2 Kings 7:13

13 One of his advisors answered, "Let some men go and take five of the horses left behind. The worst that can happen is no worse than what could happen to the whole city. Let's send them and find out what's happened."

2 Kings 7:13 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 7:13

And one of his servants answered and said, let some take, I
pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city,
&c.] Not having died through the famine as the rest:

behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it;
behold, I say, they are even as the multitude of Israel that are
consumed;
signifying, there was a like consumption among the horses as among the people, and they that remained were starving as they were; so that should those horses, and the men, fall into the hands of the Syrians, and perish, it would be no great matter; the loss would not be much, since they must perish if they continue in the city: according to the Vulgate Latin version, these five horses were all that were left:

and let us send and see;
whether the report of the lepers is true or not.

2 Kings 7:13 In-Context

11 The gatekeepers got the word to the royal palace, giving them the whole story.

12 Roused in the middle of the night, the king told his servants, "Let me tell you what Aram has done. They knew that we were starving, so they left camp and have hid in the field, thinking, 'When they come out of the city, we'll capture them alive and take the city.'"

13 One of his advisors answered, "Let some men go and take five of the horses left behind. The worst that can happen is no worse than what could happen to the whole city. Let's send them and find out what's happened."

14 They took two chariots with horses. The king sent them after the army of Aram with the orders, "Scout them out; find out what happened."

15 They went after them all the way to the Jordan. The whole way was strewn with clothes and equipment that Aram had dumped in their panicked flight. The scouts came back and reported to the king.