2 Kings 6:21

 2 Kings 6:21

And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?

a. NASB 1995: Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”  [New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.]

b. NKJV: Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”  [Scripture quotations marked "NKJV" are taken from the New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.]

c. Classic Amplified Bible: When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, My father, shall I slay them? Shall I slay them?  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. The Rubin Edition, The Early Prophets, 1 & 2 Kings, Rabbinic Commentary: The King of Israel said to Elisha when he saw them, “Shall I strike [them] down? Shall I strike them down, my father?” [The ArtScroll Series/Rubin Edition THE PROPHETS: KINGS Copyright 2006 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ltd.]

e. ESV: As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?”  [Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

f. Unless otherwise stated, all Greek and Hebrew definitions are from Blue Letter Bible

1. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?

a. [And the] king [Strong: 4428 melek, meh'-lek; from H4427; a king:—king, royal.]

b. [of] Israel [Yisrâʼêl, yis-raw-ale'; from H8280 and H410; he will rule as God; Jisraël, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity:—Israel.]

c. said [Strong: 559 ʼâmar, aw-mar'; a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):—answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, × desire, determine, × expressly, × indeed, × intend, name, × plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), × still, × suppose, talk, tell, term, × that is, × think, use (speech), utter, × verily, × yet.3478 

d. unto [Strong: 413 ʼêl, ale; (but used only in the shortened constructive form אֶל ʼel, el); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:—about, according to, after, against, among, as for, at, because (-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, × hath, in (-to), near, (out) of, over, through, to (-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with (-in).]

e. Elisha [Strong: 477 ʼĔlîyshâʻ, el-ee-shaw'; contracted for H474.; Elisha, the famous prophet:—Elisha.]

f. [when he] saw [Strong: 7200 râʼâh, raw-aw'; a primitive root; to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative):—advise self, appear, approve, behold, × certainly, consider, discern, (make to) enjoy, have experience, gaze, take heed, × indeed, × joyfully, lo, look (on, one another, one on another, one upon another, out, up, upon), mark, meet, × be near, perceive, present, provide, regard, (have) respect, (fore-, cause to, let) see(-r, -m, one another), shew (self), × sight of others, (e-) spy, stare, × surely, × think, view, visions.]

g. them [Strong: 853 ʼêth, ayth; apparent contracted from H226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):—[as such unrepresented in English].]

h. [My] father [Strong: 1 ʼâb, awb; a primitive word; father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application:—chief, (fore-) father(-less), × patrimony, principal.]

i. [shall I] smite [them] [Strong: 5221 nâkâh, naw-kaw'; a primitive root; to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively):—beat, cast forth, clap, give (wounds), × go forward, × indeed, kill, make (slaughter), murderer, punish, slaughter, slay(-er, -ing), smite(-r, -ing), strike, be stricken, (give) stripes, × surely, wound.]

j. [shall I] smite [them] [Strong: 5221 nâkâh, naw-kaw'; a primitive root; to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively):—beat, cast forth, clap, give (wounds), × go forward, × indeed, kill, make (slaughter), murderer, punish, slaughter, slay(-er, -ing), smite(-r, -ing), strike, be stricken, (give) stripes, × surely, wound.]

1). The Rubin Edition, The Early Prophets, 1 & 2 Kings, Rabbinic Commentary: Although Elisha’s relationship with King Jehoram was poor, to say the least, the prophet always warned the king whenever the Aramean enemy planned to ambush him.

2). This is the same king that earlier Elisha voiced his contempt for him. This is obviously the mercy and grace of God being shown toward Jehoram (Romans 2:4).

a). 2 Kings 3:11-14 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may enquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.

3:12 And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the Lord is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

3:13 And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.

3:14 And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.