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He answered, You shall not strike them: would you strike those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.
Verse Takeaways
1
God's Prisoners, Not Man's
Commentators highlight that Elisha forbids the king from harming the Syrians because they were not captured by Israel's army but were miraculously delivered by God. As John Gill notes, they were the Lord's captives, not the king's. This meant the king had no right to kill them; instead, he was to follow God's command for mercy, recognizing a higher authority in the matter.
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2 Kings
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6
18th Century
Presbyterian
Would you smite ... - It is doubtful whether this sentence is truly a question. Others translate it as, “Smite those whom you have taken cap…
19th Century
Anglican
You shall not.—Or, you must not.
Would you smite ... your bow? —The Hebrew orde…
Baptist
And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow?
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17th Century
Reformed Baptist
And he answered, you shall not smite them For they were not his, but the prophet's captives, or rather the Lord's:
What Elisha said to his servant is spoken to all the faithful servants of God, when conflicts are without and fears are within. Do not fear with th…
