2 Kings 6:33 kjv
And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?
2 Kings 6:33 nkjv
And while he was still talking with them, there was the messenger, coming down to him; and then the king said, "Surely this calamity is from the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer?"
2 Kings 6:33 niv
While he was still talking to them, the messenger came down to him. The king said, "This disaster is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?"
2 Kings 6:33 esv
And while he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him and said, "This trouble is from the LORD! Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?"
2 Kings 6:33 nlt
While Elisha was still saying this, the messenger arrived. And the king said, "All this misery is from the LORD! Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?"
2 Kings 6 33 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 50:20 | "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good..." | God's sovereign hand in all events, good/bad. |
| Exod 32:7-14 | "Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may burn..." | Moses intercedes when God's wrath burns hot. |
| Deut 28:15 | "But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD..." | Calamities are often consequences of sin. |
| Judg 2:14-15 | "...He sold them into the hands of their enemies..." | God uses adversaries for discipline. |
| 1 Sam 2:6-7 | "The LORD brings death and makes alive; He brings down..." | God's sovereignty over life, death, status. |
| 2 Sam 24:14 | "...let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His..." | Acknowledgment of God's severe mercy. |
| Job 1:21 | "...The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away..." | Job's submission to divine sovereignty. |
| Job 2:10 | "...Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we..." | Job's steadfastness in accepting affliction. |
| Ps 27:14 | "Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take..." | Encouragement to wait patiently for God. |
| Ps 37:7 | "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him..." | Call for quiet trust and patience. |
| Ps 40:1 | "I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me..." | The power of patient waiting rewarded. |
| Isa 40:31 | "but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength" | Promise for those who hope in God. |
| Isa 45:7 | "I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and... | God is the source of all things, even calamity. |
| Lam 3:25-26 | "The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul..." | Goodness of waiting, good to hope in silence. |
| Lam 3:38-39 | "Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and..." | Sovereignty in calamity; reason not to complain. |
| Hab 2:3 | "For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens..." | God's timing for His purposes. |
| Rom 8:25 | "But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it..." | Patience in hope for future glory. |
| Heb 10:36 | "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have..." | Endurance is required to receive God's promise. |
| Jas 5:7-8 | "Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the..." | Example of prophets and Job for patient endurance. |
| 2 Ki 7:1-2 | "Then Elisha said, 'Hear the word of the LORD: 'Thus...'" | Immediately after the king's despair, God sends hope. |
| Joel 2:12-14 | "'Now, therefore,' says the LORD, 'Turn to Me with all...'" | Call to repentance as an alternative to despair. |
| Hos 6:1 | "Come, let us return to the LORD; for He has torn, but..." | Return to God even in suffering He inflicted. |
2 Kings 6 verses
2 Kings 6 33 Meaning
2 Kings 6:33 captures a pivotal moment of profound human despair and a crisis of faith amidst severe national crisis. As the messenger approaches, the king, already pushed to the brink by the devastating siege and famine in Samaria, vocalizes his utter spiritual exhaustion. His words are an accusation directed at the LORD (YHWH), whom he identifies as the direct source of their calamity, immediately followed by a desperate rhetorical question that reveals his complete abandonment of hope in God's future intervention or deliverance: "Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?" It expresses a resignation to their suffering and a rejection of any continued reliance on divine aid.
2 Kings 6 33 Context
The events of 2 Kings 6:33 occur during a severe siege of Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, by the Aramean army under King Ben-Hadad. The historical and cultural context is one of intense deprivation and national crisis. The siege had led to a catastrophic famine, forcing the inhabitants to resort to desperate and morally repugnant measures, including cannibalism (described just verses earlier in 2 Ki 6:25-29). The king mentioned is Jehoram, son of Ahab, who ruled Israel. Despite some reforms, he largely followed in his parents' idolatrous ways, often oscillating between nominal recognition of Yahweh and adherence to Baal worship. The immediate preceding scene saw a desperate woman appeal to the king over her agreement to boil and eat her son. The king, in his distress, publicly displayed sackcloth, a sign of mourning and humiliation. Verse 33 thus marks the peak of the king's (and perhaps the nation's) exasperation and breaking point, leading him to directly confront God regarding their unbearable suffering. This statement serves as a dramatic climax, immediately setting the stage for Elisha's miraculous prophecy of abundance in the following chapter.
2 Kings 6 33 Word analysis
- "And while he was still talking with them,": This phrase emphasizes the immediacy and tension of the moment. The king is in dialogue, likely discussing the desperate situation or the woman's plea, highlighting the raw and public nature of his anguish. It sets the scene for a direct, uncensored expression of his inner state.
