Bible Strands
2 Kings 6:33
While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him. And the king said, “This calamity is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Elisha is addressing the elders when the royal messenger arrives at his location. The king, informed of the situation, declares the disaster originates from the LORD and asks why he should continue waiting.
The words — The Hebrew מְדַבֵּר (medaber) renders "was speaking" while עוֹד (‘od) emphasizes the ongoing "still" of Elisha’s address. The phrase וְהִנֵּה הַמַּלְאָךְ יֹרֵד אֵלָיו (ve-hinnê hammal’ākh yōrēd ‘ēlāyw) literally marks "and there! the messenger was coming down to him."
The thread — The king’s resignation to divine agency echoes Cain’s complaint in Genesis 4:13 and the desperate resignation in Isaiah 8:21, while the theme of testing integrity under calamity parallels Job 2:9.
Why it lands — The text records the king’s direct statement that the disaster originates from the LORD and his rhetorical question about ceasing to wait. It demands the reader observe how immediate crisis can trigger a declaration of divine sovereignty without implying acceptance of that sovereignty.
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 while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the Lord; what should I wait for the Lord any longer?
Cross-references
- Job 2:9 Then Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”
- Isaiah 8:21 They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged; and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God.
- Genesis 4:13 But Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
- Exodus 16:6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
- 1 Samuel 28:6 He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.
- 1 Samuel 31:4 Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me!” But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.
- Job 1:11 But stretch out Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
- Job 1:21 saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
- Job 2:5 But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
- Psalms 27:14 Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!