< 2 Kings 7 >

1 Then said Elisha', Hear ye the word of the Lord: Thus hath said the Lord, About this time tomorrow a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.
And Eliseus said: Hear ye the word of the Lord: Thus saith the Lord: Tomorrow about this time a bushel of fine hour shall be sold for a stater, and two bushels of barley for a stater, in the gate of Samaria.
2 Then answered the lord of the king, on whose hand he used to lean, the man of God, and said, Behold, will the Lord make windows in the heavens, that this thing shall be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thy eyes, but thereof shalt thou not eat.
Then one of the lords, upon whose hand the king leaned, answering the man of God, said: If the Lord should make flood-gates in heaven, can that possibly be which thou sayest? And he said: Thou shalt see it with thy eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
3 And there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate: and they said one to another, Why do we remain here until we die?
Now there were four lepers, at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another: What mean we to stay here till we die?
4 If we say, We will enter into the city, then is the famine in the city, and we shall die there; and if we remain here, we die [also]: now therefore come, and let us go over unto the camp of the Syrians; if they will let us live, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.
If we will enter into the city, we shall die with the famine: and if we will remain here, we must also die: come, therefore, and let us run over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare us, we shall live: but if they kill us, we shall but die.
5 And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians; and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no man there.
So they arose in the evening, to go to the Syrian camp, And when they were come to the first part of the camp of the Syrians, they found no man there.
6 For the Lord had caused the camp of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, the noise of a large army: and they said one to the other, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.
For the Lord had made them hear, in the camp of Syria, the noise of chariots, and of horses, and of a very great army, and they said one to another: Behold the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hethites, and of the Egyptians, and they are come upon us.
7 And they were arisen and fled in the twilight, and had left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, the camp as it was, and fled for their life.
Wherefore they arose, and fled away in the dark, and left their tents, and their horses and asses in the camp, and fled, desiring to save their lives.
8 And so came these lepers to the uttermost part of the camp, and they went into one tent, and ate and drank, and carried away thence silver, and gold, and garments, and went and hid them; and they returned, and entered into another tent, and carried away [something] thence, and went and hid it.
So when these lepers were come to the beginning of the camp, they went into one tent, and ate and drank: and they took from thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went, and hid it: and they came again, and went into another tent, and carried from thence in like manner, and hid it.
9 And then they said one to the other, We do not act correctly; this day is a day of good tidings; and if we remain silent, and tarry till the morning-light, we shall incur guilt: now then come, and let us go and tell it at the king's house.
Then they said one to another: We do not well: for this is a day of good tidings. If we hold our peace, and do not tell it till the morning, we shall be charged with a crime: come, let us go and tell it in the king’s court.
10 So they went and called unto one of the gate-keepers of the city, and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, nor the voice of man; but the horses were tied, and the asses were tied, and the tents as they had been.
So they came to the gate of the city, and told them, saying: We went to the camp of the Syrians, and we found no man there, but horses, and asses tied, and the tents standing.
11 And he called the gate-keepers; and they told it at the king's house within.
Then the guards of the gate went, and told it within the king’s palace.
12 And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I can easily tell you what the Syrians have done to us: they know that we are hungry; and they are therefore gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, If they should come out of the city, we will catch them alive, and enter into the city.
And he arose in the night and said to his servants: I tell you what the Syrians have done to us: They know that we suffer great famine, and therefore they are gone out of the camp, and lie hid in the fields, saying: When they come out of the city we shall take them alive, and then we may get into the city.
13 And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, let it fare with them as with all the multitude of Israel that are left in it, [or] let it fare with them as with all the multitude of Israel that have perished: and let us send out and see.
And one of his servants answered: Let us take the five horses that are remaining in the city (because there are no more in the whole multitude of Israel, for the rest are consumed, ) and let us send and see.
14 And they took two chariots with horses; and the king sent after the camp of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.
They brought therefore two horses, and the king sent into the camp of the Syrians, saying: Go, and see.
15 And they went after them as far as the Jordan; and, lo, the whole way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste: and the messengers returned, and told it to the king.
And they went after them as far as the Jordan: and behold all the way was full of garments, and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their fright, and the messengers returned and told the king.
16 And the people went out, and plundered the camp of the Syrians: and a seah of fine flour was to be had for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord.
And the people going out pillaged the camp of the Syrians: and a bushel of fine flour was sold for a stater, and two bushels of barley for a stater, according to the word of the Lord.
17 And the king had appointed the lord on whose hand he used to lean to have the charge of the gate; and the people trod him down in the gate, and he died; as the man of God had spoken, which he spoke when the king came down to him.
And the king appointed that lord on whose hand he leaned, to stand at the gate: and the people trod upon him in the entrance of the gate; and he died, as the man of God had said, when the king came down to him.
18 And it came to pass as the man of God was speaking to the king, saying, Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, shall be about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria:
And it came to pass according to the word of the man of God, which he spoke to the king, when he said: Two bushels of barley shall be for a stater, and a bushel of fine flour for a stater, at this very time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria.
19 That the Lord had answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if even the Lord were to make windows in the heavens, would such a thing be? And he had said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thy eyes, but thereof shalt thou not eat.
When that lord answered the man of God, and said: Although the Lord should make flood-gates in heaven, could this come to pass which thou sayest? And he said to him: Thou shalt see with thy eyes, and shalt not eat thereof.
20 And it happened unto him so; for the people trod him down in the gate, and he died.
And so it fell out to him as it was foretold, and the people trod upon him in the gate, and he died.

< 2 Kings 7 >