They said to him, “See now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. Perhaps Yahweh’s Spirit has taken him up, and put him on some mountain, or into some valley.” He said, “Don’t send them.”
Parallel Translations
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They said to him, “See now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. Perhaps Yahweh’s Spirit has taken him up, and put him on some mountain, or into some valley.” He said, “Don’t send them.”
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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.
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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.'
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to 2 Kings 2:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Kings 18:12 It will happen, as soon as I leave you, that Yahweh’s Spirit will carry you I don’t know where; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can’t find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared Yahweh from my youth.
- Acts 8:39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch didn’t see him any more, for he went on his way rejoicing.
- Ezekiel 3:14 So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; and Yahweh’s hand was strong on me.
- Ezekiel 8:3 He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and the sky, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the gate of the inner court that looks toward the north; where there was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy.
- Ezekiel 11:24 The Spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the captives. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.
- Ezekiel 40:2 In the visions of God he brought me into the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was something like the frame of a city to the south.
- 2 Corinthians 12:2-3 I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I don’t know, or whether out of the body, I don’t know; God knows), such a one caught up into the third heaven. I know such a man (whether in the body, or outside of the body, I don’t know; God knows),
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Meaning, Elijah: for they thought his body had been…
Meaning, Elijah: for they thought his body had been cast in some mountain.
Because the fact was extraordinary, they doubted where he was become, but Elisha was assured that he was taken up to God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ki 2:16 And they said unto him, Behold now,…
2Ki 2:16 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.
Ver. 16. And they said unto him, Behold now, &c.] They would do nothing without Elisha’s consent, whom now they looked upon as their new master. The Popish padres require blind obedience of their novices; telling them that if an angel or the blessed Virgin were talking with them, and their superior meanwhile call them off, they must presently obey. To argue or debate in their case, they say, were presumption: to require a reason, proud curiosity: to detract or disobey, breach of vow equal to sacrilege. This is the doctrine of Ignatius. But Elisha gave his pupils more liberty: as to propound and press their motion till he was ashamed. {2Ki 2:17}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Strong men; able to take such a journey. They…
Strong men; able to take such a journey. They thought, either,
1. That God had not finally taken him away from them, but only for a time; compare 1Ki 18:12; which they heartily desired, and therefore easily believed; or
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2. that God had only taken away his soul, and that his body was cast down into some place, which they desired to seek, that they might give it an honourable burial.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And when they urged him until he was ashamed,....…
And when they urged him until he was ashamed,.... To deny them any longer, being so very pressing and importunate:
he said, send; lest they should think he had not the respect for his master he should have had; or was so fond of his office, that he did not choose he should be found alive if he could, and return and reassume it:
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they sent therefore fifty men; some one way, and some another:
and they sought three days, but found him not; and then returned.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Strong men - Able to take such a journey.…
Strong men - Able to take such a journey. Lest, &c. - They thought, either that God had not finally taken him away from them, but only for a time; or that God had only taken away his soul, and that his body was cast down into some place, which they desired to seek, that they might give it an honourable burial.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 16. Fifty strong men] Probably the same fifty…
Verse 16. Fifty strong men] Probably the same fifty who are mentioned 2Kg 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.