- "behold, the messenger came down to him;": The word "behold" (הִנֵּה, hinnēh) adds a sense of suddenness and urgency, drawing attention to the unexpected arrival of the messenger. This messenger is likely dispatched by the king himself, perhaps to summon Elisha, or bearing dire news from outside, symbolizing the continuation of the grim reality the king faces. "Came down" implies a descent from perhaps a higher vantage point or gate.
- "and he said,": Crucially, most reliable translations and scholarly interpretations understand the king as the speaker of the following words, not the messenger relaying a divine utterance. This shifts the statement from divine word to human despair. This is paramount for understanding the verse as an expression of the king's broken spirit.
- "This trouble is from the LORD.":
- "trouble" (רָעָה, ra'ah): This Hebrew word means calamity, evil, distress, or adversity. It encompasses all the suffering they are enduring—the famine, the siege, the humiliation, and death.
- "is from the LORD" (מֵיְהוָה, me-YHWH): The king attributes the source of their predicament directly to God. This acknowledges God's ultimate sovereignty even over calamitous events (compare Isa 45:7; Amos 3:6). However, the king's tone is not one of submission or repentance but of accusation and a deeply embittered recognition of divine involvement, a form of spiritual "blaming God." He recognizes YHWH as active in their history and suffering.
- "Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?":
- "Why" (לָמָּה, lamah): A question word expressing despair, exasperation, and hopelessness. It's a rhetorical question, indicating no reasonable answer could justify continued waiting.
- "should I wait" (אֲיַחֵל, 'achayel, from יָחַל, yachal): This verb means "to wait for," "to hope," "to tarry," "to look eagerly for," or "to expect." In biblical usage, waiting for the LORD often implies trusting in His timing, deliverance, or salvation (Ps 27:14; Ps 37:7; Isa 40:31).
- "for the LORD": The continued use of "LORD" (YHWH) underscores that the king's struggle is directly with God and his understanding of God's covenant role.
- "any longer" (עוֹד, 'od): This signifies an endpoint, a decision that enough time has passed, enough suffering has been endured, and continued reliance on God is futile. It signals a complete surrender to hopelessness.
- Word-Group Analysis:
- "This trouble is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?": This pair of statements reveals a critical crisis of faith. The first part acknowledges God's hand in suffering, demonstrating a grasp of divine sovereignty. However, the second part reveals a deep misunderstanding or rejection of the proper human response to such sovereignty, moving from recognition to resentment and the abandonment of hope, rather than to repentance or steadfast trust. It reflects the peak of a man's exasperation under extreme pressure, failing to look beyond the immediate pain to God's ultimate purpose or power.
2 Kings 6 33 Bonus section
The king's statement in 2 Kings 6:33 can be seen as an ironic setup for the miraculous provision that immediately follows. While the king concludes there is no longer any reason to wait on God, Elisha is simultaneously about to declare that by the very next day, there will be overwhelming abundance (2 Ki 7:1). This juxtaposition serves to magnify God's power and faithfulness, showcasing that His timing and methods are often beyond human comprehension, and His intervention can occur even when hope is completely lost. It's a powerful demonstration that man's inability to see a solution does not equate to God's inability to provide one. Furthermore, Jehoram's prior act of tearing his clothes and wearing sackcloth (2 Ki 6:30) might initially appear as repentance, but his subsequent outburst reveals it was more a public display of personal distress rather than true spiritual turning to God, highlighting the difference between superficial grief and genuine humble reliance on Yahweh.
2 Kings 6 33 Commentary
2 Kings 6:33 encapsulates the pinnacle of human despair and spiritual breakdown when faced with overwhelming suffering. King Jehoram, having witnessed unimaginable horrors and starvation due to the Aramean siege, expresses his ultimate exasperation not towards his enemies, but towards the very God of Israel. His words reveal a common, yet profoundly dangerous, temptation in affliction: to accuse God of causing the suffering and then to conclude that further reliance on Him is pointless. The king acknowledges that the "trouble" is from "the LORD," displaying a certain understanding of divine sovereignty. However, this is not an acknowledgment of a just God punishing sin or a wise God testing His people, but an accusatory outcry of a ruler whose patience and hope have run out. His rhetorical question, "Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?", signifies a complete abandonment of faith in God's capacity or willingness to intervene. This desperate declaration sets the stage dramatically for God's impending miraculous deliverance through Elisha (2 Kings 7), highlighting the stark contrast between human despondency and God's sovereign power and faithfulness. The verse underscores that even leaders, under immense pressure, can reach a breaking point where they lose sight of God's enduring goodness and power, providing a sobering reminder of the challenges to faith in times of crisis.