2nd Kings Chapter 13 verse 18 Holy Bible
And he said, Take the arrows; and he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground; and he smote thrice, and stayed.
read chapter 13 in ASV
And he said, Take the arrows: and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Send them down into the earth; and he did so three times and no more.
read chapter 13 in BBE
And he said, Take the arrows. And he took [them]. And he said to the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.
read chapter 13 in DARBY
And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.
read chapter 13 in KJV
And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and ceased.
read chapter 13 in WBT
He said, Take the arrows; and he took them. He said to the king of Israel, Smite on the ground; and he struck thrice, and stayed.
read chapter 13 in WEB
And he saith, `Take the arrows,' and he taketh; and he saith to the king of Israel, `Smite to the earth;' and he smiteth three times, and stayeth.
read chapter 13 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 18. - And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. Elisha bade the king take into his band the remainder of the arrows which the quiver contained. This the king did, and held them in a bunch, as archers do when they have no quiver. And he said unto the King of Israel, Smite upon the ground. It is disputed what this means The LXX. translate Πάταξον εἰς τὴν γῆν "Strike upon the ground;" and so Ewald, De Wette, and Thenius, who regard the order as one to strike with the arrows against the ground (i.e. the floor) or in the direction of the ground. Keil and Bahr, on the contrary, think that the order was to shoot the arrows down from the window and hit the earth with them. But some contrast seems to be intended between the "shoot" (יְרַה) of ver. 19 and the "strike" (חַך) of the present passage. Ewald's explanation is thus to be preferred. And he smote thrice, and stayed. Joash struck with the arrows against the floor three times, and then paused, thinking he had done enough. He did not enter into the spirit of the symbolical act, which represented the smiting and slaying of enemies. Perhaps he had not much faith in the virtue of the symbolism, which he may even, with the arrogance of a proud and worldly minded man, have thought childish.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(18) And he said.--LXX., "and Elisha said unto him," which, as Thenius remarks, is more appropriate here, in introducing the account of the second symbolic action.The arrows--i.e., the bundle of arrows.Smite upon the ground.--Rather, smite (or, strike) earthwards; as if striking an enemy to the earth.He smote thrice.--Three being a sacred number.
