2 Kings 7:4

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

If we say, 'We’ll go into the city,' the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die."

Additional Resources

Other Translations

  • King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

    If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

  • KJV1611 – Modern English

    If we say, We will enter the city, there the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us surrender to the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

  • King James Version 1611 (Original)

    If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

  • American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

    If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

  • King James Version with Strong's Numbers

    If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

  • Coverdale Bible (1535)

    Though we thoughte to come into the cite, yet is there derth in ye cite, and there shulde we be fayne to dye. And yf we tary here, we must dye also. Let vs go now, and flye vnto the hoost of the Syrians. Yf they let vs lyue, we shall lyue: yf they slaye vs, then are we deed.

  • Geneva Bible (1560)

    If we say, We will enter into the citie, the famine is in the citie, and we shall die there: and if we sit here, we dye also. Nowe therefore come, and let vs fall into the campe of the Aramites: if they saue our liues, we shall liue: and if they kill vs, we are but dead.

  • Bishops' Bible (1568)

    If we say, we will enter into the citie: behold, the dearth is in the citie, and we shal die therin: And if we sit stil here, we dye also. Nowe therfore come, and let vs fall vpon the hoast of the Syrians: If they saue our liues, we shall lyue: If they kill vs, then are we dead.

  • Authorized King James Version (1611)

    If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine [is] in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

  • Webster's Bible (1833)

    If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall to the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

  • Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

    if we have said, We go in to the city, then the famine `is' in the city, and we have died there; and if we have sat here, then we have died; and now, come and we fall unto the camp of Aram; if they keep us alive, we live, and if they put us to death -- we have died.'

  • American Standard Version (1901)

    If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

  • American Standard Version (1901)

    If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

  • Bible in Basic English (1941)

    If we say, We will go into the town, there is no food in the town, and we will come to our end there; and if we go on waiting here, death will come to us. Come then, let us give ourselves up to the army of Aram: if they let us go on living, then life will be ours; and if they put us to death, then death will be ours.

  • World English Bible (2000)

    If we say, 'We will enter into the city,' then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. If we sit still here, we also die. Now therefore come, and let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they save us alive, we will live; and if they kill us, we will only die."

  • NET Bible® (New English Translation)

    If we go into the city, we’ll die of starvation, and if we stay here we’ll die! So come on, let’s defect to the Syrian camp! If they spare us, we’ll live; if they kill us– well, we were going to die anyway.”

Referenced Verses

  • 2 Sam 14:14 : 14 We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away life, but devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from Him.
  • 1 Chr 12:19 : 19 Some members of the tribe of Manasseh joined David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. However, they did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers sent him away after consulting, saying, 'He may turn against us and rejoin his master Saul at the cost of our heads.'
  • Esth 4:16 : 16 Go, gather all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.
  • Jer 8:14 : 14 Why are we sitting here? Gather together, let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there! For the LORD our God has doomed us, giving us poisonous water to drink because we have sinned against him.
  • Jer 14:18 : 18 If I go out into the field, I see those slain by the sword. If I enter the city, I see the agonies of famine. Even the prophet and the priest wander aimlessly in the land and have no understanding.
  • Jer 37:13-14 : 13 But when he reached the Benjamin Gate, a captain of the guard named Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, was there. He arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are deserting to the Chaldeans!" 14 Jeremiah replied, "That is a lie! I am not deserting to the Chaldeans." But Irijah would not listen to him. Instead, he seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials.
  • Jonah 3:9 : 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and withdraw His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.”
  • Luke 15:17-19 : 17 But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but here I am dying from hunger! 18 I will rise up and go to my father and say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.’
  • Heb 9:27 : 27 And just as it is appointed for humans to die once, and after that comes judgment,

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • 2 Kgs 7:3
    87%

    3Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the gate. They said to each other, "Why should we sit here until we die?"

  • 2 Kgs 7:5-13
    9 verses
    81%

    5At twilight, they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, they found no one there.

    6For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!"

    7So they got up and fled in the twilight, abandoning their tents, horses, and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.

    8The men with leprosy reached the edge of the camp, entered one of the tents, and ate and drank. Then they took silver, gold, and clothes and went off and hid them. They returned, entered another tent, took some things from it, and hid them also.

    9Then they said to each other, "What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news, and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go and report this at the royal palace."

    10So they went and called out to the gatekeepers of the city, telling them, "We went to the Aramean camp and found no one there—not a single man—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were."

    11The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported inside the palace.

    12The king got up in the night and said to his servants, "I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are hungry, so they have gone out of the camp to hide in the countryside, thinking, 'When they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and take the city.'"

