2 Kings 2:16
New International Version
“Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.” “No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.”

New Living Translation
“Sir,” they said, “just say the word and fifty of our strongest men will search the wilderness for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has left him on some mountain or in some valley.” “No,” Elisha said, “don’t send them.”

English Standard Version
And they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. It may be that the Spirit of the LORD has caught him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.”

Berean Standard Bible
“Look now,” they said to Elisha, “we your servants have fifty valiant men. Please let them go and search for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and put him on one of the mountains or in one of the valleys.” “Do not send them,” Elisha replied.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
Then they said to him, “Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send anyone.”

New American Standard Bible
Then they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men; please let them go and search for your master, in case the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” But he said, “You shall not send anyone.

NASB 1995
They said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men, please let them go and search for your master; perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.”

NASB 1977
And they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men, please let them go and search for your master; perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty excellent men, please let them go and search for your master, lest the Spirit of Yahweh has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.”

Amplified Bible
Then they said to Elisha, “Behold now, there are among your servants fifty strong men; please let them go and search for your master. It may be that the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send anyone.

Christian Standard Bible
Then the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Since there are fifty strong men here with your servants, please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the LORD has carried him away and put him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys.” He answered, “Don’t send them.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Since there are 50 strong men here with your servants, please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the LORD has carried him away and put him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys.” He answered, “Don’t send them.”

American Standard Version
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 the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And they said to him: “Behold, there are here with your Servants fifty men, mighty men of power. Let them go and they will seek your Master, lest the Spirit of LORD JEHOVAH has taken him up and has cast him into one of the mountains, or in one of the rivers.” And he said: “You shall not send!”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And they said to him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty men of strength: let them go now, and seek thy lord: peradventure the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up, and cast him into Jordan, or on one of the mountains, or on one of the hills. And Elisaie said, Ye shall not send.

Contemporary English Version
and said, "There are 50 strong men here with us. Please let them go look for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the LORD carried him off to some mountain or valley." "No," Elisha replied, "they won't find him."

Douay-Rheims Bible
And they said to him: Behold, there are with thy servants fifty strong men, that can go, and seek thy master, lest perhaps the spirit of the Lord hath taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley. And he said: Do not send.

English Revised Version
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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They said to him, "There are 50 strong men here with us. Please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the LORD's Spirit lifted him up and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys." Elisha answered, "Don't send them [to look]."

Good News Translation
and said, "There are fifty of us here, all strong men. Let us go and look for your master. Maybe the spirit of the LORD has carried him away and left him on some mountain or in some valley." "No, you must not go," Elisha answered.

International Standard Version
Then they asked Elisha, "Look! We have 50 valiant men here with your servant! Please let them go out and search for your master Elijah. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up on a mountain or into a valley." Elisha responded, "Don't bother searching."

JPS Tanakh 1917
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.'

Literal Standard Version
and say to him, “Now behold, there are fifty men with your servants, sons of valor: please let them go, and they seek your lord, lest the Spirit of YHWH has taken him up, and casts him on one of the hills or into one of the valleys”; and he says, “You do not send.”

Majority Standard Bible
“Look now,” they said to Elisha, “we your servants have fifty valiant men. Please let them go and search for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and put him on one of the mountains or in one of the valleys.” “Do not send them,” Elisha replied.

New American Bible
They said, “Among your servants are fifty brave men. Let them go in search of your master. Perhaps the spirit of the LORD has lifted him up and left him on some mountain or in some valley.” He answered, “Do not send them.”

NET Bible
They said to him, "Look, there are fifty capable men with your servants. Let them go and look for your master, for the wind sent from the LORD may have carried him away and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys." But Elisha replied, "Don't send them out."

New Revised Standard Version
They said to him, “See now, we have fifty strong men among your servants; please let them go and seek your master; it may be that the spirit of the LORD has caught him up and thrown him down on some mountain or into some valley.” He responded, “No, do not send them.”

New Heart English Bible
And they said to him, "See now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and thrown him into the Jordan, or on some mountain, or into some valley." And he said, "Do not send them."

Webster's Bible Translation
And they said to him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest perhaps 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.

World English Bible
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.”

