2 Kings 2:24

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

When he turned around and saw them, he called God’s judgment down on them. Two female bears came out of the woods and ripped forty-two of the boys to pieces.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Gen 9:25 : 25 So he said,“Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves he will be to his brothers.”
  • Exod 20:5 : 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the third and fourth generations of those who reject me,
  • Deut 28:15-26 : 15 Curses as Reversal of Blessings“But if you ignore the LORD your God and are not careful to keep all his commandments and statutes I am giving you today, then all these curses will come upon you in full force: 16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the field. 17 Your basket and your mixing bowl will be cursed. 18 Your children will be cursed, as well as the produce of your soil, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks. 19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. 20 Curses by Disease and Drought“The LORD will send on you a curse, confusing you and opposing you in everything you undertake until you are destroyed and quickly perish because of the evil of your deeds, in that you have forsaken me. 21 The LORD will plague you with deadly diseases until he has completely removed you from the land you are about to possess. 22 He will afflict you with weakness, fever, inflammation, infection, sword, blight, and mildew; these will attack you until you perish. 23 The sky above your heads will be bronze and the earth beneath you iron. 24 The LORD will make the rain of your land powder and dust; it will come down on you from the sky until you are destroyed. 25 Curses by Defeat and Deportation“The LORD will allow you to be struck down before your enemies; you will attack them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions and will become an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 Your carcasses will be food for every bird of the sky and wild animal of the earth, and there will be no one to chase them off.
  • Judg 9:20 : 20 But if not, may fire blaze from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo! May fire also blaze from the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo and consume Abimelech!”
  • Judg 9:57 : 57 God also repaid the men of Shechem for their evil deeds. The curse spoken by Jotham son of Jerub-Baal fell on them.
  • 2 Sam 17:8 : 8 Hushai went on to say,“You know your father and his men– they are soldiers and are as dangerous as a bear out in the wild that has been robbed of her cubs. Your father is an experienced soldier; he will not stay overnight with the army.
  • 1 Kgs 13:24 : 24 So the prophet from Judah travelled on. Then a lion attacked him on the road and killed him.There was his body lying on the road, with the donkey standing next to it, and the lion just standing there by the body.
  • 1 Kgs 19:17 : 17 Jehu will kill anyone who escapes Hazael’s sword, and Elisha will kill anyone who escapes Jehu’s sword.
  • 1 Kgs 20:36 : 36 So the prophet said to him,“Because you have disobeyed the LORD, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you.” When he left him, a lion attacked and killed him.
  • 2 Kgs 1:10-12 : 10 Elijah replied to the captain,“If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire then came down from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers. 11 The king sent another captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. He went up and told him,“Prophet, this is what the king says,‘Come down at once!’” 12 Elijah replied to them,“If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire from God came down from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers.
  • Neh 13:25-27 : 25 So I entered a complaint with them. I called down a curse on them, and I struck some of the men and pulled out their hair. I had them swear by God saying,“You will not marry off your daughters to their sons, and you will not take any of their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves! 26 Was it not because of things like these that King Solomon of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. But the foreign wives made even him sin! 27 Should we then in your case hear that you do all this great evil, thereby being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign wives?”
  • Prov 17:12 : 12 It is better for a person to meet a mother bear being robbed of her cubs, than to encounter a fool in his folly.
  • Prov 28:15 : 15 Like a roaring lion or a roving bear, so is a wicked ruler over a poor people.
  • Jer 28:16 : 16 So the LORD says,‘I will most assuredly remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this very year because you have counseled rebellion against the LORD.’”
  • Jer 29:21-23 : 21 “The LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel also has something to say about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so.‘I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and he will execute them before your very eyes. 22 And all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use them as examples when they put a curse on anyone. They will say,“May the LORD treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab whom the king of Babylon roasted to death in the fire!” 23 This will happen to them because they have done what is shameful in Israel. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken lies while claiming my authority. They have spoken words that I did not command them to speak. I know what they have done. I have been a witness to it,’ says the LORD.”
  • Lam 3:65 : 65 Give them a distraught heart; may your curse be on them!
  • Hos 13:8 : 8 I will attack them like a bear robbed of her cubs– I will rip open their chests. I will devour them there like a lion– like a wild animal would tear them apart.
  • Amos 7:17 : 17 “Therefore this is what the LORD says:‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets and your sons and daughters will die violently. Your land will be given to others and you will die in a foreign land. Israel will certainly be carried into exile away from its land.’”
  • Mark 11:14 : 14 He said to it,“May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.
  • Mark 11:21 : 21 Peter remembered and said to him,“Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered.”
  • Acts 5:5 : 5 When Ananias heard these words he collapsed and died, and great fear gripped all who heard about it.
  • Acts 5:9 : 9 Peter then told her,“Why have you agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!”
  • Acts 8:20 : 20 But Peter said to him,“May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could acquire God’s gift with money!
  • Acts 13:9-9 : 9 But Saul(also known as Paul), filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at him 10 and said,“You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness– will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 11 Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind, unable to see the sun for a time!” Immediately mistiness and darkness came over him, and he went around seeking people to lead him by the hand.
  • 2 Cor 10:6 : 6 We are also ready to punish every act of disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.

