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2 Kings 6:23-25
New English Translation
2 Kings 6:23-25
New English Translation
23 So he threw a big banquet[a] for them and they ate and drank. Then he sent them back[b] to their master. After that no Syrian raiding parties again invaded the land of Israel.
The Lord Saves Samaria
24 Later King Ben Hadad of Syria assembled his entire army and attacked[c] and besieged Samaria. 25 Samaria’s food supply ran out.[d] They laid siege to it so long that[e] a donkey’s head was selling for eighty shekels of silver[f] and a quarter of a kab[g] of dove’s droppings[h] for five shekels of silver.[i]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Kings 6:23 tn Or “held a great feast.”
- 2 Kings 6:23 tn Heb “they went back.”
- 2 Kings 6:24 tn Heb “went up.”
- 2 Kings 6:25 tn Heb “and there was a great famine in Samaria.”
- 2 Kings 6:25 tn Heb “and look, [they] were besieging it until.”
- 2 Kings 6:25 tn Heb “eighty, silver.” The unit of measurement is omitted.
- 2 Kings 6:25 sn A kab was a unit of dry measure, equivalent to approximately 2 quarts (2 liters).
- 2 Kings 6:25 tn The consonantal text (Kethib) reads “dove dung” (חֲרֵייוֹנִים, khareyonim), while the marginal reading (Qere) has “discharge” (דִּבְיוֹנִים, divyonim). Based on evidence from Akkadian, M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 79) suggest that “dove’s dung” was a popular name for the inedible husks of seeds.
- 2 Kings 6:25 tn Heb “five, silver.” The unit of measurement is omitted.
2 Kings 6:23-25
New International Version
2 Kings 6:23-25
New International Version
23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands(A) from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.
Famine in Besieged Samaria
24 Some time later, Ben-Hadad(B) king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege(C) to Samaria. 25 There was a great famine(D) in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels[a] of silver, and a quarter of a cab[b] of seed pods[c](E) for five shekels.[d]
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 6:25 That is, about 2 pounds or about 920 grams
- 2 Kings 6:25 That is, probably about 1/4 pound or about 100 grams
- 2 Kings 6:25 Or of doves’ dung
- 2 Kings 6:25 That is, about 2 ounces or about 58 grams
New English Translation (NET)
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