Young's Literal Translation
and say unto him, 'Lo, we pray thee, there are with thy servants fifty men, sons of valour: let them go, we pray thee, and they seek thy lord, lest the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and doth cast him on one of the hills, or into one of the valleys;' and he saith, 'Ye do not send.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Elisha Succeeds Elijah
15When the sons of the prophets who were facing him from Jericho saw what had happened, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him. 16“Look now,” they said to Elisha, “we your servants have fifty valiant men. Please let them go and search for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and put him on one of the mountains or in one of the valleys.” “Do not send them,” Elisha replied. 17But when they pressed him to the point of embarrassment, he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find Elijah.…

Cross References
Acts 8:39
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.

1 Kings 18:12
I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.

2 Kings 2:7
Then a company of fifty of the sons of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing Elijah and Elisha as the two of them stood by the Jordan.


Treasury of Scripture

And they said to him, Behold now, there be with your servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray you, and seek your master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up, and cast him on some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, You shall not send.

strong men [heb] sons of strength

1 Kings 18:12
And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth.

Ezekiel 3:14
So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.

Ezekiel 8:3
And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

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2 Kings 2
1. Elijah, taking his leave of Elisha, with his mantle divides Jordan
9. and, granting Elisha his request, is taken up by a fiery chariot into heaven
12. Elisha, dividing Jordan with Elijah's mantle, is acknowledged his successor
16. The young prophets, hardly obtaining leave to seek Elijah, cannot find him.
19. Elisha with salt heals the unwholesome waters
23. Bears destroy the children that mocked Elisha














(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 2Kings 2:7.) Their being "sons of valour" was important, as the search in the mountains would involve danger.

The Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up.--Comp. 1Kings 18:12; Acts 8:39-40. This suggestion of the sons of the prophets is a good comment on 2Kings 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. . . .

Verse 16. - 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 (Acts 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."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“Look
הִנֵּה־ (hin·nêh-)
Interjection
Strong's 2009: Lo! behold!

now,”
נָ֣א (nā)
Interjection
Strong's 4994: I pray', 'now', 'then'

they said
וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ (way·yō·mə·rū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to Elisha,
אֵלָ֡יו (’ê·lāw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

“we your servants
עֲבָדֶיךָ֩ (‘ă·ḇā·ḏe·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5650: Slave, servant

have
יֵֽשׁ־ (yêš-)
Adverb
Strong's 3426: Being, substance, existence, is

fifty
חֲמִשִּׁ֨ים (ḥă·miš·šîm)
Number - common plural
Strong's 2572: Fifty

valiant
חַ֗יִל (ḥa·yil)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2428: A force, an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength

men.
אֲנָשִׁ֜ים (’ă·nā·šîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

Please
נָא֮ (nā)
Interjection
Strong's 4994: I pray', 'now', 'then'

let them go
יֵ֣לְכוּ (yê·lə·ḵū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

and search for
וִיבַקְשׁ֣וּ (wî·ḇaq·šū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1245: To search out, to strive after

your master.
אֲדֹנֶיךָ֒ (’ă·ḏō·ne·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 113: Sovereign, controller

Perhaps
פֶּן־ (pen-)
Conjunction
Strong's 6435: Removal, lest

the Spirit
ר֣וּחַ (rū·aḥ)
Noun - common singular construct
Strong's 7307: Wind, breath, exhalation, life, anger, unsubstantiality, a region of the sky, spirit

of the LORD
יְהוָ֔ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

has taken him up
נְשָׂאוֹ֙ (nə·śā·’ōw)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5375: To lift, carry, take

and put him
וַיַּשְׁלִכֵ֙הוּ֙ (way·yaš·li·ḵê·hū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7993: To throw out, down, away

on one
בְּאַחַ֣ד (bə·’a·ḥaḏ)
Preposition-b | Number - masculine singular construct
Strong's 259: United, one, first

of the mountains
הֶהָרִ֔ים (he·hā·rîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2022: Mountain, hill, hill country

or
א֖וֹ (’ōw)
Conjunction
Strong's 176: Desire, if

in one
בְּאַחַ֣ת (bə·’a·ḥaṯ)
Preposition-b | Number - feminine singular construct
Strong's 259: United, one, first

of the valleys.”
הַגֵּאָי֑וֹת (hag·gê·’ā·yō·wṯ)
Article | Noun - common plural
Strong's 1516: A valley

“Do not
לֹ֥א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

send them,”
תִשְׁלָֽחוּ׃ (ṯiš·lā·ḥū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

[Elisha] replied.
וַיֹּ֖אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say


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OT History: 2 Kings 2:16 They said to him See now there (2Ki iiKi ii ki 2 kg 2kg)
2 Kings 2:15
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