2 Kings 6:16
“And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.”
King James Version (KJV)
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The prophet Elisha had repeatedly warned Israel's king of Syrian ambushes, frustrating the king of Syria, who sent an army to seize him at Dothan. When Elisha's servant saw the city surrounded, he was terrified. Elisha spoke this reassurance, then prayed for the servant's eyes to be opened to the heavenly army protecting them.
What Does 2 Kings 6:16 Mean?
This verse is Elisha's calm assurance in the face of an overwhelming threat: do not be afraid, because more are with us than against us. The king of Syria had sent an army by night to surround the city of Dothan and capture the prophet whose God kept revealing his plans. When Elisha's servant rose in the morning and saw the horses and chariots encircling them, he panicked. Elisha's response does not deny the danger -- the enemy army was real and present -- but it reframes the whole situation by pointing to a greater reality the servant could not yet see.
"They that be with us are more than they that be with them." In the next verse Elisha prays that the servant's eyes be opened, and the young man sees the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha. The lesson is profound: the visible odds are not the true odds. What the servant could see was terrifying; what he could not see was decisive. Elisha lived with a settled confidence because he reckoned with God's unseen protection as the most solid fact in the room. The verse speaks to every believer who has counted only the visible threats and forgotten the invisible help. Fear shrinks when faith remembers who stands with us.
In the Original Language
The Hebrew yare means to fear or be afraid; the command "fear not" is al tira. The word rav means many, great, or more in number -- here declaring that the unseen forces with Elisha outnumber the visible enemy.
Cross References
“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”
- Romans 8:31
“The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”
- Psalm 34:7
“Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed... for there be more with us than with him.”
- 2 Chronicles 32:7
Application
When fear counts only the visible threats, follow Elisha in remembering the unseen help God provides. Ask God to open your eyes to His protection, and let faith reframe what seems like impossible odds.