2 Kings 6
1 And the sons of the prophets said to Eliseus: Behold the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
And sons of the prophet say to Elisha, “Now behold, the place where we are dwelling before you is too narrow for us;
2 Let us go as far as the Jordan and take out of the wood every man a piece of timber, that we may build us there a place to dwell in. And he said: Go.
please let us go to the Jordan, and we each take one beam from there, and we make a place there for ourselves to dwell there”; and he says, “Go.”
3 And one of them said: But come thou also with thy servants. He answered: I will come.
And the one says, “Please be willing, and go with your servants”; and he says, “I go.”
4 So he went with them. And when they were come to the Jordan they cut down wood.
And he goes with them, and they come to the Jordan, and cut down the trees,
5 And it happened, as one was felling some timber, that the head of the axe fell into the water: and he cried out, and said: Alas, alas, alas, my lord, for this same was borrowed.
and it comes to pass, the one is felling the beam, and the iron [ax head] has fallen into the water, and he cries and says, “Aah! My lord, for it was borrowed!”
6 And the man of God said: Where did it fall? and he shewed him the place. Then he cut off a piece of wood, and cast it in thither: and the iron swam.
And the man of God says, “To where has it fallen?” And he shows him the place, and he cuts a stick, and casts [it] there, and causes the iron to swim,
7 And he said: Take it up. And he put out his hand and took it.
and says, “Raise [it] up for yourself”; and he puts forth his hand and takes it.
8 And the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying: In such and such a place let us lay ambushes.
And the king of Aram has been fighting against Israel, and takes counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place [is] my encamping.”
9 And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying: Beware that thou pass not to such a place: for the Syrians are there in ambush.
And the man of God sends to the king of Israel, saying, “Take heed of passing by this place, for the Arameans are coming down there”;
10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God had told him, and prevented him, and looked well to himself there not once nor twice.
and the king of Israel sends to the place of which the man of God spoke to him, and warned him, and he is preserved there not [just] once and not [just] twice.
11 And the heart of the king of Syria was troubled for this thing. And calling together his servants, he said: Why do you not tell me who it is that betrays me to the king of Israel?
And the heart of the king of Aram is tossed about concerning this thing, and he calls to his servants and says to them, “Do you not declare to me who of us [is] for the king of Israel?”
12 And one of his servants said: No one, my lord O king: but Eliseus the prophet, that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel all the words, that thou speakest in thy privy chamber.
And one of his servants says, “No, my lord, O king, for Elisha the prophet, who [is] in Israel, declares to the king of Israel the words that you speak in the inner part of your bed-chamber.”
13 And he said to them: Go, and see where he is: that I may send, and take him. And they told him, saying: Behold he is in Dothan.
And he says, “Go and see where he [is], and I send and take him”; and it is declared to him, saying, “Behold—in Dothan.”
14 Therefore he sent thither horses and chariots, and the strength of an army: and they came by night, and beset the city.
And he sends horses and chariot, and a heavy force there, and they come in by night, and go around against the city.
15 And the servant of the man of God rising early, went out, and saw an army round about the city, and horses and chariots: and he told him, saying: Alas, alas, alas, my lord, what shall we do?
And the servant of the man of God rises early, and goes out, and behold, a force is surrounding the city, and horse and chariot, and his young man says to him, “Aah! My lord, how do we do?”
16 But he answered: Fear not: for there are more with us than with them.
And he says, “Do not fear, for more [are] they who [are] with us than they who [are] with them.”
17 And Eliseus prayed, and said: Lord, open his eyes, 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 round about Eliseus.
And Elisha prays and says, “YHWH, please open his eyes, and he sees”; and YHWH opens the eyes of the young man, and he sees, and behold, the hill is full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha.
18 And the enemies came down to him, but Eliseus prayed to the Lord, saying: Strike, I beseech thee, this people with blindness. And the Lord struck them with blindness, according to the word of Eliseus.
