Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 35:23
There the archers shot King Josiah, who said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — King Josiah addresses his servants immediately after being struck by archers on the Plain of Megiddo. He commands them to remove him from the field while stating his severe injury.
The words — The Hebrew form הַעֲבִיר֔וּנִי (ha.'a.vi.Ru./ni) merges the imperative "take away" with the first-person singular suffix "me." This grammatical structure highlights Josiah's direct, personal request for evacuation rather than a general command.
The thread — The pattern of archers striking a ruler appears in 1 Kings 22:34 and Genesis 49:23, while the aftermath of battlefield wounds is noted in 2 Kings 8:29. These texts share the structural movement from a directed attack to the physical consequences borne by leadership.
Why it lands — The verse records Josiah's immediate physical collapse and his order to be carried away, contrasting with his prior refusal to heed Neco's warning. The passage requires the reader to observe how sudden vulnerability follows deliberate engagement against an explicit message.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore wounded.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 22:34 However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
- Genesis 49:23 The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
- 2 Kings 8:29 So King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab, because Joram had been wounded.
- 2 Kings 9:24 Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he slumped down in his chariot.
- Lamentations 3:13 He pierced my kidneys with His arrows.
- 2 Chronicles 18:33 However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”