2 Kings 23:18

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

He said, 'Leave it alone; let no one disturb his bones.' So they spared his bones, along with the bones of the prophet who had come from Samaria.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הַנִּ֣יחוּ ל֔וֹ אִ֖ישׁ אַל־יָנַ֣ע עַצְמֹתָ֑יו וַֽיְמַלְּטוּ֙ עַצְמֹתָ֔יו אֵ֚ת עַצְמ֣וֹת הַנָּבִ֔יא אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֖א מִשֹּׁמְרֽוֹן׃

Transliteration

And-wayyōʾmer hannîḥû to-him, ʾîš not-yānaʿ ʿaṣmōṯāyw; and-wayəmalləṭû ʿaṣmōṯāyw ʾēṯ ʿaṣmôṯ the-nāḇîʾ who-bāʾ from-šōmrôn.

Grammar Details

• *wayyōʾmer*: Qal waw-consecutive imperfect, 3rd masculine singular - and he said
• *hannîḥû*: Hiphil imperative, masculine plural - leave/let be
• *ʾîš*: masculine singular noun - man
• *yānaʿ*: Hiphil jussive, 3rd masculine singular - let move/disturb
• *ʿaṣmōṯāyw*: feminine plural noun with 3rd masculine singular suffix - his bones
• *wayəmalləṭû*: Piel waw-consecutive imperfect, 3rd masculine plural - and they rescued/saved
• *ʾēṯ*: direct object marker
• *ʿaṣmôṯ*: feminine plural construct noun - bones of
• *nāḇîʾ*: masculine singular noun - prophet
• *bāʾ*: Qal perfect, 3rd masculine singular - he came
• *šōmrôn*: proper noun - Samaria

Word Meanings

• *hannîḥû*: leave alone/let rest/leave undisturbed
• *ʾîš*: man/anyone/no one
• *yānaʿ*: move/disturb/touch
• *ʿaṣmōṯāyw*: his bones/his remains
• *wayəmalləṭû*: they saved/they rescued/they preserved
• *ʿaṣmôṯ*: bones/remains
• *nāḇîʾ*: prophet/seer
• *bāʾ*: came/arrived from

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they left his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And he said, Let him be; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  And he sayde: Let him lye, no man touche his bones. Thus were his bones delyuered with the bones of the prophet that came from Samaria.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Then sayde he, Let him alone: let none remooue his bones. So his bones were saued with the bones of the Prophet that came from Samaria.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  And he saide, let him be: see that no man moue his bones. And so his bones were saued, with the bones of a prophete that came out of Samaria.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  He said, Let him be; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  And he saith, `Let him alone, let no man touch his bones;' and they let his bones escape, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And he said, Let him be; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And he said, Let him be; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  So he said, Let him be; let not his bones be moved. So they let his bones be with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.

• World English Bible (2000)

  He said, "Let him be! Let no man move his bones." So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  The king said,“Leave it alone! No one must touch his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed, as well as the bones of the Israelite prophet buried beside him.

Referenced Verses

• 1 Kgs 13:31 : 31 After burying him, the prophet said to his sons, 'When I die, bury me in the same tomb where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones.'
• 1 Kgs 13:1-9 : 1 Behold, a man of God came from Judah by the word of the LORD to Bethel, and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer incense. 2 He cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD and said, 'Altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: Behold, a son will be born to the house of David; his name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer incense on you, and human bones will be burned on you.' 3 On that same day, he gave a sign, saying, 'This is the sign that the LORD has spoken: Behold, the altar will be torn apart, and the ashes on it will be poured out.' 4 When King Jeroboam heard the message from the man of God who cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, 'Seize him!' But his hand, which he had stretched out against the man, withered so that he could not pull it back to himself. 5 The altar was also torn apart, and the ashes on it were poured out, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. 6 Then the king answered and said to the man of God, 'Entreat now the favor of the LORD your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored to me.' So the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king's hand was restored to him and became as it was before. 7 The king said to the man of God, 'Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.' 8 But the man of God replied to the king, 'Even if you were to give me half your house, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place.' 9 'For this is the command the LORD gave me by His word: You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.' 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel. 11 Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the deeds the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told their father the words he had spoken to the king. 12 Their father asked them, 'Which way did he go?' His sons showed him the road the man of God from Judah had taken. 13 Then he said to his sons, 'Saddle the donkey for me.' So they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it. 14 He went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. He asked him, 'Are you the man of God who came from Judah?' He replied, 'I am.' 15 Then the prophet said to him, 'Come home with me and eat some food.' 16 But the man of God replied, 'I cannot go back with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place.' 17 'For I was commanded by the word of the LORD: You must not eat bread or drink water there, nor return by the way you went.' 18 The old prophet answered, 'I too am a prophet, like you. An angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, "Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water."' But he was lying to him. 19 So the man of God returned with him, ate bread in his house, and drank water. 20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back, 21 and he cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, 'This is what the LORD says: Because you have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you, 22 'but you went back and ate bread and drank water in the place where He told you not to eat or drink, your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.'