2 Kings 13:14-20

English Standard Version

The Death of Elisha

¹⁴Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, ^(A)“My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” ¹⁵And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. ¹⁶Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. ¹⁷And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in ^(B)Aphek until you have made an end of them.” ¹⁸And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. ¹⁹Then ^(C)the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only ^(D)three times.”