions, lib. iv., says, that "the Pythagoreans were accustomed to calm their minds, and soothe their passions, by singing and playing upon the harp." Pythagoraei mentes suas a cogitationum intentione cantu fidibusque ad tranquillitatem traducebant. I have spoken elsewhere of the heathen priests who endeavoured to imitate the true prophets, and were as actually filled with the devil as the others were with the true God. The former were thrown into violent agitations and contortions by the influence of the demons which possessed them, while the latter were in a state of the utmost serenity and composure.