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2 Kings 6

God's power through Elisha overrules military strength, while Samaria's siege exposes the limits and rage of its king.

Elisha accompanies the sons of the prophets to the Jordan, where a borrowed ax head falls into the water and he makes it float. The scene shifts to Syria's war against Israel: Elisha exposes enemy plans, and God protects him when troops surround Dothan. Captured Syrians receive a feast and freedom. Later, Benhadad besieges Samaria, bringing famine so severe that a woman reports eating her son. Israel's king threatens Elisha's life, and the chapter ends with a challenge to waiting for YHWH.

fear for the futureinjustice and anger
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1The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See now, the place where we live and meet with you is too small for us.
2Please let us go to the Jordan, and each man take a beam from there, and let’s make us a place there, where we may live.” He answered, “Go!”
3One said, “Please be pleased to go with your servants.” He answered, “I will go.”
5But as one was cutting down a tree, the ax head fell into the water. Then he cried out and said, “Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.”
6The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” He showed him the place. He cut down a stick, threw it in there, and made the iron float.
7He said, “Take it.” So he put out his hand and took it.
8Now the king of Syria was at war against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.”
9The man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.”
10The king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once or twice.
11The king of Syria’s heart was very troubled about this. He called his servants, and said to them, “Won’t you show me which of us is for the king of Israel?”
12One of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
13He said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.” He was told, “Behold, he is in Dothan.”
14Therefore he sent horses, chariots, and a great army there. They came by night and surrounded the city.
15When the servant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was around the city. His servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
16He answered, “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, please open his eyes, that he may see.” the LORD opened the young man’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha.
18When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” He struck them with blindness according to Elisha’s word.
19Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” He led them to Samaria.
20When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “LORD, open these men’s eyes, that they may see.” The LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the middle of Samaria.
22He 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, then go to their master.”
23He prepared a great feast for them. After they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria stopped raiding the land of Israel.
24After this, Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.
25There 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.
26As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!”
27He said, “If the LORD doesn’t help you, where could I get help for you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?”
28Then the king asked her, “What is your problem?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’
29So we boiled my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him;’ and she has hidden her son.”
30When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes. Now he was passing by on the wall, and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth underneath on his body.
31Then he said, “God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat stays on him today.”
33While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him. Then he said, “Behold, this evil is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
2 Kings 6:16Elisha answers his servant's fear by declaring that the help surrounding them exceeds the army they can see.
2 Kings 6:17The servant's opened eyes reveal the horses and chariots of fire already surrounding Elisha under God's protection.
2 Kings 6:22Elisha forbids the king to kill the captured Syrians and commands him to provide food before releasing them.
Where this chapter reaches

The Syrian troops' blindness and restored sight share a motif with Acts, where loss and recovery of sight also accompany God's intervention. Elisha's command to feed captured enemies shares with Romans the concrete practice of giving food to an enemy.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What do you notice about Elisha's response to frightened allies and helpless enemies?

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How does Samaria's unresolved suffering affect your reading of the earlier rescue at Dothan?

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Questions people ask about 2 Kings 6

Why did Elisha make the ax head float?

A member of the prophetic group loses a borrowed iron ax head while cutting wood for a larger dwelling. His cry stresses that it belongs to someone else. Elisha makes the iron float so it can be recovered. The account presents a miracle addressing a concrete loss without explaining its mechanics.

What are the horses and chariots of fire in 2 Kings 6?

They are the heavenly force revealed around Elisha when YHWH opens his servant's eyes. Their presence explains Elisha's assurance that those with them outnumber their enemies. The text does not describe these forces fighting; the rescue unfolds through the Syrian troops' blindness and Elisha leading them into Samaria.

Why did the king of Israel want to kill Elisha?

The king threatens Elisha after hearing that famine has driven women to eat a child. His words express rage, but the text does not explain his full reasoning. The closing complaint blames YHWH for the disaster and rejects further waiting; whether the king or his messenger speaks is uncertain.

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2 Kings · 25 chapters
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What the Bible says about fear →What the Bible says about anger →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).