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 2:22-23
    2 verses
    84%

    22The water has been pure to this very day, just as Elisha prophesied.

    23He went up from there to Bethel. As he was traveling up the road, some young boys came out of the city and made fun of him, saying,“Go on up, baldy! Go on up, baldy!”

  • 2 Kgs 2:25
    83%

    25From there he traveled to Mount Carmel and then back to Samaria.

  • 1 Kgs 19:20-21
    2 verses
    69%

    20He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said,“Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, then I will follow you.” Elijah said to him,“Go back! Indeed, what have I done to you?”

    21Elisha went back and took his pair of oxen and slaughtered them. He cooked the meat over a fire that he made by burning the harness and yoke. He gave the people meat and they ate. Then he got up and followed Elijah and became his assistant.

  • 1 Kgs 13:24-26
    3 verses
    68%

    24So the prophet from Judah travelled on. Then a lion attacked him on the road and killed him.There was his body lying on the road, with the donkey standing next to it, and the lion just standing there by the body.

    25Then some men came passing by and saw the body lying in the road with the lion standing next to the body. They went and reported what they had seen in the city where the old prophet lived.

    26When the old prophet who had invited him to his house heard the news, he said,“It is the prophet who rebelled against the LORD. The LORD delivered him over to the lion and it tore him up and killed him, in keeping with the LORD’S message that he had spoken to him.”

  • 2 Kgs 6:18
    68%

    18As they approached him, Elisha prayed to the LORD,“Strike these people with blindness.” The LORD struck them with blindness as Elisha requested.

  • 2 Kgs 10:14
    68%

    14He said,“Capture them alive!” So they captured them alive and then executed all forty-two of them in the cistern at Beth Eked. He left no survivors.

  • 1 Kgs 20:36-37
    2 verses
    67%

    36So the prophet said to him,“Because you have disobeyed the LORD, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you.” When he left him, a lion attacked and killed him.

    37He found another man and said,“Wound me!” So the man wounded him severely.

  • 1 Kgs 17:19-20
    2 verses
    67%

    19He said to her,“Hand me your son.” He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him down on his bed.

    20Then he called out to the LORD,“O LORD, my God, are you also bringing disaster on this widow I am staying with by killing her son?”

  • Neh 13:2
    67%

    2for they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but instead had hired Balaam to curse them.(Our God, however, turned the curse into blessing.)

  • 2 Kgs 6:30-31
    2 verses
    67%

    30When the king heard what the woman said, he tore his clothes. As he was passing by on the wall, the people could see he was wearing sackcloth under his clothes.

    31Then he said,“May God judge me severely if Elisha son of Shaphat still has his head by the end of the day!”

  • Num 24:9-10
    2 verses
    66%

    9They crouch and lie down like a lion, and as a lioness, who can stir him? Blessed is the one who blesses you, and cursed is the one who curses you!’”

