Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Kings 7:16 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 16. 16And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse closes the thought unit with its stated result or transition: “And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “The king tests the report and Samaria is supplied.”
The king tests the rumor, then the gate prices collapse
This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Kings 7:12–16. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 2 Kings 7:12–16
Read 2 Kings 7:16 with 7:12–16. The selected wording supplies one closing in the thought unit with its stated result or transition; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: The king suspects an ambush, servants propose a limited reconnaissance, and the abandoned camp supplies Samaria at the announced prices.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “The king tests the report and Samaria is supplied,” 2 Kings 7:16 closes the thought unit with its stated result or transition through the wording “And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 2 Kings 7:3–11 establishes this prior movement: Four men with a skin disease reason about death, find the Aramean camp empty, begin taking goods, then correct themselves and report good news. 2 Kings 7:12–16 continues the same royal, prophetic, household, military, reform, or exile movement; that evidenced relationship, rather than database adjacency alone, explains its placement.
Read 2 Kings 7:12–16 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Kings 7:12–16 forms one scene or regnal notice: The king suspects an ambush, servants propose a limited reconnaissance, and the abandoned camp supplies Samaria at the announced prices.
Verse 12. 12 And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.
Verse 13. 13 And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see.
Verse 14. 14 They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.
Verse 15. 15 And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.
Verse 16. 16 And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
Follow the Context
- The king suspects an ambush, servants propose a limited reconnaissance, and the abandoned camp supplies Samaria at the announced prices.
- The unit closes by establishing the result or tension named in “The king tests the report and Samaria is supplied” before the next narrated movement.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Kings 7:16 does not permit the wording “And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. Prudent verification is not unbelief, and the reversal does not promise that every siege, famine, or market crisis will end overnight.
What Remains True
Public power, prophetic authority, and worship remain accountable to truth, human responsibility, affected people, and the limits of the evidence rather than title or success alone. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: The king suspects an ambush, servants propose a limited reconnaissance, and the abandoned camp supplies Samaria at the announced prices. In 2 Kings 7:16, the concrete line “And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour…” keeps that truth accountable to narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
In 70–220 words, explain 2 Kings 7:16's role in 7:12–16. Paraphrase “And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour…,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 2 Kings 7:12–16 — The king tests the report and Samaria is suppliedSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Kings 7:12–16, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, royal formulas, clause relationships, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 7:12–16
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 2 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: A unit-bounded translation comparison plus only the lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, or older-English notes actually printed for these verses; silence is not treated as evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Kings PDF, printed pp. 637–638, translation and translator notes for 7:12–16
Open source ↗