📖WEB · 2 Kings 6:23
What does 2 Kings 6:23 mean?
"He prepared a great feast for them. When they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria stopped raiding the land of Israel."
— 2 Kings 6:23 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “Yahweh, open these men’s eyes, that they may see.” Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the middle of Samaria.
The king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, “My father, shall I strike them? Shall I strike them?”
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.”
He prepared a great feast for them. When they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria stopped raiding the land of Israel.
After this, Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.
There was a great famine in Samaria. Behold, they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.
As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!”
Explanation
This verse comes at the close of a remarkable episode in the ministry of the prophet Elisha, found in 2 Kings 6:8-23. The king of Aram (Syria) had been sending raiding parties into Israel, but Elisha kept warning the king of Israel of the enemy's plans, thwarting them again and again. Frustrated, the Aramean king sent
Compare translations
Go deeper with ScriptureCompanion AI
Ask questions about any verse, follow reading plans, write personal prayers, and track your daily habit — all grounded in verified scripture text.