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.
And sons of the prophet say to Elisha, “Now behold, the place where we are dwelling 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.
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.”
3 Then said one—Be content, we pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he said—I myself, will go.
And the one says, “Please be willing, and go with your servants”; and he says, “I go.”
4 So he went with them, —and, when they came to the Jordan, they cut down wood.
And he goes with them, and they come to the Jordan, and cut down the trees,
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!
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!”
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.
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,
7 And he said—Take it up to thee. So he put forth his hand, and took it.
and says, “Raise [it] up for yourself”; and he puts forth his hand and takes 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.
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.”
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 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”;
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 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.
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 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?”
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 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.”
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 says, “Go and see where he [is], and I send and take him”; and it is declared to him, saying, “Behold—in Dothan.”
14 Therefore sent he thither—horses and chariots, and a strong force, —and they came in by night, and encompassed the city.
And he sends horses and chariot, and a heavy force there, and they come in by night, and go around against 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?
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?”
16 And he said—Do not fear, —for, more, are, they who are with us, than, they who are with them.
And he says, “Do not fear, for more [are] they who [are] with us than they who [are] 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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!
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 says to Elisha at his seeing them, “My father, do I strike, do I strike?”
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 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.”
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 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.
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.
And it comes to pass afterward, that Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathers all his camp, and goes up, and lays siege to 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 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.
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 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.”
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 says, “YHWH does not save you—from where do I save you? Out of the threshing-floor or out of the wine-vat?”
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.
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;
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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 he says, “Thus God does to me and thus He adds, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains 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?
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?”
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?
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?”
