Thou shalt not. — Or, thou must not.
Wouldest thou smite... thy bow? — The Hebrew order is, “An quos ceperis gladío et arcu percussuruses?” (Comp. Genesis 48:22.) Elisha says, “These men are virtually prisoners of war, and therefore are not to be slain in cold blood.”
The LXX., Targum, Syriac, and Vulg., ignore the interrogative particle. The Targum and Syriac render, “Lo those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword, &c., thou dost (or mayst) kill.” (Comp. Deuteronomy 20:13.) The Vulg., “neque enim cepisti eos, ut percutias,” and the Arabic, “Didst thou take them captive with thy sword, &c., that thou shouldest slay them?” come to the same thing. These renderings are interesting, as they make Elisha deny the king’s right of disposal of these prisoners of Jehovah. The purpose of the miracle would have been frustrated by killing the Syrians. That purpose was to force their king and them to acknowledge the might of the true God.