2 Kings 13:18

18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped.

2 Kings 13:18 in Other Translations

18 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.

18 And 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.

18 Then he said, “Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground.” So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times.

18 "Now pick up the other arrows," said Elisha. He picked them up. Then he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground." The king struck the ground three times and then quit.

18 Then Elisha said, "Take the arrows!" So he took them, and he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground!" So he struck the ground three times and stopped.

2 Kings 13:18 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 13:18

And he said, take the arrows, and he took them
The rest of them:

and he said unto the king of Israel,
smite upon the ground; the floor of the room in which the prophet lay:

and he smote thrice, and stayed;
made a stop, ceased smiting; he might think this action trifling, and beneath him, only was willing to please the prophet, but did not do it with a good will, and therefore smote no more; though this was an emblem of his smiting the Syrians, which he might not understand.

2 Kings 13:18 In-Context

16 “Take the bow in your hands,” he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.

17 “Open the east window,” he said, and he opened it. “Shoot!” Elisha said, and he shot. “The LORD’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!” Elisha declared. “You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.”

18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped.

19 The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”

20 Elisha died and was buried. Now Moabite raiders used to enter the country every spring.