    10Then Balak became very angry at Balaam, and he struck his hands together. Balak said to Balaam,“I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless them these three times!

  • 2 Kgs 1:9-14
    6 verses
    66%

    9The king sent a captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. The captain went up to him, while he was sitting on the top of a hill. He told him,“Prophet, the king says,‘Come down!’”

    10Elijah replied to the captain,“If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire then came down from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers.

    11The king sent another captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. He went up and told him,“Prophet, this is what the king says,‘Come down at once!’”

    12Elijah replied to them,“If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire from God came down from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers.

    13The king sent a third captain and his fifty soldiers. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. He begged for mercy,“Prophet, please have respect for my life and for the lives of these fifty servants of yours.

    14Indeed, fire came down from the sky and consumed the two captains who came before me, along with their men. So now, please have respect for my life.”

  • 2 Kgs 1:5
    66%

    5When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them,“Why have you returned?”

  • Num 22:22-23
    2 verses
    66%

    22God Opposes Balaam Then God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him.

    23And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand, so the donkey turned aside from the road and went into the field. But Balaam beat the donkey, to make her turn back to the road.

  • 1 Kgs 18:40
    66%

    40Elijah told them,“Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let even one of them escape!” So they seized them, and Elijah led them down to the Kishon Valley and executed them there.

  • 1 Kgs 13:12
    66%

    12Their father asked them,“Which road did he take?” His sons showed him the road the prophet from Judah had taken.

  • 1 Kgs 13:10
    66%

    10So he started back on another road; he did not travel back on the same road he had taken to Bethel.

  • Num 22:6
    66%

    6So now, please come and curse this nation for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I will prevail so that we may conquer them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”

  • 2 Kgs 2:15-18
    4 verses
    65%

    15When the members of the prophetic guild in Jericho, who were standing at a distance, saw him do this, they said,“The spirit that energized Elijah rests upon Elisha.” They went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him.

    16They said to him,“Look, there are fifty capable men with your servants. Let them go and look for your master, for the wind sent from the LORD may have carried him away and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys.” But Elisha replied,“Don’t send them out.”

    17But they were so insistent, he became embarrassed. So he said,“Send them out.” They sent the fifty men out and they looked for three days, but could not find Elijah.

    18When they came back, Elisha was staying in Jericho. He said to them,“Didn’t I tell you,‘Don’t go’?”

  • Num 22:27
    65%

    27When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she crouched down under Balaam. Then Balaam was angry, and he beat his donkey with a staff.

  • Num 23:7
    65%

    7Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying,“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying,‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.’

  • 2 Kgs 4:32-33
    2 verses
    65%

    32When Elisha arrived at the house, there was the child lying dead on his bed.

    33He went in by himself and closed the door. Then he prayed to the LORD.

  • Num 22:25
    65%

    25And when the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed herself into the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So he beat her again.

  • 1 Kgs 21:13
    65%

    13The two villains arrived and sat opposite him. Then the villains testified against Naboth right before the people, saying,“Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they dragged him outside the city and stoned him to death.

  • Num 23:11
    64%

    11Balaam Relocates Then Balak said to Balaam,“What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary you have only blessed them!”

  • 2 Kgs 1:7
    64%

    7The king asked them,“Describe the appearance of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.”

  • Num 22:12
    64%

    12But God said to Balaam,“You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, for they are blessed.”

  • Num 23:27
    64%

    27Balak said to Balaam,“Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there.”

  • Num 23:13
    64%

    13Balak said to him,“Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there.”

  • 2 Kgs 2:11
    64%

    11As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a fiery chariot pulled by fiery horses appeared. They went between Elijah and Elisha, and Elijah went up to heaven in a windstorm.

  • 2 Kgs 9:36
    64%

    36So they went back and told him. Then he said,“It is the fulfillment of the LORD’s message that he had spoken through his servant, Elijah the Tishbite,‘In the plot of land at Jezreel, dogs will devour Jezebel’s flesh.

  • Prov 17:12
    64%

    12It is better for a person to meet a mother bear being robbed of her cubs, than to encounter a fool in his folly.