And they come down to it, and Elisha prays to YHWH and says, “Please strike this nation with blindness”; and He strikes them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha.
19 And Eliseus said to them: This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will shew you the man whom you seek. So he led them into Samaria.
And Elisha says to them, “This [is] not the way, nor [is] this the city; come after me, and I lead you to the man whom you seek”; and he leads them to Samaria.
20 And when they were come into Samaria, Eliseus said: Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw themselves to be in the midst of Samaria.
And it comes to pass, at their coming to Samaria, that Elisha says, “YHWH, open the eyes of these, and they see”; and YHWH opens their eyes, and they see, and behold, [they are] in the midst of Samaria!
21 And the king of Israel said to Eliseus, when he saw them: My father, shall I kill them?
And the king of Israel says to Elisha at his seeing them, “My father, do I strike, do I strike?”
22 And he said: Thou shalt not kill them: for thou didst not take them with thy sword, or thy bow, that thou mayst kill them: but set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.
And he says, “You do not strike; are you striking those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, and they eat, and drink, and go to their lord.”
23 And a great provision of meats was set before them, and they ate and drank, and he let them go, and they went away to their master, and the robbers of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
And he prepares great provision for them, and they eat and drink, and he sends them away, and they go to their lord: and troops of Aram have not added to come into the land of Israel anymore.
24 And it came to pass after these things, that Benadad king of Syria gathered together all his army, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
And it comes to pass afterward, that Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathers all his camp, and goes up, and lays siege to Samaria,
25 And there was a great famine in Samaria: and so long did the siege continue, till the head of an ass was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cabe of pigeon’s dung, for five pieces of silver.
and there is a great famine in Samaria, and behold, they are laying siege to it, until the head of a donkey is at eighty pieces of silver, and a forth of the cab of dove’s dung at 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 O king.
And it comes to pass, the king of Israel is passing by on the wall, and a woman has cried to him, saying, “Save, my lord, O king.”
27 And he said: If the Lord doth not save thee, how can I save thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress? And the king said to her: What aileth thee? And she answered:
And he says, “YHWH does not save you—from where do I save you? Out of the threshing-floor or out of the wine-vat?”
28 This woman said to me: Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.
And the king says to her, “What is [troubling] you?” And she says, “This woman said to me, Give your son, and we eat him today, and we eat my son tomorrow;
29 So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day: Give thy son that we may eat him. And she hath hid her son.
and we boil my son and eat him, and I say to her on the next day, Give your son, and we eat him; and she hides her son.”
30 When the king heard this, he rent his garments, and passed by upon the wall. And all the people saw the haircloth which he wore within next to his flesh.
And it comes to pass, at the king’s hearing the words of the woman, that he tears his garments, and he is passing by on the wall, and the people see, and behold, the sackcloth [is] within on his flesh.
31 And the king said: May God do so and so to me, and may he add more, if the head of Eliseus the son of Saphat shall stand on him this day.
And he says, “Thus God does to me and thus He adds, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on him this day.”
32 But Eliseus sat in his house, and the ancients sat with him. So he sent a man before: and before that messenger came, he said to the ancients: Do you know that this son of a murderer hath sent to cut off my head? Look then, when the messenger shall come, shut the door, and suffer him not to come in: for behold the sound of his master’s feet is behind him.
And Elisha is sitting in his house, and the elderly are sitting with him, and [the king] sends a man from before him; before the messenger comes to him, even he himself said to the elderly, “Have you seen that this son of the murderer has sent [him] to turn aside my head? See, at the coming in of the messenger, shut the door, and you have held him fast at the door, is not the sound of the feet of his lord behind him?”
33 While he was yet speaking to them, the messenger appeared who was coming to him. And he said: Behold, so great an evil is from the Lord: what shall I look for more from the Lord?
He is yet speaking with them, and behold, the messenger is coming down to him, and he says, “Behold, this [is] the calamity from YHWH; why do I wait for YHWH anymore?”