    13One of his servants replied, "Let some men take five of the remaining horses that are left here. Their fate will be like that of all the Israelites who are left—yes, they will be like all the Israelites who have perished. Let us send them out to find out what has happened."

  • Jer 21:9
    73%

    9Whoever remains in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live; they shall save their life as a prize.

  • Jer 38:2
    73%

    2This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, or plague. But whoever goes out to the Chaldeans will live; they will escape with their life and survive.

  • Josh 8:5-6
    2 verses
    72%

    5"I and all the people with me will approach the city, and when they come out to meet us as they did before, we will flee before them."

    6"They will chase after us until we lure them away from the city, for they will say, 'They are running away from us as they did before.' So we will flee before them."

  • 1 Sam 14:9-10
    2 verses
    72%

    9If they say to us, 'Wait there until we come to you,' we will stay in our place and not go up to them.

    10But if they say, 'Come up to us,' we will go up, for the Lord has handed them over to us. That will be our sign.

  • Jer 15:2
    72%

    2And if they ask you, 'Where should we go?' tell them, 'This is what the LORD says: Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for famine, to famine; and those for captivity, to captivity.'

  • 1 Kgs 20:29-31
    3 verses
    71%

    29For seven days, the two armies camped opposite each other. On the seventh day, the battle began, and the Israelites struck down 100,000 Aramean foot soldiers in one day.

    30The rest of the Arameans fled to the city of Aphek, where a wall collapsed on 27,000 of them. Meanwhile, Ben-Hadad fled to the city and hid in an inner room.

    31His servants said to him, "We have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and go to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life."

  • Ezek 7:15
    71%

    15The sword is outside, and the plague and famine are inside. Those in the field will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague.

  • 2 Kgs 6:15
    70%

    15When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went out, he saw an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. He said, "Oh no, my master! What shall we do?"

  • 1 Chr 19:13-14
    2 verses
    70%

    13Be strong, and let us show courage for the sake of our people and the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight.

    14Joab and the troops who were with him advanced against the Arameans to fight, and they fled before him.

  • Jer 42:13-14
    2 verses
    70%

    13But if you say, 'We will not stay in this land,' and do not listen to the voice of the LORD your God,

    14Instead, you say, 'No, we will go to the land of Egypt where we will not see war, hear the sound of the trumpet, or suffer hunger for bread. There we will stay.'

  • Jer 35:11
    69%

    11However, when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up against the land, we said, 'Come, let us go to Jerusalem to escape the army of the Chaldeans and the army of Aram.' So we have lived in Jerusalem.

  • Deut 5:25
    69%

    25But now why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we continue to hear the voice of the LORD our God.

  • Gen 43:8
    69%

    8Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will get up and go, so that we and you and our children may live and not die.

  • 2 Kgs 6:8-9
    2 verses
    69%

    8Now the king of Aram was waging war against Israel. After consulting with his servants, he said, "I will camp in such-and-such a place."

    9But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel: "Be careful not to pass this place, because the Arameans are going down there."

  • Judg 7:10
    68%

    10But if you are afraid to go down, take your servant Purah with you and go down to the camp.

  • 1 Sam 11:3
    68%

    3The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Give us seven days so we can send messengers throughout Israel. If no one comes to save us, we will surrender to you."

  • Lam 5:9
    68%

    9We risk our lives to bring in our bread because of the sword in the wilderness.

  • Jer 38:17
    68%

    17Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "This is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live.

  • 2 Kgs 6:24
    68%

    24Afterward, Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, gathered his entire army and marched up to lay siege to Samaria.

  • 2 Sam 18:3
    68%

    3But the people replied, 'You must not go with us. If we are forced to flee, no one will care about us. Even if half of us die, no one will pay attention. But you are worth ten thousand of us. It is better for you to provide support from the city.'

  • Jer 14:18
    68%

    18If I go out into the field, I see those slain by the sword. If I enter the city, I see the agonies of famine. Even the prophet and the priest wander aimlessly in the land and have no understanding.

  • 2 Sam 10:12
    68%

    12Be strong, and let us show strength for the sake of our people and the cities of our God. May the LORD do what seems good to Him.

  • Josh 2:13
    68%

    13that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death."

  • 2 Kgs 8:1
    68%

    1Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, "Arise, take your household, and go live in whatever place you can, for the LORD has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years."

  • Jer 6:25
    68%

    25Do not go out into the fields or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword; there is terror on every side.

  • Amos 6:9
    68%

    9If ten men are left in one house, they too will die.

  • Num 17:12
    68%

    12So Aaron did as Moses commanded and ran into the midst of the assembly, and the plague had already begun among the people. He put the incense in and made atonement for the people.

  • 1 Kgs 20:23
    67%

    23Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, 'Their gods are gods of the hills; that is why they were stronger than us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they are.'