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Ye shall not send.] He knew that he was translated to heaven, and that therefore it would be useless.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Ki 2:16-17. Behold, there be with thy servants fifty…
2Ki 2:16-17. Behold, there be with thy servants fifty strong men — Able to take such a journey. Let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master — They had received but an imperfect revelation of God’s design, with respect to Elijah, when they asked Elisha if he knew that the Lord would take away his master: for they seem to have supposed that the Spirit of God might have taken him up and cast him, either dead or alive, upon some mountain, or in some valley at a distance; see on 1Ki 18:12; and if alive, they wished to find him, that they might minister to his necessities; and if dead, that they might give his body an honourable burial. And he said, Ye shall not send — For he knew it would be to no purpose. They urged him till he was ashamed — That is, to deny them any longer, lest they should think his denial proceeded from a neglect of his master, or a contempt of them. Or, as the Hebrew, עד בשׁ, gnad bosh, may with equal propriety be rendered, till they were ashamed, namely, because he so often and so obstinately denied their request. And they sought him three days — Searching every place where they thought it likely he might be cast. But found him not — Thus still further evidence was given of his translation, and they, having lost their labour, and tired themselves with their fruitless search, would be more ready to submit to Elisha’s authority, and acquiesce in his judgment another time.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Compare the marginal references. The words “cast him upon…
Compare the marginal references. The words “cast him upon some mountain,” rather imply that they expected to find the prophet alive.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Valley. It seems such translations were not uncommon, 3…
Valley. It seems such translations were not uncommon, 3 Kings xviii. 12. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain fifty strong men, let them go, we pray thee,…
fifty strong men, let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master--Though the young prophets from Jericho had seen Elijah's miraculous passage of the Jordan, they had not witnessed the ascension. They imagined that he might have been cast by the whirlwind on some mountain or valley; or, if he had actually been admitted into heaven, they expected that his body would still be remaining somewhere on earth. In compliance with their importunity, he gave them permission, but told them what the result would be.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. Cast him upon some mountain — The fifty…
16. Cast him upon some mountain — The fifty men that stood afar off to view, (2Ki_2:7,) had perhaps seen that Elijah was suddenly snatched away from view, or else Elisha at once told them how his master had departed; but they could not fully believe that he had gone bodily to heaven. Their search to find him, however, was as fruitless and idle as the attempt of some moderns to explain away the idea of a bodily ascension into heaven.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 16. there be with thy servants fifty strong men]…
16. there be with thy servants fifty strong men] Doubtless some from among the company of the prophets are meant. In chapter 2Ki_4:1-4 they are described as men equal to the labour of telling trees, and doing the work of building. We cannot suppose that in such a society there were many persons retained for the service of the college. As Elisha served Elijah, so they did all that was needful for themselves.
seek thy master] Throughout the narrative there is implied a much closer connexion between Elijah and Elisha than between Elijah and the rest. He is ‘thy master’ not ‘our master’.
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the spirit of the Lord hath taken him up] Compare 1Ki_18:12, where Obadiah speaks of the spirit of the Lord carrying Elijah away to some unknown spot. A like expression is found in the introduction to Ezekiel’s vision (Eze_37:1) of the dry bones. ‘The hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord.’ The ‘sons of the prophets’ appear to have thought that the body of Elijah might be discovered somewhere, though God had taken away his soul. They had knowledge, as is seen from the previous part of the narrative, that the prophet was to be taken away from life, but seem to have expected his body would be left lifeless near the spot where he was separated from Elisha. It cannot be supposed after what they had before said to Elisha, that the Lord would take away his master from him on that day, that they expected to find Elijah somewhere alive. ‘Could they think that God would send such a chariot and horses, for a less voyage than heaven?’ (Bp Hall).
and cast him] Here the LXX. adds ‘in the Jordan or’, an addition which seems due to a desire to express every possible place into which the body could have been thrown. If it were not on a hill or in a valley, it might perhaps be in the river. The use of the word ‘cast’ seems to indicate that they thought of the body of the prophet as merely the wrapping of that better part which God had taken to Himself, and that the body was of small account when the spirit had been taken from it.
Ye shall not send] There could be no doubt in Elisha’s mind about the taking up of the body of his master. The garment left as a symbol of the granted petition was all that had fallen to the ground. But though he described, as no doubt he did, the glory which he had beheld and the way in which his master was translated, the sons of the prophets could not be moved from their notion that the body of Elijah might somewhere be discovered, and it is easy to understand how they would desire to give it reverent burial, if it were to be found.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) And they said unto him.—After he had told…
(16) And they said unto him.—After he had told them of the Assumption of Elijah (Thenius).
Fifty strong men.—See margin. Perhaps these were attendants on the members of the prophetic guild. (Comp. Elisha’s servant Gehazi, and the fifty sons of the prophets, in 2Ki_2:7.) Their being “sons of valour” was important, as the search in the mountains would involve danger.
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The Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up.—Comp. 1Ki_18:12; Act_8:39-40. This suggestion of the sons of the prophets is a good comment on 2Ki_2:11-12. It shows that what is there told is certainly not that Elijah ascended a fiery chariot and rode visibly into heaven, as the popular notion is.
Upon some mountain, or into some valley.—Literally, on to one of the mountains, or into one of the valleys, of the land of Gilead. The motive of the disciples was not a desire to pay the last honours to the body of the departed master, as Keil suggests; for they rather expected to find Elijah alive. After the words “cast him,” the LXX. has “into the Jordan,” which may be authentic. In that case, the disciples may have thought the prophet was hidden somewhere among the reeds and rushes of the river bank, in order to escape some threatened danger.
