2 Kings 6:5

5 One of them was cutting a tree down. The iron blade of his ax fell into the water. "Master!" he cried out. "This ax was borrowed!"

2 Kings 6:5 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 6:5

But as one was felling a beam
Cutting down a tree, or a branch of it:

the axe head fell into the water:
into the waters of Jordan; or "the iron" ^F4, the iron part of it, with which the wood was cut; that flew off from the helve into the water:

and he cried, and said, alas, master! for it was borrowed:
it grieved him to lose his axe, because he could do no more work, and the more because it was not his own, but he had borrowed it of his neighbour; and still more, because, as it seems, he was poor, and not able to pay for it, which, being of an honest disposition, gave him distress.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 (lzrbh) "ferrum", Pagninus, Montanus

2 Kings 6:5 In-Context

3 Then one of them said, "Won't you please come with us?" "I will," Elisha replied.

4 And he went with them. They went to the Jordan. There they began to cut down trees.

5 One of them was cutting a tree down. The iron blade of his ax fell into the water. "Master!" he cried out. "This ax was borrowed!"

6 The man of God asked, "Where did the blade fall?" He showed him the place. Then Elisha cut a stick and threw it there. That made the iron blade float.

7 "Take it out of the water," he said. So the man reached out and took it.