What Does 2 Kings 4:26 Mean in the King James?
Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The Hebrew repeats the same word, shalom, in every question and in her answer, so the exchange turns on wholeness.
THE MEANING
The repeated question reaches across you and those nearest to you, your spouse and your child, and asks whether wholeness is present. The answer gives one word, shalom, without describing the circumstances or explaining them. The verse holds that word beside what remains unstated.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It unsettles the belief that naming wholeness requires denying a crisis; the answer gives no explanation of what is happening.
THE ROOT
שָׁלוֹם
shalom
GROWS FROM
שׁלם
sh-l-m
To be whole, complete, or sound.
“well” in this verse is shalom. The Hebrew asks, “Is there shalom for you?” and repeats shalom in the reply. The word holds wholeness in view without giving a full report of circumstances.
ALSO GROWS
shalem: Whole, complete, or sound.
שָׁלֵם
This branch makes the sense of wholeness inside the question visible beneath the English “well.”
shillem: To repay, recompense, or make good.
שִׁלֵּם
The same root reaches from being whole to making good, bringing restoration into the word’s wider family.
THE PATTERN
Wholeness is named as something sought, sustained, and given even when circumstances remain undescribed.
Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.THE THREAD
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.“Perfect peace” translates shalom shalom: the same Hebrew word heard in every question and in the answer here, repeated for emphasis. The shared root lets “It is well” resonate as a word of wholeness without turning it into a description of every circumstance.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us