2 Kings 7

1 Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the LORD says: ‘About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel.’”

Elisha replied to the king, “Listen to what Yahweh says: ‘He says that by this time tomorrow, at the marketplace here in Samaria, you will be able to buy (ten pounds/five kg.) of fine wheat or (20 pounds/ten kg.) of barley for [only] one piece of silver.’”

2 But the officer on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” “You will see it with your own eyes,” replied Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it.”

The king’s officer said to Elijah, “That cannot happen! Even if Yahweh himself would open the windows of the sky [and send grain down to us], that certainly could not [RHQ] happen!” Elisha replied, “[Because you said that, ] you [SYN] will see it happen, but you will not be able to eat any of the food!”

3 Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate, and they said to one another, “Why just sit here until we die?

That day there were four men who had (leprosy/a dreaded skin disease) who were sitting outside the gate of Samaria [city. They said to each other, “(Why should we] wait here until we die?/[It is ridiculous for us to] wait here until we die.) [RHQ]

4 If we say, ‘Let us go into the city,’ we will die there from the famine in the city; but if we sit here, we will also die. So come now, let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they let us live, we will live; if they kill us, we will die.”

If we go into the city, we will die there, because there is no food there. If we remain sitting here, we will die here. So let’s go to where the army of Syria has set up their tents. If they kill us, we will die. But if they allow us to remain alive, we will not die.”

5 So they arose at twilight and went to the camp of the Arameans. But when they came to the outskirts of the camp, there was not a man to be found.

So when it was getting dark, those four men went to the camp where the army of Syria had set up their tents. But when they reached the camp, they saw that there was no one there!

6 For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”

What had happened was that Yahweh had caused the army of Syria to hear something that sounded like a large army marching with chariots and horses. So they said to each other, “Listen! The king of Israel has hired the kings of Egypt and the Heth people-group [and their armies], and they have come to attack us!”

7 Thus the Arameans had arisen and fled at twilight, abandoning their tents and horses and donkeys. The camp was intact, and they had run for their lives.

So they all ran away that evening and left their tents and their horses and donkeys there, because [they were afraid that] they would be killed [if they stayed there].

8 When the lepers reached the edge of the camp, they went into a tent to eat and drink. Then they carried off the silver, gold, and clothing, and went and hid them. On returning, they entered another tent, carried off some items from there, and hid them.

When those four lepers came to the edge of the area where the soldiers of Syria had set up their tents, they went into one tent, [and saw all the things that had been left there]. So they ate and drank what was there, and they took the silver and the gold and clothes. Then they went [outside the tent] and hid those things. Then they entered another tent, and took things from there, and then went outside and hid them, also.

9 Finally, they said to one another, “We are not doing what is right. Today is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until morning light, our sin will overtake us. Now, therefore, let us go and tell the king’s household.”

But then they said to each other, “We are not doing what is right. We have good news [to tell others] today. If we do not tell it to anyone now, and if we wait until morning to tell it, we will certainly be punished [by Yahweh]. So let’s go right now to the palace and tell it to the king’s officials!”

10 So they went and called out to the gatekeepers of the city, saying, “We went to the Aramean camp and no one was there—not a trace—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents were intact.”

So they went to the guards at the city gates and called out to them, “We went to where the army of Syria had set up their tents, but we did not see or hear anyone there. Their horses and donkeys were still tied up, but their tents were all deserted/abandoned!”

11 The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported to the king’s household.

The guards shouted the news, and some people [who heard it] went to the palace and reported it there.

12 So the king got up in the night and said to his servants, “Let me tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving, so they have left the camp to hide in the field, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and enter the city.’”

[When] the king [heard it, he] got up out of his bed and said to his officials, “I will tell you what the army of Syria is planning to do. They know that we have no food here, so they have left their tents and are hiding in the fields. They think that we will leave the city [to find some food], and then they will capture us and capture the city.”

13 But one of his servants replied, “Please, have scouts take five of the horses that remain in the city. Their plight will be no worse than all the Israelites who are left here. You can see that all the Israelites here are doomed. So let us send them and find out.”

But one of his officials said, “Many of our Israeli people have already died [from (hunger/not having anything to eat]). If those of us who are still alive all stay here, we also will die anyway. So let’s send some men with five of our horses that are still alive to go and see [what has really happened].”

14 Then the scouts took two chariots with horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army, saying, “Go and see.”

So they chose some men and told them to go in a chariot and find out what had happened to the army of Syria.

15 And they tracked them as far as the Jordan, and indeed, the whole way was littered with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown off in haste. So the scouts returned and told the king.

They went as far as the Jordan [River]. All along the road they saw clothes and equipment that the soldiers from Syria had thrown away while they were running away very quickly. So the men returned to the king and reported [what they had seen].

16 Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. It was then that a seah of fine flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.

Then many of the people of Samaria also went [out of the city and went] to where the army of Syria had previously set up their tents. They entered all the tents and took everything. [So there was now plenty of everything!] As a result people could buy ten pounds of fine wheat or 20 pounds of barley for only one piece of silver, which was what Yahweh had said would happen!

17 Now the king had appointed the officer on whose arm he leaned to be in charge of the gate, but the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king had come to him.

The king of Israel had appointed the officer who was his assistant to supervise what was happening at the marketplace. But as he was standing near the gate, all the people [who were rushing outside the city] trampled on him, and he died, which was what Elisha had said would happen to him when Elisha previously went to talk to the king.

18 It happened just as the man of God had told the king: “About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel.”

Elisha had told him that by the next day there would be plenty of food, with the result that anyone could buy ten pounds of fine wheat or 20 pounds of barley for only one piece of silver.

19 And the officer had answered the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” So Elisha had replied, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!”

And the officer had answered, “That certainly cannot [RHQ] happen! Even if Yahweh himself would open the sky and send down some grain, that could not happen.” And Elisha had replied, “[Because you said that, ] you [SYN] will see it happen, but you will not be able to eat any of the food!”

20 And that is just what happened to him. The people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.

And that is what happened to him. The people [who were rushing out of] the city gate trampled on him, and he died.