2 Kings 3:14

14 Elisha said, "I serve the LORD who rules over all. You can be sure that he lives. And you can be just as sure that I have respect for Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. If I didn't, I wouldn't look at you or even notice you.

2 Kings 3:14 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 3:14

Elisha said, as the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand,
&c.] Whose minster and prophet he was, to whom he prayed, and whose service he was ready to perform:

surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king
of Judah;
revere him not only as a king, but as a pious prince, and a worshipper of the true God:

I would not look toward thee, nor see thee;
give him no countenance at all, pay no regard to his request, not so much as to look at him in a civil way; but turn away his face from him with contempt and disdain, as unworthy to be conversed with by a prophet of the Lord.

2 Kings 3:14 In-Context

12 Jehoshaphat said, "The LORD speaks through him." So the king of Israel went down to see Elisha. Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom also went there.

13 Elisha spoke to the king of Israel. He said, "What do you and I have in common? Go to your father's prophets. Go to your mother's prophets." "No," the king of Israel answered. "The LORD called us three kings together. He did it to hand us over to Moab."

14 Elisha said, "I serve the LORD who rules over all. You can be sure that he lives. And you can be just as sure that I have respect for Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. If I didn't, I wouldn't look at you or even notice you.

15 But now bring me someone who plays the harp." While that person was playing the harp, the LORD's powerful hand came on Elisha.

16 Elisha announced, "The LORD says, 'Dig a lot of ditches in this valley.'