2 Kings 6:1-7
New English Translation
Elisha Makes an Ax Head Float
6 Some of the prophets[a] said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you[b] is too cramped[c] for us. 2 Let’s go to the Jordan. Each of us will get a log from there, and we will build a meeting place for ourselves there.” He said, “Go.” 3 One of them said, “Please come along with your servants.” He replied, “All right, I’ll come.” 4 So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they started cutting down trees. 5 As one of them was felling a tree, the ax head[d] dropped into the water. He shouted, “Oh no,[e] my master! It was borrowed!” 6 The prophet[f] asked, “Where did it drop in?” When he showed him the spot, Elisha[g] cut off a branch, threw it in at that spot, and made the ax head float. 7 He said, “Lift it out.” So he reached out his hand and grabbed it.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Kings 6:1 tn Heb “the sons of the prophets.”
- 2 Kings 6:1 tn Heb “sit before you.”
- 2 Kings 6:1 tn Heb “narrow, tight.”
- 2 Kings 6:5 tn Heb “iron.”
- 2 Kings 6:5 tn Or “ah.”
- 2 Kings 6:6 tn Heb “man of God” (also in v. 9).
- 2 Kings 6:6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 Kings 6:1-7
New Living Translation
The Floating Ax Head
6 One day the group of prophets came to Elisha and told him, “As you can see, this place where we meet with you is too small. 2 Let’s go down to the Jordan River, where there are plenty of logs. There we can build a new place for us to meet.”
“All right,” he told them, “go ahead.”
3 “Please come with us,” someone suggested.
“I will,” he said. 4 So he went with them.
When they arrived at the Jordan, they began cutting down trees. 5 But as one of them was cutting a tree, his ax head fell into the river. “Oh, sir!” he cried. “It was a borrowed ax!”
6 “Where did it fall?” the man of God asked. When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water at that spot. Then the ax head floated to the surface. 7 “Grab it,” Elisha said. And the man reached out and grabbed it.
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