4 Kings 7:13
And one of his servants answered: Let us take the five horses that are remaining in the city (because there are no more in the whole multitude of Israel, for the rest are consumed,) and let us send and see.
Open 4 Kings 7:13 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Respondit autem unus servorum ejus : Tollamus quinque equos qui remanserunt in urbe (quia ipsi tantum sunt in universa multitudine Israël, alii enim consumpti sunt), et mittentes, explorare poterimus.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- καὶ ἀπεκρίθη εἷς τῶν παίδων αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν Λαβέτωσαν δὴ πέντε τῶν ἵππων τῶν ὑπολελιμμένων οἳ κατελείφθησαν ὧδε, ἰδού εἰσιν πρὸς πᾶν τὸ πλῆθος Ἰσραὴλ τὸ ἐκλεῖπον, καὶ ἀποστελοῦμεν ἐκεῖ καὶ ὀψόμεθα.
- Hebrew (WLC)
- וַיַּעַן֩ אֶחָ֨ד מֵעֲבָדָ֜יו וַיֹּ֗אמֶר וְיִקְחוּ נָ֞א חֲמִשָּׁ֣ה מִן הַסּוּסִים֮ הַֽנִּשְׁאָרִים֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נִשְׁאֲרוּ בָהּ֒ הִנָּ֗ם כְּכָל ההמון יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נִשְׁאֲרוּ בָ֔הּ הִנָּ֕ם כְּכָל הֲמ֥וֹן יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֲשֶׁר תָּ֑מּוּ וְנִשְׁלְחָ֖ה וְנִרְאֶֽה
Haydock's commentary
Consumed, for food. (Menochius)
Septuagint, "Let them take five of the horses left. Those which are left here, behold they are to all the remaining multitude of Israel, and let us send them." They have read in a different manner from the present Hebrew, which has, "Let them take five of the horses there remaining; behold they are like all the multitude of Israel which is left; they are like all the multitude of Israel who are lost; let us send them." Arabic, "Let us send thither five horsemen who remain; if they escape, we shall look upon them as those Israelites who continue alive; if they perish, they well be numbered with the other Israelites who are dead." Both horses and horsemen were dreadfully lean, and they could not expect a better fate than those already consumed by famine. (Calmet)
The truth of the report ought at least to be fully ascertained. By following the timid advice of the king no prospect of redress appeared. At last the king consented to send two horsemen. (Haydock) (Septuagint, ver. 14.) (Junius, &c.)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
St Basil The Letters, To the same Amphilochius
3. As to Jeconias, whom the prophet Jeremiah declares in these words to have been rejected from the land of Judah, “Jeconias was dishonoured like a vessel for which there is no more use; and because he was cast out he and his seed; and none shall rise from his seed sitting upon the throne of David and ruling in Judah,” the matter is plain and clear. On the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the kingdom had been destroyed, and there was no longer an hereditary succession of reigns as before. Nevertheless, at that time, the deposed descendants of David were living in captivity. …