< 2 Kings 6 >
1 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, —See, we pray thee, the place wherein we sit before thee, is too strait 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 Let us go, we pray thee, as far as the Jordan, and fetch from thence every man a single beam, and let us make us a place wherein we may sit. And he said—Go ye.
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 Then said one—Be content, we pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he said—I myself, will go.
And one of them said, “Then you, too, should go with your servants.” And he answered, “I will go.”
4 So he went with them, —and, when they came to the Jordan, they cut down wood.
And he went with them. And when they had arrived at the Jordan, they were cutting down wood.
5 And it came to pass, as one was felling a branch, that, the axe-head, fell into the water, so he made outcry and said—Alas! 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 said—Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a piece of wood and cast it in thither, and the iron did 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 he said—Take it up to thee. So he put forth his hand, and took it.
And he said, “Take it.” And he extended his hand, and took it.
8 Now, the king of Syria, was making war against Israel, —so he took counsel with his servants, saying—In such and such a place, shall be my encampment.
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 The man of God, therefore, sent unto the king of Israel, saying—Beware of passing by this place, —for, thither, are the Syrians coming down.
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 So the king of Israel sent unto the place whereof the man of God had spoken to him and warned him, and was on his guard there, —not once nor 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 Then was the heart of the king of Syria disquieted concerning this thing, —and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not tell me, who of our men are 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 Then said one of his servants, None, my lord O king, —but, Elisha, the prophet, who is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words which thou speakest in thy 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 said—Go, and see where he is, that I may send and take him. And it was told him, saying—Lo! 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 Therefore sent he thither—horses and chariots, and a strong force, —and they came in by night, and encompassed 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, when the attendant of the man of God arose early and went forth, lo! a force surrounding the city, with horses and chariots. Then said his young man unto him—Alas! my lord, what shall 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 said—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 Then prayed Elisha, and said, O Yahweh! open, I beseech thee, his eyes, that he may see. And Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and lo! the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire, round about 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, when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto Yahweh, and said—Smite, I beseech thee, this people, with sudden blindness. And he smote them with sudden 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 Then Elisha said unto them—This, is not the way, neither is, this, the city, follow me, that I may lead you unto the man, whom ye would secure! So he led 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 came to pass, when they had entered Samaria, that Elisha said, O Yahweh! open the eyes of these men, that they may see! And Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw, and lo! they were 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 Then said the king of Israel unto Elisha, when he saw them, —Shall I smite—shall I smite, my father?
And the king of Israel, when he had seen them, said to Elisha, “My father, should I not strike them?”
22 And he said—Thou shalt not smite. Them whom thou hadst taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow, wouldst, thou, have been smiting? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go their way unto 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 made for them a great feast, and, when they had eaten and drunk, he let them go, and they went their way unto their lord. So then, troops of Syrians came again, no more, into the land of Israel.
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 But it came to pass, after this, that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered together all his host, —and came up and laid siege against 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 came to be, a great famine, in Samaria, and lo! they continued the siege against it, —until an ass’s head was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and one pint of dove’s dung for 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 so it was that, as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman, made outcry unto 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 said—If Yahweh do not save thee, whence should I save thee? out of the threshing-floor or out of the wine-press?
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 said to her—What aileth thee? And she said—This woman, said unto me—Give thy son, that we may eat him, to-day, and, my son, will we eat to-morrow.
“This woman said to me: ‘Give your son, so that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’
29 So we cooked my son, and did eat him, —and I said unto her, on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him; But she had hid 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 came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes, while yet he was passing by upon the wall, —so the people looked, and lo! sackcloth upon his flesh, within.
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 said—So, let God do to me, and, so, let him add, —if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remain on him, to-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 Now, Elisha, being seated in his house, and, the elders, seated with him, —when he had sent a man from before him, ere yet the messenger could come in unto him, he himself, said unto the elders—Do ye see how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away my head? See! when the messenger is coming in, close ye the door, and press him back with the door, is not the sound of his lord’s feet 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 While yet he was speaking with them, lo! the messenger, coming down unto him, —and he said, —Lo! this, is a calamity from Yahweh, why should I wait for Yahweh, any longer?
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?”