18 He said, "Take the arrows;" and he took them. He said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground;" and he struck three times, and stopped.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Smite upon the ground - Some prefer to render - "Shoot to the ground;" i. e. "Shoot arrows from the window into the ground outside, as if thou wert shooting against an enemy."
Smite upon the ground - As he was ordered to take his arrows, the smiting on the ground must mean shooting arrows into it.
He smote thrice, and stayed - The prophet knew that this shooting was emblematical: probably the king was not aware of what depended on the frequency of the action; and perhaps it was of the Lord that he smote only thrice, as he had determined to give Israel those three victories only over the Syrians. Elisha's being wroth because there were only three instead of five or six shots does not prove that God was wroth, or that he had intended to give the Syrians five or six overthrows.
And he said, take the arrows, and he took them,.... The rest of them:
and he said unto the king of Israel, smite upon the ground; the floor of the room in which the prophet lay:
and he smote thrice, and stayed; made a stop, ceased smiting; he might think this action trifling, and beneath him, only was willing to please the prophet, but did not do it with a good will, and therefore smote no more; though this was an emblem of his smiting the Syrians, which he might not understand.
Smite - The former sign portended victory, this was to declare the number of the victories.
*More commentary available at chapter level.