2 Kings 6
1 Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha: “Behold, the place in which we live before you is too narrow for us.
One day a group of prophets said to Elisha, “Look, this place where we meet together with you is very small.
2 Let us go as far as the Jordan, and let us each take from the forest a piece of timber, so that we may build for ourselves a place to live there.” And he said, “Go.”
Allow us to go to the Jordan [River and cut down some trees to make] logs to build a new meeting place.” So Elisha said, “Okay, go.”
3 And one of them said, “Then you, too, should go with your servants.” And he answered, “I will go.”
One of them said to Elisha, “Please come with us.” So Elisha replied, “Okay, I will go with you.”
4 And he went with them. And when they had arrived at the Jordan, they were cutting down wood.
So they went together. When they reached the Jordan [River], they cut down some trees.
5 Then it happened that, while someone was cutting timber, the iron of the ax fell into the water. And he cried out and said: “Alas, alas, alas, my lord! For this thing was borrowed.”
But while one of them was cutting down a tree, suddenly the axe head [separated from the handle and] fell into the water. He cried out to Elisha, “O, Master, what shall I do? [The axe is not mine]; I borrowed it!”
6 Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he indicated to him the place. Then he cut off a piece of wood, and he threw it in. And the iron floated up.
Elisha replied, “Where did it fall into the water?” After the man showed him the place, Elisha cut off a stick, and threw it into the water, and caused the iron axe head to float [on top of the water].
7 And he said, “Take it.” And he extended his hand, and took it.
Elisha said, “Take it out of the water.” So the man reached his hand down and picked up the axe head.
8 Now the king of Syria was fighting against Israel, and he took counsel with his servants, saying, “In this and that place, let us set up an ambush.”
Whenever the king of Syria [prepared to send his army to] fight against Israel, he first consulted his officers, and then told them where they should set up their tents.
9 And so the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying: “Take care not to pass by that place. For the Syrians are there in ambush.”
But each time, Elisha would send a message to warn the king of Israel, [telling him where the army of Syria was planning to attack them, ] saying, “Be sure that your army does not go near that place, because the army of Syria has set up their tents there.”
10 And so the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God had told him, and he prevented it. And he preserved himself, concerning that place, not merely once or twice.
So the king of Israel would send [messengers] to warn [the people who lived in] that place, and the people would remain on guard. That happened several times.
11 And the heart of the king of Syria was disturbed over this matter. And calling together his servants, he said, “Why have you not revealed to me the one who is betraying me to the king of Israel?”
The king of Syria was very upset/disturbed/angry about that. So he summoned his army officers and said to them, “[Obviously] one of you is (betraying us/revealing our plans) to the king of Israel. Which one of you is doing it?”
12 And one of his servants said: “By no means, my lord the king! Rather it is the prophet Elisha, who is in Israel, who is revealing to the king of Israel every word whatsoever that you will speak in your conclave.”
One of his officers answered, “Your Majesty, it is not one of us. Elisha the prophet [knows what we plan to do, and he] tells the king of Israel everything. He even knows what you say in your own bedroom!”
13 And he said to them, “Go, and see where he is, so that I may send and capture him.” And they reported to him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.”
The king of Syria replied, “Go and find out where he is, and I will send [some men there] to capture him.” Someone told him, “People say that he is in Dothan [town north of Samaria].”
14 Therefore, he sent horses, and chariots, and experienced soldiers to that place. And when they had arrived in the night, they encircled the city.
So the king sent a large group of soldiers [to Dothan] with horses and chariots. They arrived at night and surrounded the town.
15 Now the servant of the man of God, arising at first light, went out and saw the army all around the city, with horses and chariots. And he reported it to him, saying: “Alas, alas, alas, my lord! What shall we do?”
Early the next morning, Elisha’s servant got up and went outside the house. He saw the soldiers of Syria with their horses and chariots surrounding the town. So he went inside [the house and reported it to Elisha] and exclaimed, “O, sir! What are we going to do?”
16 But he responded: “Do not be afraid. For there are more with us than with them.”
Elisha replied, “Do not be afraid! Those who will be helping us will be more than those who will be helping them!”
17 And when Elisha had prayed, he said, “O Lord, open the eyes of this one, so that he may see.” And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire, all around Elisha.
Then he prayed, “Yahweh, I request that you open my servant’s eyes in order that he can see [what is out there]!” So Yahweh enabled the servant to look out and see that surrounding the hill on which the town [was built] was a huge number of horses, and chariots made of fire!
18 Then truly, the enemies descended to him. But Elisha prayed to the Lord, saying: “Strike, I beg you, this people with blindness.” And the Lord struck them, so that they would not see, in accord with the word of Elisha.
When the army of Syria prepared to attack Elisha, he prayed again, saying, “Yahweh, cause all these soldiers to become blind!” Yahweh answered his prayer and caused them to be unable to see clearly.
