2 Kings 4 · Verse 29

2 Kings 4:29

Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.
2 Kings 4:29, King James Version

2 Kings 4:29 in other translations

BSBSo Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tie up your garment, take my staff in your hand, and go! If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer him. Then lay my staff on the boy’s face.”
WEBThen he said to Gehazi, “Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand, and go your way. If you meet any man, don’t greet him; and if anyone greets you, don’t answer him again. Then lay my staff on the child’s face.”
ASVThen he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.
YLTAnd he saith to Gehazi, ‘Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go; when thou dost meet a man, thou dost not salute him; and when a man doth salute thee, thou dost not answer him; and thou hast laid my staff on the face of the youth.'
DARBYAnd he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go thy way. If thou meet any man, salute him not, and if any salute thee, answer him not again; and lay my staff upon the face of the lad.
BBEThen he said to Gehazi, Make yourself ready, and take my stick in your hand, and go: if you come across anyone on the way, give him no blessing, and if anyone gives you a blessing, give him no answer. And put my stick on the child's face.
WebsterThen he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins and take my staff in thy hand, and go thy way: and if thou shalt meet any man, salute him not; and if any shall salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.

What does 2 Kings 4:29 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 4:29-31
29-31. take my staff ... and lay ... upon the face of the child--The staff was probably an official rod of a certain form and size. Necromancers used to send their staff with orders to the messengers to let it come in contact with nothing by the way that might dissipate or destroy the virtue imparted to it. Some have thought that Elisha himself entertained similar ideas, and was under an impression that the actual application of his staff would serve as well as the touch of his hand. But this is an imputation dishonorable to the character of the prophet. He wished to teach the Shunammite, who obviously placed too great dependence upon him, a memorable lesson to look to God. By sending his servant forward to lay his staff on the child, he raised [the Shunammite's] expectations, but, at the same time, taught her that his own help was unavailing--"there was neither voice, nor hearing." The command, to salute no man by the way, showed the urgency of the mission, not simply as requiring the avoidance of the tedious and unnecessary greetings so common in the East (Lu 10:1), but the exercise of faith and prayer. The act of Gehazi was allowed to fail, in order to free the Shunammite, and the people of Israel at large, of the superstitious notion of supposing a miraculous virtue resided in any person, or in any rod, and to prove that it was only through earnest prayer and faith in the power of God and for His glory that this and every miracle was to be performed.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 29 Salute him not - Make all the haste thou possibly canst, and lay my staff on the face of the child; he probably thought that it might be a case of mere suspended animation or a swoon, and that laying the staff on the face of the child might act as a stimulus to excite the animal motions.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Kings 4:18-37

Here is the sudden death of the child. All the mother's tenderness cannot keep alive a child of promise, a child of prayer, one given in love. But how admirably does the prudent, pious mother, guard her lips under this sudden affliction! Not one peevish word escapes from her. Such confidence had she of God's goodness, that she was ready to believe that he would restore what he had now taken away. O woman, great is…

Read the full comment on 2 Kings 4:18-37 →

2 Kings 4:29 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.

וַיֹּ֨אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
לְגֵיחֲזִ֜יle.gei.cha.Zito GehaziH1522
חֲגֹ֣רcha.Gorgird upH2296
מָתְנֶ֗יךָma.te.Nei.khaloins yourH4975
וְקַ֨חve.Kachand takeH3947
מִשְׁעַנְתִּ֣יmish.'an.Tistaff myH4938
בְיָדְךָ֮ve.ya.de.Khain hand yourH3027
וָלֵךְ֒va.leKhand goH1980
כִּֽי\־ki-ifH3588
תִמְצָ֥אtim.Tza'you will meetH4672
אִישׁ֙'ishanyoneH376
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
תְבָרְכֶ֔נּוּte.va.re.Khe.nuyou must bless himH1288
וְכִֽי\־ve.khi-and ifH3588
יְבָרֶכְךָ֥ye.va.rekh.Khahe will bless youH1288
אִ֖ישׁ'ishanyoneH376
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
תַעֲנֶנּ֑וּta.'a.ne.Nuyou must answer himH6030
וְשַׂמְתָּ֥ve.sam.Taand you will putH7760
מִשְׁעַנְתִּ֖יmish.'an.Tistaff myH4938
עַל\־'al-onH5921
פְּנֵ֥יpe.Nei[the] face ofH6440
הַנָּֽעַר\׃ha.Na.'arthe ladH5288

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

Cross references for 2 Kings 4:29

  • 2 Kings 2:14

    And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

  • 1 Kings 18:46

    And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

  • Exodus 14:16

    But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

  • Luke 10:4

    Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.

  • 2 Kings 9:1

    And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramoth–gilead:

  • Exodus 4:17

    And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.

  • Acts 19:12

    So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

  • Exodus 7:19-20

    And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone. And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

  • Ephesians 6:14

    Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

  • Acts 3:16

    And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

  • 2 Kings 2:8

    And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.

  • Joshua 6:4-5

    And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gird up thy loins.
9:1; 1Ki 18:46; Eph 6:14; 1Pe 1:13
take my.
2:14; Ex 4:17
salute him not.
Lu 10:4
lay my staff.
2:8,14; Ex 7:19,20; 14:16; Jos 6:4,5; Ac 3:16; 19:12

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

Context

  • 2 Kings 4:28

    Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?

  • 2 Kings 4:29

    Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.

  • 2 Kings 4:30

    And the mother of the child said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.

Read all of 2 Kings 4

2 Kings 4:29 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Entonces dijo él á Giezi: Ciñe tus lomos, y toma mi bordón en tu mano, y ve; y si alguno te encontrare, no lo saludes; y si alguno te saludare, no le respondas: y pondrás mi bordón sobre el rostro del niño.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et il dit à Guéhazi: Ceins tes reins, et prends mon bâton en ta main, et va-t’en: si tu trouves quelqu’un, ne le salue pas, et si quelqu’un te salue, ne lui réponds pas, et tu mettras mon bâton sur le visage du jeune garçon.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Da sprach er zu Gehasi: Gürte deine Lenden, und nimm meinen Stab in deine Hand und gehe hin; wenn du jemanden triffst, grüße ihn nicht, und wenn jemand dich grüßt, antworte ihm nicht; und lege meinen Stab auf das Angesicht des Knaben.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et ille ait ad Giezi: Accinge lumbos tuos, et tolle baculum meum in manu tua, et vade. Si occurrerit tibi homo, non salutes eum: et si salutaverit te quispiam, non respondeas illi: et pones baculum meum super faciem pueri.