Ye shall not send.—Or, Ye must not, ye should not, or ought not, to send.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And they said unto him. Thenius suggests that Elisha…
And they said unto him. Thenius suggests that Elisha first related to them what had befallen his master; but the impression left by the narrative is rather that they began the conversation, being aware of Elijah"s disappearance, which in that clear atmosphere they may have distinctly perceived, though the ascension may not have been visible to them. Keil thinks that they saw the ascension, but supposed that the body, after being taken up a certain height into the air, would necessarily fall to earth, and that they wished to find it and bury it. But the natural interpretation is that they thought the prophet had been "caught away" by a Divine influence, as Philip the evangelist was in later times, (Act_8:39) and would be found somewhere alive, as Philip "was found at Azotus." Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; literally, sons of strength; i.e. stout, active persons, capable of climbing the rough and precipitous rocks among which they thought that Elijah might be east. 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.
On either side of the ciccar, or Jordan plain, are rugged districts, consisting of alternate rocky mountain slopes and narrow gulleys, or water-courses, dry during the greater part of the year. The sons of the prophets think that Elijah has been carried by the Spirit of God into one or other of these mountain tracts, and wish to search them. And he said, Ye shall not send; or, do not send; meaning, "it will be useless you will find nothing it is not as you suppose.
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Vers. 16-18.
Seeking the translated.
It is plain from this passage that, while the prophets of Jericho knew from Divine intimations that Elijah was to be parted from them, they did not understand the full meaning of their own revelations. They still clung to the belief that the parting might only be temporary that, as on other occasions, the Spirit of God had caught him up, and carried him away to some place, where, by searching, he might be found (cf. 1Ki_18:10-12) They desired, therefore, permission to send out fifty strong men to look for him among the mountains and valleys. Elisha knew better, but, as they persisted, he allowed them, for the satisfaction of their minds, to send. When they had sought for three days, and found him not, they returned, and Elisha said, "Did I not say unto you, Go not?" One result of the search, in any case, would be to set doubts at rest and confirm Elisha in his position of authority.
I IT IS THE MARK OF A GREAT MIND THAT IT DISTINGUISHES BETWEEN THE TEMPORARY AND ACCIDENTAL, AND THE PERMANENT AND FINAL. In this Elisha"s superiority is seen to the "sons of the prophets." He took in at once the essence of the situation. He know that it was useless to seek further for Elijah that he was parted from them forever. They dwelt on formal resemblances to previous disappearances on the accidents of the event; Elisha penetrated to its real meaning. The same mark of distinction between superior and inferior minds appears in all departments. Paul was a notable example of this power to distinguish between substance and accident-between what was temporary and what was final; while his opponents in the Christian Church exhibited the opposite defect. Apply to creed, ritual, Church-government, etc.
II THIS DEFECT IN INSIGHT OFTEN LEADS TO MUCH NEEDLESS TROUBLE. It caused, in this case, three days of needless search. It is often the occasion of dispute, division, delay in executing reforms, fruitless experiments to attain impossible ends. All are not like the children of Issachar, "men of understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do". (1Ch_12:32) Men go about, holding on by, or seeking the revival of, that which has served its day, and is being left behind.
III A CIRCUITOUS WAY OF ATTAINING TO CERTAINTY IS BETTER THAN NO WAY AT ALL. These sons of the prophets satisfied themselves at length, though after much useless trouble. It was welt they did so, since they could not otherwise be assured. There are direct ways to certainty which the better class of minds perceive, but which are like roads shut to others. These must take a more laborious and circuitous route. We see this, e.g., in Christian evidences. The other apostles were satisfied, but Thomas had to put his fingers in the print of the nails, etc. (Joh_20:24-29) The need of bearing with man"s weaknesses and imperfections, and of allowing him to reach conviction by the way he is capable of, explains much that seems circuitous in God"s government of the world. J.O.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain 2Ki_2:16. Lest peradventure, &c.—They had seen Elijah pass miraculously…
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
2Ki_2:16. Lest peradventure, &c.—They had seen Elijah pass miraculously over Jordan, but did not witness his ascension. Even if he had been taken up to heaven, they imagined that his body would be remaining somewhere on earth.
