2 Kings 6
1 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha: 'Behold now, the place where we dwell before thee is too strait for us.
Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, There is not room enough for us in the place where we are living under your care;
2 Let us go, we pray thee, unto the Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell.' And he answered: 'Go ye.'
So let us go to Jordan, and let everyone get to work cutting boards, and we will make a living-place for ourselves there. And he said to them, Go, then.
3 And one said: 'Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants.' And he answered: 'I will go.'
And one of them said, Be pleased to go with your servants. And he said, I will go.
4 So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down wood.
So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they got to work cutting down trees.
5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water; and he cried, and said: 'Alas, my master! for it was borrowed.'
But one of them, while cutting a board, let the head of his axe go into the water; and he gave a cry, and said, This is a bad business, my master, for it is another's.
6 And the man of God said: 'Where fell it?' And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither, and made the iron to swim.
And the man of God said, Where did it go in? and when he saw the place where it had gone into the water, cutting a stick, he put it into the water, and the iron came up to the top of the water.
7 And he said: 'Take it up to thee.' So he put out his hand, and took it.
Then he said, Take it up. So he put out his hand and took it.
8 Now the king of Aram warred against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying: 'In such and such a place shall be my camp.'
At that time the king of Aram was making war against Israel; and he had a meeting with the chiefs of his army and said, I will be waiting in secret in some named place.
9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying: 'Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Arameans are coming down.'
And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, Take care to keep away from that place, for the Aramaeans are waiting there in secret.
10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he guarded himself there, not once nor twice.
So the king of Israel sent to the place where the man of God had said there was danger, and kept clear of it more than once.
11 And the heart of the king of Aram was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them: 'Will ye not tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?'
And at this, the mind of the king of Aram was greatly troubled, and he sent for his servants and said to them, Will you not make clear to me which of us is helping the king of Israel?
12 And one of his servants said: 'Nay, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bed-chamber.'
And one of them said, Not one of us, my lord king; but Elisha, the prophet in Israel, gives the king of Israel news of the words you say even in your bedroom.
13 And he said: 'Go and see where he is, that I may send and fetch him.' And it was told him, saying: 'Behold, he is in Dothan.'
Then he said, Go and see where he is, so that I may send and get him. And news came to him that he was in Dothan.
14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host; and they came by night, and compassed the city about.
So he sent there horses and carriages and a great army; and they came by night, circling the town.
15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, a host with horses and chariots was round about the city. And his servant said unto him: 'Alas, my master! how shall we do?'
Now the servant of the man of God, having got up early and gone out, saw an army with horses and carriages of war all round the town. And the servant said to him, O my master, what are we to do?
16 And he answered: 'Fear not: for they that are with us are more than they that are with them.'
And he said in answer, Have no fear; those who are with us are more than those who are with them.
17 And Elisha prayed, and said: 'LORD, I pray Thee, open his eyes, that he may see.' And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
Then Elisha made a prayer to the Lord, saying, Lord, let his eyes be open so that he may see. And the Lord made the young man's eyes open; and he saw that all the mountain was full of horses and carriages of fire round Elisha.
18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said: 'Smite this people, I pray Thee, with blindness.' And He smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
Now when the Aramaeans came down to Elisha, he made a prayer to the Lord saying, Lord, make this people blind. And he made them blind at Elisha's request.
19 And Elisha said unto them: 'This is not the way, neither is this the city; follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek.' And he led them to Samaria.
And Elisha said to them, This is not the way, and this is not the town: come after me so that I may take you to the man you are searching for. And he took them to Samaria.
20 And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said: 'LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.' And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
And when they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, Lord, let the eyes of these men be open so that they may see. And the Lord made their eyes open, and they saw that they were in the middle of Samaria.
21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them: 'My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?'
And the king of Israel, when he saw them, said to Elisha, My father, am I to put them to the sword?
22 And he answered: 'Thou shalt not smite them; hast thou taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow those whom thou wouldest smite? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.'
But he said in answer, You are not to put them to death; have you any right to put to death those whom you have not taken prisoner with your sword and your bow? put bread and water before them, so that they may have food and drink and go to their master.
23 And he prepared great provision for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands of Aram came no more into the land of Israel.
So he made ready a great feast for them, and when they had had food and drink, he sent them away and they went back to their master. And no more bands of Aramaeans came into the land of Israel.
24 And it came to pass after this, that Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
Now after this, Ben-hadad, king of Aram, got together all his army and went up to make an attack on Samaria, shutting the town in on all sides with his forces.
25 And there was a great famine in Samaria; and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.
And they became very short of food in Samaria; for they kept it shut in till the price of an ass's head was eighty shekels of silver, and a small measure of doves' droppings was five shekels of silver.
26 And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying: 'Help, my lord, O king.'
And when the king of Israel was going by on the wall, a woman came crying out to him, and said, Help! my lord king.
27 And he said: 'If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the threshingfloor, or out of the winepress?'
And he said, If the Lord does not give you help, where am I to get help for you? from the grain-floor or the grape-crusher?
28 And the king said unto her: 'What aileth thee?' And she answered: 'This woman said unto me: Give thy son, that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow.
And the king said to her, What is troubling you? And she said in answer, This woman said to me, Give your son to be our food today, and we will have my son tomorrow.
29 So we boiled my son, and did eat him; and I said unto her on the next day: Give thy son, that we may eat him; and she hath hid her son.'
So, boiling my son, we had a meal of him; and on the day after I said to her, Now give your son for our food; but she has put her son in a secret place.
30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes — now he was passing by upon the wall — and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.
Then the king, hearing what the woman said, took his robes in his hands, violently parting them; and, while he was walking on the wall, the people, looking, saw that under his robe he had haircloth on his flesh.
31 Then he said: 'God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.'
Then he said, May God's punishment come on me if Elisha, the son of Shaphat, keeps his head on his body after this day.
32 But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him; but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders: 'See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away my head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold the door fast against him; is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?'
But Elisha was in his house, and the responsible men were seated there with him; and before the king got there, Elisha said to those who were with him, Do you see how this cruel and violent man has sent to take away my life?
33 And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him; and the king said: 'Behold, this evil is of the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer?'
While he was still talking to them, the king came down and said, This evil is from the Lord; why am I to go on waiting any longer for the Lord?
