2 Kings 7 · Verse 12

2 Kings 7:12

And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.
2 Kings 7:12, King James Version

2 Kings 7:12 in other translations

BSBSo the king got up in the night and said to his servants, “Let me tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving, so they have left the camp to hide in the field, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and enter the city.’”
WEBThe king arose in the night, and said to his servants, “I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry. Therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive, and get into the city.’”
ASVAnd the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive, and get into the city.
YLTAnd the king riseth by night, and saith unto his servants, ‘Let me declare, I pray you, to you that which the Aramaeans have done to us; they have known that we are famished, and they are gone out from the camp to be hidden in the field, saying, When they come out from the city, then we catch them alive, and unto the city we enter.'
DARBYAnd the king rose up in the night and said to his servants, Let me tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry, and they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.
BBEThen the king got up in the night and said to his servants, This is my idea of what the Aramaeans have done to us. They have knowledge that we are without food; and so they have gone out of their tents, and are waiting secretly in the open country, saying, When they come out of the town, we will take them living and get into the town.
WebsterAnd the king arose in the night, and said to his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp, to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive, and get into the city.

What does 2 Kings 7:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 7:12-15
12-15. the king ... said unto his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done--Similar stratagems have been so often resorted to in the ancient and modern wars of the East that there is no wonder Jehoram's suspicions were awakened. But the scouts, whom he despatched, soon found unmistakable signs of the panic that had struck the enemy and led to a most precipitate flight. 2Ki 7:17-20. The Unbelieving Lord Trodden to Death.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 The king arose in the night - This king had made a noble defense; he seems to have shared in all the sufferings of the besieged, and to have been ever at his post. Even in vile Ahab there were some good things! They know that we be hungry - This was a very natural conclusion; the Syrians by the closest blockade could not induce them to give up the city, but knowing that they were in a starving condition, they might make use of such a stratagem as that imagined by the king, in order to get possession of the city.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Kings 7:12-20
Here see the wants of Israel supplied in a way they little thought of, which should encourage us to depend upon the power and goodness of God in our greatest straits. God's promise may be safely relied on, for no word of his shall fall to the ground. The nobleman that questioned the truth of Elisha's word, saw the plenty, to silence and shame his unbelief, and therein saw his own folly; but he did not eat of the plenty he saw. Justly do those find the world's promises fail them, who think that the promises of God will disappoint them. Learn how deeply God resents distrust of his power, providence, and promise: how uncertain life is, and the enjoyments of it: how certain God's threatenings are, and how sure to come on the guilty. May God help us to inquire whether we are exposed to his threatenings, or interested in his promises.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

2 Kings 7:12 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.

וַיָּ֨קָםvai.Ya.komand he aroseH6965
הַמֶּ֜לֶךְha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
לַ֗יְלָהLay.lahnightH3915
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙vai.Yo.merand he saidH559
אֶל\־'el-toH413
עֲבָדָ֔יו'a.va.Davservants hisH5650
אַגִּֽידָה\־'a.gi.dah-let me tellH5046
נָּ֣אna'pleaseH4994
לָכֶ֔םla.Khemto you
אֵ֛ת'et<obj.>H853
אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-[that] whichH834
עָ֥שׂוּ'A.suthey have doneH6213
לָ֖נוּLa.nuto us
אֲרָ֑ם'a.RamAramH758
יָדְע֞וּya.de.'Uthey knowH3045
כִּי\־ki-thatH3588
רְעֵבִ֣יםre.'e.Vim[are] hungryH7457
אֲנַ֗חְנוּ'a.Nach.nuweH587
וַיֵּצְא֤וּvai.ye.tze.'Uand they have gone outH3318
מִן\־min-fromH4480
הַֽמַּחֲנֶה֙ha.ma.cha.Nehthe campH4264
לְהֵחָבֵ֤הle.he.cha.Vehto hide themselvesH2247
בַשָּׂדֶה֙ve.ha.sa.dehin open countryH7704
לֵאמֹ֔רle.Mor<to> sayingH559
כִּֽי\־ki-thatH3588
יֵצְא֤וּye.tze.'Uthey will come outH3318
מִן\־min-fromH4480
הָעִיר֙ha.'Irthe cityH5892
וְנִתְפְּשֵׂ֣םve.nit.pe.Semand we will seize themH8610
חַיִּ֔יםchai.YimaliveH2416
וְאֶל\־ve.'el-and intoH413
הָעִ֖ירha.'Irthe cityH5892
נָבֹֽא\׃na.Vo'we will goH935

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

Cross references for 2 Kings 7:12

  • Joshua 8:4

    And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready:

  • 2 Kings 6:25-29

    And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver. And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. And he said, If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress? And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow. …

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

Context

  • 2 Kings 7:11

    And he called the porters; and they told it to the king’s house within.

  • 2 Kings 7:12

    And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.

  • 2 Kings 7:13

    And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see.

Read all of 2 Kings 7

2 Kings 7:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y levantóse el rey de noche, y dijo á sus siervos: Yo os declararé lo que nos han hecho los Siros. Ellos saben que tenemos hambre, y hanse salido de las tiendas y escondídose en el campo, diciendo: Cuando hubieren salido de la ciudad, los tomaremos vivos, y entraremos en la ciudad.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et le roi se leva de nuit, et dit à ses serviteurs: Je veux vous dire ce que les Syriens nous ont fait: ils savent que nous avons faim, et ils sont sortis du camp pour se cacher dans les champs, disant: Ils sortiront hors de la ville, et nous les prendrons vivants, et nous entrerons dans la ville.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Da stand der König in der Nacht auf und sprach zu seinen Knechten: Ich will euch sagen, was die Syrer uns getan haben: sie wissen, daß wir Hunger leiden, und sie sind aus dem Lager gegangen, um sich auf dem Felde zu verbergen, indem sie sagen: Wenn sie aus der Stadt herausgehen, so wollen wir sie lebendig greifen und in die Stadt eindringen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Qui surrexit nocte, et ait ad servos suos: Dico vobis quid fecerint nobis Syri: sciunt quia fame laboramus, et idcirco egressi sunt de castris, et latitant in agris, dicentes: Cum egressi fuerint de civitate, capiemus eos vivos, et tunc civitatem ingredi poterimus.