2 Kings 7

1 Forsothe Elisee seide, Here ye the word of the Lord; the Lord seith these thingis, In this tyme to morewe a buschel of flour schal be for a stater, and twei buschels of barli for a stater, in the yate of Samarie.

And Elisaie said, Hear you the word of the Lord; Thus says the Lord, As at this time, to-morrow a measure of fine flour [shall be sold] for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gates of Samaria.

2 And oon of the duykis, on whos hond the kyng lenyde, answeride to the man of God, and seide, Thouy `also the Lord make the goteris of heuene to be openyd, whether that, that thou spekist, mai be? Which Elisee seide, Thou schalt se with thin iyen, and thou schalt not ete therof.

And the officer on whose hand the king rested, answered Elisaie, and said, Behold, [if] the Lord shall make flood-gates in heaven, might this thing be? and Elisaie said, Behold, you shall see with your eyes, but shall not eat thereof.

3 Therfor foure leprouse men weren bisidis the entryng of the yate, whiche seiden togidere, What wolen we be here, til we dien?

And there were four leprous men by the gate of the city: and one said to his neighbor, Why sit we here until we die?

4 Whether we wolen entre in to the citee, we schulen die for hungur; whether we dwellen here, we schulen die. Therfor come ye, and fle we ouer to the castels of Sirie; if thei schulen spare vs, we schulen lyue; sotheli if thei wolen sle, netheles we schulen die.

If we should say, Let us go into the city, then [there is] famine in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit here, then we shall die. Now then come, and let us fall upon the camp of the Syrians: if they should take us alive, then we shall live; and if they should put us to death, then we shall [only] die.

5 Therfor thei risiden in the euentide to come to the castels of Sirie; and whanne thei hadden come to the bigynnyng of the castels of Sirie, thei founden not ony man there.

And they rose up while it was yet night, to go into the camp of Syria; and they came into a part of the camp of Syria, and behold, there [was] no man there.

6 Forsothe the Lord hadde maad a sown of charis, and of horsis, and of ful myche oost to be herd in the castels of Sirie; and thei seiden togidere, Lo! the kyng of Israel hath hirid bi meede ayens vs the kyngis of Etheis and of Egipcians; and thei camen on vs.

For the Lord had made the army of Syria to hear a sound of chariots, and a sound of horses, [even] the sound of a great host: and [each] man said to his fellow, Now has the king of Israel hired against us the kings of the Chettites, and the kings of Egypt, to come against us.

7 Therfor thei risiden, and fledden in derknessis, and leften her tentis, and horsis, and mulis, and assis, in the castels; and thei fledden, couetynge to saue her lyues oonli.

And they arose and fled while it was yet dark, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses in the camp, as they were, and fled for their lives.

8 Therfor whanne thilke leprouse men hadden come to the bigynnyng of the castels, thei entriden into o tabernacle, and eetun, and drunken; and thei token fro thennus siluer, and gold, and clothis; and yeden, and hidden; and eft thei turneden ayen to anothir tabernacle, and in lijk maner thei token awei fro thennus, and hidden.

And these lepers entered a little way into the camp, and went into one tent, and ate and drank, and took thence silver, and gold, and raiment; and they went and returned thence, and entered into another tent, and took thence, and went and hid [the spoil].

9 And thei seiden togidere, We doen not riytfuli, for this is a dai of good message; if we holden stille, and nylen telle til the morewtid, we schulen be repreued of trespassyng; come ye, go we, and telle in the `halle of the kyng.

And [one] man said to his neighbor, We are not doing [well] thus: this day is a day of glad tidings, and we hold our peace, and are waiting till the morning light, and shall find mischief: now them come, and let us go into [the city], and report to the house of the king.

10 And whanne thei hadden come to the yate of the citee, thei telden to hem, and seiden, We yeden to the castels of Sirie, and we founden not ony man there, no but horsis and assis tied, and tentis fastned.

So they went and cried toward the gate of the city, and reported to them, saying, We went into the camp of Syria, and, behold, there is not there a man, nor voice of man, only horses tied and asses, and their tents as they were.

11 Therfor the porteris yeden, and telden in the paleis of the kyng with ynne.

And the porters cried aloud, and reported to the house of the king within.

12 Which king roos bi niyt, and seide to hise seruauntis, Y seie to you, what the men of Sirie han do to vs; thei witen, that we trauelen with hungur, therfor thei yeden out of the castels, and ben hid in the feeldis, and seien, Whanne thei schulen go out of the citee, we schulen take hem quyk, and thanne we schulen mowe entre in to the citee.

And the king rose up by night, and said to his servants, I will now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They knew that we are hungry; and they have gone forth from the camp and hidden themselves in the field, saying, They will come out of the city, and we shall catch them alive, and go into the city.

13 Forsothe oon of his seruauntis answeride, Take we fyue horsis, that leften in the citee; for tho ben oonli in al the multitude of Israel, for othere horsis ben wastid; and we sendynge moun aspie.

And one of his servants answered and said, Let them now take five of the horses that were left, which were left here; behold, they are the number left to all the multitude of Israel; and we will send there and see.

14 Therfor thei brouyten forth twei horsis; and the kyng sente in to the castels of men of Sirie, and seide, Go ye, and se.

So they took two horsemen; and the king of Israel sent after the king of Syria, saying, Go, and see.

15 Whiche yeden after hem `til to Jordan; lo! forsothe al the weie was ful of clothis, and of vessels, whiche the men of Sirie castiden forth, whanne thei weren disturblid. And the messangeris turneden ayen, and schewiden to the kyng.

And they went after them even to Jordan: and, behold, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their panic. and the messengers returned, and brought word to the king.

16 And the puple yede out, and rauyschide the castels of Sirie; and a buyschel of flour was maad for o stater, and twei buyschels of barli for o stater, bi the word of the Lord.

And the people went out, and plundered the camp of Syria: and a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord, and two measures of barley for a shekel.

17 Forsothe the kyng ordeynede at the yate that duyk, in whos hond the kyng lenyde; whom the cumpeny to-trad with her feet, and he was deed, bi the word, which the man of God spak, whanne the kyng cam doun to hym.

And the king appointed the officer on whose hand the king leaned [to have charge] over the gate: and the people trampled on him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God [had] said, who spoke when the messenger came down to him.

18 And it was doon bi the word of the man of God, which he seide to the kyng, whanne he seide, Twei buyschels of barli shulen be for a statir, and a buyschel of wheete flour for a stater, in this same tyme to morewe in the yate of Samarie;

So it came to pass as Elisaie had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley [shall be sold] for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel; and it shall be as at this time to-morrow in the gate of Samaria.

19 whanne thilke duyk answeride to the man of God, and seide, Yhe, thouy the Lord schal make the goteris in heuene to be openyd, whether this that thou spekist may be? and the man of God seide, Thou schalt se with thin iyen, and thou schalt not ete therof.

And the officer answered Elisaie, and said, Behold, [if] the Lord makes flood-gates in heaven, shall this thing be? and Elisaie said, Behold, you shall see [it] with your eyes, but you shall not eat thereof.

20 Therfore it bifelde to hym, as it was biforseid; and the puple to-trad hym with feet in the yate, and he was deed.

And it was so: for the people trampled on him in the gate, and he died.