19 Then Elisha said to them: “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will reveal to you the man whom you are seeking.” Then he led them into Samaria.
Then Elisha went to them and said, “You are not on the right road; this is not the city that you are searching for. I will take you to the man whom you are searching for.” But he led them to Samaria, [the capital of Israel]!
20 And when they had entered into Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open the eyes of these ones, so that they may see.” And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw themselves to be in the midst of Samaria.
As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha prayed again, saying, “Yahweh, now enable these soldiers to see correctly again!” So Yahweh enabled them to see correctly, and they were surprised to see that they were inside Samaria [city].
21 And the king of Israel, when he had seen them, said to Elisha, “My father, should I not strike them?”
When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “Sir, shall I [tell my soldiers to] kill them? Shall we kill all of them?”
22 And he said: “You should not strike them. For you did not capture them with your sword or bow, so that you might strike them. Instead, set bread and water before them, so that they may eat and drink, and then go to their lord.”
Elisha replied, “No, you must not kill them. If your army captured many of your enemies in a battle, you would certainly not [RHQ] kill them. Give these men something to eat and drink, and then allow them to return to their king.”
23 And a great preparation of foods was placed before them. And they ate and drank. And he dismissed them. And they went away to their lord. And the robbers of Syria no longer came into the land of Israel.
So the king of Israel did that. He told his servants to provide a big feast for them. And when they had eaten and drunk plenty, he sent them away. They returned to the king of Syria [and told him what had happened]. So for a while after that, soldiers from Syria stopped raiding/attacking towns in Israel.
24 Now it happened that, after these things, Benhadad, the king of Syria, gathered together his entire army, and he ascended and was besieging Samaria.
But some time later, Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, assembled his entire army, and they went to Samaria and surrounded the city [for a long time].
25 And a great famine occurred in Samaria. And it was blockaded for a long time, until the head of a donkey was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and one fourth part of a pint of pigeons’ dung sold for five silver coins.
Because of that, after a while there was hardly any food left inside the city, with the result that eventually a donkey’s head, [which was usually worthless, ] cost eighty pieces of silver, and (one cup/0.3 liter) of dove’s dung cost five pieces of silver.
26 And as the king of Israel was passing by the wall, a certain woman cried out to him, saying, “Save me, my lord the king!”
One day when the king of Israel was walking on top of the city wall, a woman cried out to him, “Your Majesty, help me!”
27 And he said: “If the Lord does not save you, how am I able to save you? From the grain floor, or from the wine press?” And the king said to her, “What is the matter with you?” And she responded:
He replied, “If Yahweh will not help you, I certainly cannot [RHQ] help you. I certainly [RHQ] do not have any wheat or wine!
28 “This woman said to me: ‘Give your son, so that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’
What is your problem?” She replied, “Several days ago, that woman [over there] said to me, ‘[Because we have nothing left to eat, ] let’s kill your son today, in order that we can eat his flesh. Then tomorrow we can [kill] my son [and] eat his flesh.’
29 Therefore, we cooked my son, and we ate him. And I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, so that we may eat him.’ But she concealed her son.”
So we [killed my son and cut his body up and] boiled his flesh and ate it. The next day, I said to her, ‘Now give your son to me, in order that we can [kill him and cook his flesh and] eat it.’ But she has hidden her son!”
30 When the king had heard this, he tore his garments, and he passed along the wall. And all the people saw the haircloth that he had worn underneath, beside his flesh.
When the king heard what the woman said, he tore his robe [to show that he was very distressed]. The people who were standing close to the wall were able to see that the king was wearing rough cloth underneath his robe [because he was very distressed].
31 And the king said, “May God do these things to me, and may he add these other things, if the head of Elisha, the son of Shaphat, will remain on him this day!”
The king exclaimed, “I wish/hope that God will strike me dead if I do not cut off the head of Elisha today, [because he is the one who has caused these terrible things to happen to us]!”
32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And so he sent a man ahead. And before that messenger arrived, he said to the elders: “Do you not know that this son of a murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? Therefore, watch, and when the messenger arrives, close the door. And you shall not permit him to enter. For behold, the sound of his lord’s feet is behind him.”
So the king sent an officer to get Elisha. Before the officer arrived, Elisha was sitting in his house with some Israeli elders who were talking with him. Elisha said to them, “That murderer, [the king of Israel, ] is sending someone here to kill me. Listen: When he arrives, shut the door and do not allow him to come in. And the king will be coming right behind that officer!”
33 While he was still speaking to them, the messenger appeared who was sent to him. And he said: “Behold, such a great evil is from the Lord! What more should I expect from the Lord?”
And while he was still speaking, the king and the officer arrived. The king said, “It is Yahweh who has caused us to have all this trouble/suffering. (Why should I wait any longer [RHQ] for him to do something [to help us]?/It is useless for me to wait any longer for him [to help us]!)”
