2 Kings 13 · Verse 20

2 Kings 13:20

And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.
2 Kings 13:20, King James Version

2 Kings 13:20 in other translations

BSBAnd Elisha died and was buried. Now the Moabite raiders used to come into the land every spring.
WEBElisha died, and they buried him. Now the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.
ASVAnd Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.
YLTAnd Elisha dieth, and they bury him, and troops of Moab come in to the land, at the coming in of the year,
DARBYAnd Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.
BBEAnd death came to Elisha and they put his body into the earth. Now in the spring of the year, armed bands of Moabites frequently came, overrunning the land.
WebsterAnd Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.

What does 2 Kings 13:20 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 13:20-21
20-21. Elisha died--He had enjoyed a happier life than Elijah, as he possessed a milder character, and bore a less hard commission. His rough garment was honored even at the court. coming in of the year--that is, the spring, the usual season of beginning campaigns in ancient times. Predatory bands from Moab generally made incursions at that time on the lands of Israel. The bearers of a corpse, alarmed by the appearance of one of these bands, hastily deposited, as they passed that way, their load in Elisha's sepulchre, which might be easily done by removing the stone at the mouth of the cave. According to the Jewish and Eastern custom, his body, as well as that of the man who was miraculously restored, was not laid in a coffin, but only swathed; so that the bodies could be brought into contact, and the object of the miracle was to stimulate the king's and people of Israel's faith in the still unaccomplished predictions of Elisha respecting the war with the Syrians. Accordingly the historian forthwith records the historical fulfilment of the prediction (2Ki 13:22-25), in the defeat of the enemy, in the recovery of the cities that had been taken, and their restoration to the kingdom of Israel.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 20 And Elisha died - The two prophets, Elijah and Elisha, were both most extraordinary men. Of the former, it is difficult to say whether he was a man, or an angel in a human body. The arguments for this latter opinion are strong, the objections against it very feeble. His being fed by an angel is no proof that he was not an angel incarnate, for God manifest in the flesh was fed by the same ministry. Of him the following from Ecclesiasticus (chap. 48:1-11) is a nervous character: - 1. Then stood up Elias the prophet as fire, and his word burned like a lamp. 2. He brought a sore famine upon them, and by his zeal he diminished their number. 3. By the word of the Lord he shut up the heaven, and also three times brought down fire. 4. O Elias, how wast thou honored in thy wondrous deeds! and who may glory like unto thee! 5. Who didst raise up a dead man from death, and his soul from the place of the dead, by the word of the Most High: 6. Who broughtest kings to destruction, and honorable men from their bed: 7. Who heardest the rebuke of the Lord in Sinai, and in Horeb the judgment of vengeance: 8. Who anointedst kings to take revenge, and prophets to succeed after him: 9. Who wast taken up in a whirlwind of fire, and in a chariot of fiery horses: 10. Who wast ordained for reproofs in their times to pacify the wrath of the Lord's judgment, before it brake forth into fury; and to turn the heart of the father unto the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob. 11. Blessed are they that saw thee, and slept in love; for we shall surely live. Elisha was not less eminent than Elijah; the history of his ministry is more detailed than that of his master, and his miracles are various and stupendous. In many things there is a striking likeness between him and our blessed Lord, and especially in the very beneficent miracles which he wrought. Of him the same author gives this character, Ecclus. 48:12-14: Elisha was filled with his spirit: whilst he lived he was not moved with the presence of any prince; neither could any bring him into subjection. Nothing could overcome him; and after his death his body prophesied, i.e., raised a dead man to life, as we learn from the following verse. He did wonders in his life, and at his death there his works marvellous; perhaps referring to his last acts with Joash. The bands of the Moabites - Marauding parties; such as those mentioned 2Kgs 5:2.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Kings 13:20-25
God has many ways to chastise a provoking people. Trouble comes sometimes from that point whence we least feared it. The mention of this invasion on the death of Elisha, shows that the removal of God's faithful prophets is a presage of coming judgments. His dead body was a means of giving life to another dead body. This miracle was a confirmation of his prophecies. And it may have reference to Christ, by whose death and burial, the grave is made a safe and happy passage to life to all believers. Jehoash was successful against the Syrians, just as often as he had struck the ground with the arrows, then a stop was put to his victories. Many have repented, when too late, of distrusts and the straitness of their desires.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

2 Kings 13:20 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיָּ֥מָתvai.Ya.motand he diedH4191
אֱלִישָׁ֖ע'e.li.Sha'ElishaH477
וַֽיִּקְבְּרֻ֑הוּvai.yik.be.Ru.huand people buried himH6912
וּגְדוּדֵ֥יu.ge.du.Deiand [the] marauding bands ofH1416
מוֹאָ֛בmo.'AvMoabH4124
יָבֹ֥אוּya.Vo.'uthey cameH935
בָאָ֖רֶץva.'A.retzin the landH776
בָּ֥אba'comingH935
שָׁנָֽה\׃sha.Naha yearH8141

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Kings 13:20

  • 2 Kings 24:2

    And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets.

  • 2 Kings 3:7

    And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses.

  • 2 Kings 5:2

    And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.

  • 2 Kings 3:5

    But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

  • 2 Kings 3:24-27

    And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country. And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kir–haraseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it. And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not. Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

  • 2 Kings 6:23

    And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

  • Judges 6:3-6

    And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord.

  • Acts 8:2

    And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

  • 2 Chronicles 24:16

    And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God, and toward his house.

  • Judges 3:12

    And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
A.M. 3167. B.C. 837. buried him.
2Ch 24:16; Ac 8:2
the bands.
5:2; 6:23; 24:2
the Moabites.
3:5,24-27; Jud 3:12; 6:3-6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 2 Kings 13:19

    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.

  • 2 Kings 13:20

    And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.

  • 2 Kings 13:21

    And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

Read all of 2 Kings 13

2 Kings 13:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y murió Eliseo, y sepultáronlo. Entrado el año vinieron partidas de Moabitas á la tierra.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Élisée mourut, et on l’enterra. Et des troupes de Moab entrèrent dans le pays au commencement de l’année suivante.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Elisa starb, und man begrub ihn. Und es kamen Streifscharen der Moabiter in das Land, als das Jahr anfing.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Mortuus est ergo Eliseus, et sepelierunt eum. Latrunculi autem de Moab venerunt in terram in ipso anno.