“Do not kill them,” he replied. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and then return to their master.”
Elisha forbids the killing and tells the king to set food and water before them so they may return to their master.
It directs the victory away from bloodshed and toward mercy.
8Now the king of Aram was at war against Israel. After consulting with his servants, he said, “My camp will be in such and such a place.” 9Then the man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Be careful not to pass by this place, for the Arameans are going down there.” 10So the king of Israel sent word to the place the man of God had pointed out. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places. 11For this reason the king of Aram became enraged and called his servants to demand of them, “Tell me, which one of us is on the side of the king of Israel?” 12But one of his servants replied, “No one, my lord the king. For Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” 13So the king said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send men to capture him.” 14On receiving the report, “Elisha is in Dothan,” the king of Aram sent horses, chariots, and a great army. They went there by night and surrounded the city. 15When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early in the morning, behold, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. So he asked Elisha, “Oh, my master, what are we to do?” 16“Do not be afraid,” Elisha answered, “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” 18As the Arameans came down against him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, “Please strike these people with blindness.” So He struck them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha. 19And Elisha told them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are seeking.” And he led them to Samaria. 20When they had entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O LORD, open the eyes of these men that they may see.” 21And when the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” 22“Do not kill them,” he replied. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and then return to their master.” 23So the king prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. And the Aramean raiders did not come into the land of Israel again.