2 Kings 6
1 And sons of the prophet say to Elisha, “Now behold, the place where we are dwelling before you is too narrow for us;
Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha: “Behold, the place in which we live before you is too narrow for us.
2 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.”
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.”
3 And the one says, “Please be willing, and go with your servants”; and he says, “I go.”
And one of them said, “Then you, too, should go with your servants.” And he answered, “I will go.”
4 And he goes with them, and they come to the Jordan, and cut down the trees,
And he went with them. And when they had arrived at the Jordan, they were cutting down wood.
5 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!”
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.”
6 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,
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.
7 and says, “Raise [it] up for yourself”; and he puts forth his hand and takes it.
And he said, “Take it.” And he extended his hand, and took it.
8 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.”
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.”
9 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”;
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.”
10 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.
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.
11 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?”
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?”
12 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.”
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.”
13 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.”
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.”
14 And he sends horses and chariot, and a heavy force there, and they come in by night, and go around against the city.
Therefore, he sent horses, and chariots, and experienced soldiers to that place. And when they had arrived in the night, they encircled the city.
15 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?”
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?”
16 And he says, “Do not fear, for more [are] they who [are] with us than they who [are] with them.”
But he responded: “Do not be afraid. For there are more with us than with them.”
17 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.
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.
18 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.
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.
19 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.
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.
20 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!
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.
21 And the king of Israel says to Elisha at his seeing them, “My father, do I strike, do I strike?”
And the king of Israel, when he had seen them, said to Elisha, “My father, should I not strike them?”
22 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.”
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.”
23 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.
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.
24 And it comes to pass afterward, that Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathers all his camp, and goes up, and lays siege to Samaria,
Now it happened that, after these things, Benhadad, the king of Syria, gathered together his entire army, and he ascended and was besieging Samaria.
25 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.
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.
26 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.”
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!”
27 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?”
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:
28 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;
“This woman said to me: ‘Give your son, so that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’
29 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.”
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.”
30 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.
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.
31 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.”
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!”
32 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?”
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.”
33 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?”
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?”
