2 Kings 6
1 One day a group of prophets said to Elisha, “Look, this place where we meet together with you is very small.
And sons of the prophet say to Elisha, “Now behold, the place where we are dwelling before you is too narrow for us;
2 Allow us to go to the Jordan [River and cut down some trees to make] logs to build a new meeting place.” So Elisha said, “Okay, go.”
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 One of them said to Elisha, “Please come with us.” So Elisha replied, “Okay, I will go with you.”
And the one says, “Please be willing, and go with your servants”; and he says, “I go.”
4 So they went together. When they reached the Jordan [River], they cut down some trees.
And he goes with them, and they come to the Jordan, and cut down the trees,
5 But while one of them was cutting down a tree, suddenly the axe head [separated from the handle and] fell into the water. He cried out to Elisha, “O, Master, what shall I do? [The axe is not mine]; I borrowed it!”
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 Elisha replied, “Where did it fall into the water?” After the man showed him the place, Elisha cut off a stick, and threw it into the water, and caused the iron axe head to float [on top of the water].
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 Elisha said, “Take it out of the water.” So the man reached his hand down and picked up the axe head.
and says, “Raise [it] up for yourself”; and he puts forth his hand and takes it.
8 Whenever the king of Syria [prepared to send his army to] fight against Israel, he first consulted his officers, and then told them where they should set up their tents.
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 But each time, Elisha would send a message to warn the king of Israel, [telling him where the army of Syria was planning to attack them, ] saying, “Be sure that your army does not go near that place, because the army of Syria has set up their tents there.”
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 would send [messengers] to warn [the people who lived in] that place, and the people would remain on guard. That happened several times.
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 The king of Syria was very upset/disturbed/angry about that. So he summoned his army officers and said to them, “[Obviously] one of you is (betraying us/revealing our plans) to the king of Israel. Which one of you is doing it?”
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 One of his officers answered, “Your Majesty, it is not one of us. Elisha the prophet [knows what we plan to do, and he] tells the king of Israel everything. He even knows what you say in your own bedroom!”
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 The king of Syria replied, “Go and find out where he is, and I will send [some men there] to capture him.” Someone told him, “People say that he is in Dothan [town north of Samaria].”
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 So the king sent a large group of soldiers [to Dothan] with horses and chariots. They arrived at night and surrounded the town.
And he sends horses and chariot, and a heavy force there, and they come in by night, and go around against the city.
15 Early the next morning, Elisha’s servant got up and went outside the house. He saw the soldiers of Syria with their horses and chariots surrounding the town. So he went inside [the house and reported it to Elisha] and exclaimed, “O, sir! What are we going to 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 Elisha replied, “Do not be afraid! Those who will be helping us will be more than those who will be helping them!”
And he says, “Do not fear, for more [are] they who [are] with us than they who [are] with them.”
17 Then he prayed, “Yahweh, I request that you open my servant’s eyes in order that he can see [what is out there]!” So Yahweh enabled the servant to look out and see that surrounding the hill on which the town [was built] was a huge number of horses, and chariots made of fire!
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 When the army of Syria prepared to attack Elisha, he prayed again, saying, “Yahweh, cause all these soldiers to become blind!” Yahweh answered his prayer and caused them to be unable to see clearly.
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 went to them and said, “You are not on the right road; this is not the city that you are searching for. I will take you to the man whom you are searching for.” But he led them to Samaria, [the capital of Israel]!
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 As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha prayed again, saying, “Yahweh, now enable these soldiers to see correctly again!” So Yahweh enabled them to see correctly, and they were surprised to see that they were inside Samaria [city].
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 When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “Sir, shall I [tell my soldiers to] kill them? Shall we kill all of them?”
And the king of Israel says to Elisha at his seeing them, “My father, do I strike, do I strike?”
22 Elisha replied, “No, you must not kill them. If your army captured many of your enemies in a battle, you would certainly not [RHQ] kill them. Give these men something to eat and drink, and then allow them to return to their king.”
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 So the king of Israel did that. He told his servants to provide a big feast for them. And when they had eaten and drunk plenty, he sent them away. They returned to the king of Syria [and told him what had happened]. So for a while after that, soldiers from Syria stopped raiding/attacking towns in 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 some time later, Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, assembled his entire army, and they went to Samaria and surrounded the city [for a long time].
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 Because of that, after a while there was hardly any food left inside the city, with the result that eventually a donkey’s head, [which was usually worthless, ] cost eighty pieces of silver, and (one cup/0.3 liter) of dove’s dung cost 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 One day when the king of Israel was walking on top of the city wall, a woman cried out to him, “Your Majesty, help me!”
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 He replied, “If Yahweh will not help you, I certainly cannot [RHQ] help you. I certainly [RHQ] do not have any wheat or wine!
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 What is your problem?” She replied, “Several days ago, that woman [over there] said to me, ‘[Because we have nothing left to eat, ] let’s kill your son today, in order that we can eat his flesh. Then tomorrow we can [kill] my son [and] eat his flesh.’
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 [killed my son and cut his body up and] boiled his flesh and ate it. The next day, I said to her, ‘Now give your son to me, in order that we can [kill him and cook his flesh and] eat it.’ But she has hidden 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 When the king heard what the woman said, he tore his robe [to show that he was very distressed]. The people who were standing close to the wall were able to see that the king was wearing rough cloth underneath his robe [because he was very distressed].
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 The king exclaimed, “I wish/hope that God will strike me dead if I do not cut off the head of Elisha today, [because he is the one who has caused these terrible things to happen to us]!”
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 So the king sent an officer to get Elisha. Before the officer arrived, Elisha was sitting in his house with some Israeli elders who were talking with him. Elisha said to them, “That murderer, [the king of Israel, ] is sending someone here to kill me. Listen: When he arrives, shut the door and do not allow him to come in. And the king will be coming right behind that officer!”
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 And while he was still speaking, the king and the officer arrived. The king said, “It is Yahweh who has caused us to have all this trouble/suffering. (Why should I wait any longer [RHQ] for him to do something [to help us]?/It is useless for me to wait any longer for him [to help us]!)”
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?”
