John Gill Commentary 2 Kings 6:18

"And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto Jehovah, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha." — 2 Kings 6:18 (ASV)

And when they came down to him
The Syrian army, from the hill on which they were first seen, who came down from there to the bottom of the hill on which the city stood; and where Elisha came out, in order both to meet them, and proceed on his journey to Samaria:

Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, strike this people, I pray you,
with blindness ;
or "blindnesses" ^F7 ; with great blindness, such as the men of Sodom were struck with; the same word is here used as of them, (Genesis 19:11)

and he struck them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha ;
not in such a way that they could discern no object, for then they could not have followed Elisha; but their sight was so altered, that they did not know the objects they saw; they appeared quite otherwise to them than they were; they saw the city, but did not know it to be the same, and Elisha, but did not know him to be the man of God, though they might have some in the host that knew him personally.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F7: (Myrwnob) "in caecitatibus", Pagninus, Montanus