2 Kings 6:31

2Ki 6:31 Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.

Ver. 31. If the head of Elisha.] Who had only threatened these evils, not caused them, and perhaps refused to pray for a removal. The false prophets also might now stir up the king to slay the Lord’s prophet.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ki 6:31. If the head of Elisha shall stand on him this day — If I do not this day take his head and his life. This wretched and partial prince overlooks his own great and various sins, and, among the rest, his obstinate adherence to the worship of the calves, and his conniving at the idolatries and witchcrafts of his mother Jezebel, (2Ki 9:22,) and the wickedness of the people, which were the true and proper causes of this and all their calamities; and he lays the blame of all upon Elisha, either supposing that he who had the spirit of Elijah resting upon him had brought this famine on the land by his prayers, as Elijah had formerly done, or because he had encouraged them to withstand the Syrians by promising them help from God.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6:31 separate Elisha’s head from his shoulders: Decapitation of one’s enemy was frequent (10:6-8; 1 Sam 17:51; 31:9; 2 Sam 4:7-8, 12; 20:22; Matt 14:11) in the ancient Near East. Joram reasoned that the situation stemmed from Elisha’s earlier sparing of Ben-hadad’s troops (2 Kgs 6:22-23). Moreover, Ben-hadad had been after Elisha (6:13), so the prophet’s presence had endangered the whole city.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 31. If the head of Elisha - shall stand on him] Either he attributed these calamities to the prophet, or else he thought he could remove them, and yet would not. The miserable king was driven to desperation.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(31) Then he said.—And he (i.e., the king), said.

God do so . . . to me.—Literally, So may God do to me, and so may he add: a common form of oath. (Comp. Rth_1:17; 1Sa_3:17; 1Ki_2:23.)

If the head of Elisha . . . this day.—The king’s horror at the woman’s dreadful story is succeeded by indignation against Elisha, who had probably counselled an unyielding resistance to the foe, in the steadfast faith that Jehovah would help His own; and who, prophet though he was, and endued with miraculous powers, had yet brought no help in this hour of urgent need. (Comp. with the oath that of Jezebel against Elijah, 1Ki_19:2.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31. if the head of Elisha … shall stand on him this day] We must suppose that Elisha had not been wanting in admonitions to both king and people during this terrible siege, and the anger of Jehoram was great because the prophet, who had wrought so mightily in the war with Moab, and on many another occasion which the king would know of, had done nothing to save the nation in this great calamity. This is the explanation of Josephus (Ant. IX. 4. 4) and the feeling is what was to be expected in a son of Jezebel.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And while he yet talked with them,.... Elisha with the elders:

behold, the messenger came down unto him; sent by the king:

and he said; either the messenger in the king's name, or rather the king, who was at his heels, and came to the door before the messenger was let in, who was detained; and therefore it is most probable the king went in first; for that was the intention of Elisha in holding the messenger, not to save his own life, but that the king, who was following, might hear what he had to say; and whom he advised to wait for the Lord, and his appearance, for deliverance: in answer to which he said:

behold, this evil is of the Lord, what should I wait for the Lord any longer? this calamity is from him, and he is determined upon the ruin of my people, and there is no hope; this he said as despairing, and so resolving to hold out the siege no longer.

Next: 2 Kings Chapter 7

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

God do so ... - Jehoram uses almost the very words of his wicked mother, when she sought the life of Elijah (marginal reference).

The head of Elisha - Beheading was not an ordinary Jewish punishment. The Law did not sanction it. But in Assyria, Babylonia, and generally through the East, it was the most conmon form of capital punishment. It is not quite clear why Elisha was to be punished. Perhaps Jehoram argued from his other miracles that he could give deliverance from the present peril, if he liked.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Day. This was said in a fit of sudden passion, which may give us reason to conclude that the repentance was insincere, or of short duration. (Haydock) --- The king supposed that he Eliseus could remedy the evil: but God was not moved by his prayers to grant such a favour, till all were convinced that human aid was fruitless. (Calmet) --- The prophet might have answered Joram in the words of Elias, 3 Kings xviii. 18. (Menochius) --- Probably he had dissuaded the king from making peace. (Tirinus)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

If I do not this day take his head and life. This wretched and partial prince overlooks his own great and various sins, and, amongst others, his obstinate cleaving to the idolatry of the calves, and the whoredoms and witchcrafts of his mother Jezebel, 2Ki 9:22, and the wickedness of his people, which was the true and proper cause of this and all their calamities; and lays the blame of all upon Elisha; either supposing that he who had the spirit of Elijah resting upon him, had brought this famine by his prayers, as Elijah had formerly done, 1Ki 17:1; or because he had encouraged them to withstand tim Syrians, by promising them help from God in due time; or because he would not, by his intercession to God and the working of a miracle, deliver them from these calamities, as he easily could have done. But he did not consider that the prophets could not work what miracles and when they pleased, but only as far as God saw fit, whose time was not yet come; otherwise it was Elisha’s interest as well as theirs to be freed from this distress.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

31. If the head of Elisha — In his desperation he imagines that the prophet is the cause of the nation’s woe, or, at least, that he has power to remove the woe, and will not. “Jehoram,” says Wordsworth, “had sackcloth on his loins, but not on his heart. He mourned for the famine, but not for its cause, namely, his own sins and the sins of the people; and instead of being penitent towards God, he is furious against God’s prophet.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on himi.e. "continue on himthis day. The form of oath was a common one. (comp. 1Sa_3:17 1Sa_25:22; 2Sa_19:13; 1Ki_2:23 1Ki_19:2, etc.) It was an imprecation of evil on one"s self, if one did, or if one failed to do, a certain thing. Why Jehoram should have considered Elisha as responsible for all the horrors of the siege is not apparent; but perhaps he supposed that it was in Elisha"s power to work a miracle of any kind at any moment that he liked. If so, he misunderstood the nature of the miraculous gift. In threatening to behead Elisha, he is not making himself an executor of the Law, which nowhere sanctioned that mode of punishment, but assuming the arbitrary power of the other Oriental monarchs of his time, who regarded themselves as absolute masters of the lives and liberties of their subjects. Beheading was common in Egypt, in Babylonia, and in Assyria.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

God do so, &c. - Because he had encouraged them to withstand the Syrians, by promising them help from God.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

If the head of Elisha son of Shophot stands. For he is able to beg for mercy.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.