2 Kings 13:19

But the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end to it. But now you will strike down Aram only three times.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The prophet Elisha addresses King Jehoash immediately after the king strikes the ground three times at his command. Elisha rebukes the king for halting before completing the prescribed action.

The words — The Hebrew term וַ/יִּקְצֹ֨ף (va/i.yik.Tzof) translates literally as "and he was angry," marking Elisha’s reaction to the king’s incomplete obedience. The verb לְ/הַכּ֨וֹת (le./ha.Kot) means "to strike," specifying the physical act required to enact the promised judgment against Aram.

The thread — This narrative of prophetic anger over partial compliance runs parallel to Moses’ anger when the sin offering was burned prematurely (Leviticus 10:16) and when he refused to accept the tribes' offering (Numbers 16:15). The immediate consequence of the king’s limited action directly precedes Jehoash’s later military recovery of cities from Aram (2 Kings 13:25).

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that partial obedience restricts the scope of a divine promise. It demands a plain assessment of how hesitation or insufficient commitment directly reduces the outcome of a commanded task.

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 man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.

Cross-references

2 Kings 13:25 Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz took back from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the cities that Hazael had taken in battle from his father Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad three times, and so recovered the cities of Israel.
Leviticus 10:16 Later, Moses searched carefully for the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it had been burned up. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and asked,
Numbers 16:15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”
2 Kings 1:9 Then King Ahaziah sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. So the captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down!’”
2 Kings 4:16 And Elisha declared, “At this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she said. “Do not lie to your maidservant, O man of God.”
2 Kings 4:40 And they poured it out for the men to eat, but when they tasted the stew they cried out, “There is death in the pot, O man of God!” And they could not eat it.
2 Kings 6:9 Then the man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Be careful not to pass by this place, for the Arameans are going down there.”
Mark 3:5 Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored.
Mark 6:5 So He could not perform any miracles there, except to lay His hands on a few of the sick and heal them.
Mark 10:14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and told them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.