2 Kings 2 · Verse 24

2 Kings 2:24

And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
2 Kings 2:24, King James Version

2 Kings 2:24 in other translations

BSBThen he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.
WEBHe looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the LORD’s name. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of those youths.
ASVAnd he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two lads of them.
YLTAnd he looketh behind him, and seeth them, and declareth them vile in the name of Jehovah, and two bears come out of the forest, and rend of them forty and two lads.
DARBYAnd he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tore forty-two children of them.
BBEAnd turning back, he saw them, and put a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the wood and put forty-two of the children to death.
WebsterAnd he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tore forty and two children of them.

What does 2 Kings 2:24 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 2:23-24

23-24. there came forth little children out of the city--that is, the idolatrous, or infidel young men of the place, who affecting to disbelieve the report of his master's translation, sarcastically urged him to follow in the glorious career. bald head--an epithet of contempt in the East, applied to a person even with a bushy head of hair. The appalling judgment that befell them was God's interference to uphold his…

Read the full comment on 2 Kings 2:23-24 →

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Kings 2:19-25

Observe the miracle of healing the waters. Prophets should make every place to which they come better for them, endeavouring to sweeten bitter spirits, and to make barren souls fruitful, by the word of God, which is like the salt cast into the water by Elisha. It was an apt emblem of the effect produced by the grace of God on the sinful heart of man. Whole families, towns, and cities, sometimes have a new appearance…

Read the full comment on 2 Kings 2:19-25 →

2 Kings 2:24 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.

וַיִּ֤פֶןvai.Yi.fenand he turnedH6437
אַֽחֲרָיו֙'a.cha.Ravbehind himH310
וַיִּרְאֵ֔םvai.yir.'Emand he saw themH7200
וַֽיְקַלְלֵ֖םvay.ka.Lemand he cursed themH7043
בְּשֵׁ֣םbe.Shemin [the] name ofH8034
יְהוָ֑הYah.wehYahwehH3068
וַתֵּצֶ֨אנָהva.te.Tze.nahand they came outH3318
שְׁתַּ֤יִםshe.Ta.yimtwoH8147
דֻּבִּים֙du.Bim[female] bearsH1677
מִן\־min-fromH4480
הַיַּ֔עַרhai.Ya.'arthe forestH3293
וַתְּבַקַּ֣עְנָהva.te.va.Ka'.nahand they tore in piecesH1234
מֵהֶ֔םme.Hemof them
אַרְבָּעִ֥ים'ar.ba.'ImfortyH705
וּשְׁנֵ֖יu.she.Neiand twoH8147
יְלָדִֽים\׃ye.la.DimboysH3206

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

Cross references for 2 Kings 2:24

  • Acts 13:9-11

    Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

  • Acts 5:5

    And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

  • Hosea 13:8

    I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.

  • Acts 5:9

    Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

  • Amos 7:17

    Therefore thus saith the Lord; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.

  • Nehemiah 13:25-27

    And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin. Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives?

  • 1 Kings 13:24

    And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.

  • Exodus 20:5

    Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

  • Deuteronomy 28:15-26

    But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. …

  • Acts 8:20

    But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

  • 2 Kings 1:10-12

    And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

  • 1 Kings 19:17

    And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
cursed them.
1:10-12; Ge 9:25; De 28:15-26; Jud 9:20,57; Jer 28:16; 29:21-23
La 3:65; Am 7:17; Mr 11:14,21; Ac 5:5,9; 8:20; 13:9-11; 2Co 10:6
she bears.
2Sa 17:8; Pr 17:12; 28:15; Ho 13:8
children of them.
Ex 20:5; 1Ki 13:24; 19:17; 20:36

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

Context

  • 2 Kings 2:23

    And he went up from thence unto Beth–el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

  • 2 Kings 2:24

    And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

  • 2 Kings 2:25

    And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

Read all of 2 Kings 2

2 Kings 2:24 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y mirando él atrás, viólos, y maldíjolos en el nombre de Jehová. Y salieron dos osos del monte, y despedazaron de ellos cuarenta y dos muchachos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et il se tourna en arrière et les vit, et il les maudit au nom de l’ Éternel. Et deux ourses sortirent de la forêt, et déchirèrent d’entre eux 42 enfants.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und er wandte sich um und sah sie an und fluchte ihnen im Namen Jehovas. Da kamen zwei Bären aus dem Walde und zerrissen von ihnen 42 Kinder.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Qui cum respexisset, vidit eos, et maledixit eis in nomine Domini: egressique sunt duo ursi de saltu, et laceraverunt ex eis quadraginta duos pueros.