2 Kings 6
1 The sons of the prophets told Elisha, “Look, the place we meet with you is too small for us.
And the sons of the prophets said to Elisaie, Behold now, the place wherein we dwell before thee is too narrow for us.
2 Let's go to the Jordan and each of us can carry one log back. We can build a new place there for us to meet.” “Go ahead,” said Elisha.
Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and make for ourselves a habitation there.
3 One of them asked, “Please come with your servants.” “I'll come,” he replied.
And he said, Go. And one of them said gently, Come with thy servants. And he said, I will go.
4 So he went with them. When they got to the Jordan, they started cutting down trees.
And he went with them, and they came to Jordan, and began to cut down wood.
5 But as one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no! My master, it was one that was borrowed!” he shouted.
And behold, one was cutting down a beam, and the axe head fell into the water: and he cried out, Alas! master: and it was hidden.
6 “Where did it fall?” the man of God asked. When he showed him the place, the man of God cut a stick, threw it in there, and made the iron axhead float.
And the man of God said, Where did it fall? and he shewed him the place: and he broke off a stick, and threw it in there, and the iron came to the surface.
7 “Pick it up,” Elisha told the man. So he reached out his hand and picked it up.
And he said, Take it up to thyself. And he stretched out his hand, and took it.
8 The Aramean king was at war with Israel. After consulting with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in this particular place.”
And the king of Syria was at war with Israel: and he consulted with his servants, saying, I will encamp in such a place.
9 Then the man of God sent a warning to the king of Israel: “Watch out if you go near this place, because the Arameans are going to be there.”
And Elisaie sent to the king of Israel, saying, Take heed that thou pass not by that place, for the Syrians are hidden there.
10 So the king of Israel sent a warning to the place the man of God had indicated. Elisha repeatedly warned the king, so that he was on the alert in those places.
And the king of Israel sent to the place which Elisaie mentioned to him, and saved himself thence not once or twice.
11 This made the Aramean king really mad. He summoned his officers, demanding an answer: “Tell me, which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”
And the mind of the king of Syria was very much disturbed concerning this thing; and he called his servants, and said to them, Will ye not tell me who betrays me to the king of Israel?
12 “It's none of us, my lord the king,” one of his officers replied. “It's Elisha, the prophet who lives in Israel—he tells the king of Israel even what you say in your bedroom.”
And one of his servants said, Nay, my Lord, O king, for Elisaie the prophet that is in Israel reports to the king of Israel all the words whatsoever thou mayest say in thy bedchamber.
13 So the king gave the order, “Go and find out where he is so I can send soldiers to capture him.” He was told, “Elisha is in Dothan.”
And he said, Go, see where this man [is], and I will send and take him. And they sent word to him, saying, Behold, [he is] in Dothaim.
14 So he sent horses, chariots, and a large army. They came at night and surrounded the town.
And he sent thither horses, and chariots, and a mighty host: and they came by night, and compassed about the city.
15 Early in the morning when the servant of the man of God got up, he went out and saw that an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my master, what are we going to do?” he asked Elisha.
And the servant of Elisaie rose up early and went out; and, behold, a host compassed the city, and horses and chariots: and the servant said to him, O master, what shall we do?
16 Elisha replied, “Don't be afraid, for there are many more who are with us than there are with them!”
And Elisaie said, Fear not, for they who are with us [are] more than they that are with them.
17 Elisha prayed, saying, “Lord, please open his eyes so he can see.” The Lord opened the servant's eyes, and when he looked he saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
And Elisaie prayed, and said, Lord, open, I pray thee, the eyes of the servant, and let him see. And the Lord opened his eyes, and he saw: and, behold, the mountain [was] full of horses, and there were chariots of fire round about Elisaie.
18 As the army descended on him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Please strike these people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
And they came down to him; and he prayed to the Lord, and said, Smite, I pray thee, this people with blindness. And he smote them with blindness, according to the word of Elisaie.
19 Then Elisha went and told them, “This isn't the right road, and this isn't the right town. Follow me, and I'll take you to the man you're looking for.” He led them to Samaria.
And Elisaie said to them, This [is] not the city, and this [is] not the way: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. And he led them away to Samaria.
20 After they had entered Samaria, Elisha prayed, “Lord, open the eyes of these men that they can see.” The Lord opened their eyes, and they looked around and saw that they were in Samaria.
And it came to pass when they entered into Samaria, that Elisaie said, Open, I pray thee, O Lord, their eyes, and let them see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”
And the king of Israel said to Elisaie, when he saw them, Shall I [not] verily smite them, [my] father?
22 “No, don't you kill them!” he replied. “Would you kill prisoners you captured with your own sword or bow? Give them some food and water so that they may eat and drink, and then let them go back to their master.”
And he said, Thou shalt not smite them, unless thou wouldest smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow: set bread and water before them, and let them eat and drink, and depart to their master.
23 So the king had a great feast prepared for them, and once they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them back to their master. The Aramean raiders did not enter the land of Israel again.
And he set before them a great feast, and they ate and drank: and he dismissed them and they departed to their master. And the bands of Syria came no longer into the land of Israel.
24 Sometime after this Ben-hadad king of Aram called up all his army and went to lay siege to Samaria.
And it came to pass after this, that the son of Ader king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
25 So there was a major famine in Samaria. In fact the siege lasted so long that a donkey's head cost eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter cab of dove's dung cost five shekels of silver.
And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was [valued] at fifty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung at five pieces of silver.
26 As the king of Israel was walking by on the city wall, a woman called out to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”
And the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, and a woman cried to him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.
27 “If the Lord doesn't help you, why would you think I can help you?” the king replied. “I don't have grain from the threshing floor, or wine from the winepress.”
And he said to her, Unless the Lord help thee, whence shall I help thee? from the corn-floor, or from the wine-press?
28 But then he asked her, “What's the problem?” “This woman told me, ‘Give up your son and we'll eat him today, and tomorrow we'll eat my son,’” she answered.
And the king said to her, What is [the matter] with thee? And the woman said to him, This [woman] said to me, Give thy son, and we will eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow.
29 “So we cooked my son and we ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we can eat him,’ but she's hidden her son.”
So we boiled my son, and ate him; and I said to her on the second day, Give thy son, and let us eat him: and she has hidden her son.
30 When the king heard what the woman said he ripped his clothes. As he walked by on the wall, the people saw that he was wearing sackcloth under his clothes next to his skin.
And it came to pass, when the king of Israel heard the words of the woman, [that] he rent his garments; and he passed by on the wall, and the people saw sackcloth within upon his flesh.
31 “May God punish me very severely if the head of Elisha, son of Shaphat, remains on his shoulders today!” he declared.
And he said, God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisaie shall stand upon him this day.
32 Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders. The king had sent a messenger on ahead, but before he got there, Elisha told the elders, “Can you see how this murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? So, as soon as the messenger arrives, close the door and hold it shut against him. Isn't that the sound of his master's footsteps following him?”
And Elisaie was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him; and [the king] sent a man before him: before the messenger came to him, he also said to the elders, Do ye see that this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? See, as soon as the messenger shall have come, shut the door, and forcibly detain him at the door: [is] not the sound of his master's feet behind him?
33 While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger arrived. The king said, “This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”
While he was yet speaking with them, behold, a messenger came to him: and he said, Behold, this evil [is] of the Lord; why should I wait for the Lord any longer?
