📖 2 Kings — Chapter 7 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
2 Kings 7:1 Then RElisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.
2 Kings 7:2 Then RTa lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
2 Kings 7:3 And there were Rfour leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?
2 Kings 7:4 If we say, RWe will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.
2 Kings 7:5 And they rose up Rin the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.
2 Kings 7:6 For Rthe LORD had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.
2 Kings 7:7 Wherefore Rthey arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.
2 Kings 7:8 And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.
2 Kings 7:9 Then Rthey said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, Tsome mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household.
2 Kings 7:10 So they came and called unto Rthe porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were.
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 Rone of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left Tin 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.
2 Kings 7:14 They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.
2 Kings 7:15 And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and Rvessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.
2 Kings 7:16 And the people went out, and Rspoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
2 Kings 7:17 And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and Rthe people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.
2 Kings 7:18 And it came to pass Ras the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria:
2 Kings 7:19 And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
2 Kings 7:20 And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
2 Kings 7:1–7 — Relief is announced and Syria flees
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Elisha predicts affordable food within a day. An officer doubts him. Four leprous men approach Syria’s camp and find it abandoned because the LORD caused the army to hear a terrifying host.
Key Truth: God’s work need not follow the limits people assume.
Check What You Remember
1. Who predicted relief? (2 Kings 7:1)
Find it in 2 Kings 7:1 (KJV).
2. How many men approached the camp? (2 Kings 7:3)
Find it in 2 Kings 7:3 (KJV).
3. Who caused the army’s terrifying noise? (2 Kings 7:6)
Find it in 2 Kings 7:6 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
2 Kings 7:8–15 — Good news is shared and verified
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The men first eat and hide valuables, then recognize that withholding the news is wrong. They tell the city. The king suspects a trap, but messengers investigate and confirm the flight.
Key Truth: Share help and good news instead of keeping advantages to yourself.
Check What You Remember
1. What did the men call the day? (2 Kings 7:9)
Find it in 2 Kings 7:9 (KJV).
2. Who first received their report at the city? (2 Kings 7:10)
Find it in 2 Kings 7:10 (KJV).
3. To which river did investigators follow the trail? (2 Kings 7:15)
Find it in 2 Kings 7:15 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
2 Kings 7:16–20 — The word is fulfilled at the gate
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Food becomes available at the prices Elisha announced. The doubting officer, assigned to the gate, is trampled and dies. The passage records fulfillment of a particular judgment, not a rule that every person struggling with doubt meets the same fate.
Key Truth: Take God’s word seriously without inventing universal judgments.
Check What You Remember
1. What grain besides flour was sold? (2 Kings 7:16)
Find it in 2 Kings 7:16 (KJV).
2. Where did the officer die? (2 Kings 7:17)
Find it in 2 Kings 7:17 (KJV).
3. Did he eat of the relief he saw? (2 Kings 7:19)
Find it in 2 Kings 7:19 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Proverbs 11:25 — This proverb connects generosity with refreshing others.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
What benefit could you share with someone in need rather than keep private?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What limit is placed on the doubting lord’s experience of relief?
2. Why do the four men choose to approach Syria’s camp?
3. Why does the Syrian army flee?
4. What changes the men’s decision to keep the discovery to themselves?
5. How does the final outcome relate to Elisha’s earlier word?
Notes
Write what you want to remember, questions to explore, or Scriptures to look up later. Your saved notes are private to your account.
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