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HOMILETICS OF 2Ki_2:16-18
THE MYSTERIOUSNESS OF THE DIVINE ACTIONS
I. A severe trial of faith. The sons of the prophets were slow to believe that Elijah had so utterly vanished as to return no more. It is true that one moment they saw him in company with Elisha; the next Elisha was alone, and their great leader was nowhere to be seen. Still it might be only another of the many sudden, abrupt disappearances which had marked Elijah’s erratic career. Besides, if the spirit had ascended to heaven, his body might have been dropped on some mountain side, or into the depths of some valley; and this should, if possible, be recovered, and reverently buried. Elisha’s account of the great prophet’s exit only increased the mystery, and they wearied him with speculations and suggestions. Faith must be prepared to take much on trust. Where there is no mystery, there is no faith. “Trials,” says F. W. Robertson, “bring man face to face with God—God and he touch; and the flimsy veil of bright cloud that hung between him and the sky is blown away; he feels that he is standing outside the earth, with nothing between him and the Eternal Infinite.”
II. Provokes diligent inquiry. The commonplaces of to-day were the mysteries of yesterday. The phenomena of nature, which to our fore-fathers were occasions of superstitious dread, are to us familiar friends, and our most valuable servants. Discoveries have been made by the diligent investigator which would have remained unknown secrets, and are secrets still, to the indolent and indifferent. Mystery piques curiosity, and curiosity keeps alive the investigating faculty. The more mystery there is surrounding a subject, the more eager is the earnest student to solve it.
III. Not always fathomed by the most laborious human endeavours. The search of the fifty strong men among the mountains of Gilead was fruitless: they found no trace of the missing Elijah, and they were compelled to accept the testimony of Elisha without further question. Much has been revealed to the diligent seeker after truth, there is much that is yet wrapped in mystery. We cannot know everything about every truth. Revelation is necessarily limited by two things: by the Divine will—there is nothing to impel the Divine Being to reveal Himself beyond what He wills to do—and by our human capacity. However effulgent the revelation on God’s part, its comprehension is necessarily limited on our part. We soon come to the extreme boundary of the known, and vainly we wave our hand in the darkness of the unknown. Much as we may discover by persevering study, more yet remains undiscovered. The pleasures of inquiry and discovery are endless. The investigation of all truth is ennobling, but none more so than the contemplation of those redemptive truths which, like the stars, their fittest emblems, fix the eye above in the very act of vision; a countless procession of brightness and wonder, lights visible to the humblest eye, yet fit to exercise the thoughts of angels: their full grandeur to be approached only when we shall have passed the grave, and, not less than sons of God, shall be free to enter into the mystery and magnificence of heaven.
LESSONS:—
1. The mystery of Divine truth is no sufficient reason for rejecting it.
2. The truth essential to salvation is plainly revealed.
3. More mysteries are solved by faith than by the most daring unbelief.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
2Ki_2:16-18. An obstinate incredulity. I. Is dissatisfied with the most reliable testimony. II. Constructs theories of its own (2Ki_2:16). III. Persists in having its own way, notwithstanding repeated efforts to persuade to the contrary (2Ki_2:17). IV. Suffers ignominious defeat (2Ki_2:18).
—How many, especially young and inexperienced persons, will not be dissuaded from their opinions, views, and doubts, and will not heed the words of their teachers and parents, who have the best intentions towards them, and far more experience. They must become wise by bitter experience, and then hear to their shame, “Did I not say unto you, Go not?”
2Ki_2:18. Some men are best satisfied when they have wearied themselves in their own ways Nothing will teach them wit but disappointment. Their painful error leads them to a right conceit of Elijah’s happier transportation. Those that would find Elijah, let them aspire to the heavenly paradise. Let them follow the high steps of his sincere faithfulness, strong patience, undaunted courage, fervent zeal, and constant obedience. Then God shall send the fiery chariot of death to fetch them up to that heaven of heavens where they shall triumph in everlasting joys.—Bp. Hall.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 2:16-18 The prophets searched the wilderness, perhaps to be…
2:16-18 The prophets searched the wilderness, perhaps to be certain that Elijah had not temporarily disappeared (cp. 1 Kgs 18:12). Elisha already knew that the search was pointless.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.