2 Kings 6
1 And sons of the prophet say unto Elisha, 'Lo, we pray thee, the place where we are dwelling 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, unto the Jordan, and we take thence each one beam, and we make for ourselves there a place to dwell there;' and he saith, '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 saith, 'Be pleased, I pray thee, and go with thy servants;' and he saith, 'I — I go.'
And one of them said, “Then you, too, should go with your servants.” And he answered, “I will go.”
4 And he goeth with them, and they come in 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 cometh to pass, the one is felling the beam, and the iron hath fallen into the water, and he crieth and saith, 'Alas! my lord, and it asked!'
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 saith, 'Whither hath it fallen?' and he sheweth him the place, and he cutteth a stick, and casteth thither, and causeth 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 saith, 'Raise to thee;' and he putteth forth his hand and taketh it.
And he said, “Take it.” And he extended his hand, and took it.
8 And the king of Aram hath been fighting against Israel, and taketh 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 sendeth unto the king of Israel, saying, 'Take heed of passing by this place, for thither are the Aramaeans 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 and the king of Israel sendeth unto the place of which the man of God spake to him, and warned him, and he is preserved 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 And the heart of the king of Aram is tossed about concerning this thing, and he calleth unto his servants, and saith unto them, 'Do ye 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 saith, 'Nay, my lord, O king, for Elisha the prophet, who [is] in Israel, declareth to the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in the inner part of 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 saith, 'Go ye and see where he [is], and I send and take him;' and it is declared to 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 And he sendeth thither horses and chariot, and a heavy force, and they come in by night, and go round 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 riseth early, and goeth out, and lo, a force is surrounding the city, and horse and chariot, and his young man saith unto him, 'Alas! 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 saith, 'Fear not, 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 prayeth, and saith, 'Jehovah, open, I pray Thee, his eyes, and he doth see;' and Jehovah openeth the eyes of the young man, and he seeth, and lo, the hill is 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 they come down unto it, and Elisha prayeth unto Jehovah, and saith, 'Smite, I pray Thee, this nation with blindness;' and He smiteth 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 saith unto them, 'This [is] not the way, nor [is] this the city; come after me, and I lead you unto the man whom ye seek;' and he leadeth 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 cometh to pass, at their coming in to Samaria, that Elisha saith, 'Jehovah, open the eyes of these, and they see;' and Jehovah openeth their eyes, and they see, and lo, 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 saith unto Elisha, at his seeing them, 'Do I smite — do 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 saith, 'Thou dost not smite; those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow art thou smiting? set bread and water before them, and they eat, and drink, and go 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 prepareth for them great provision, and they eat and drink, and he sendeth them away, and they go unto their lord: and troops of Aram have not added any more to come in to 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 And it cometh to pass afterwards, that Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathereth all his camp, and goeth up, and layeth 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 lo, they are laying siege to it, till the head of an ass is at eighty silverlings, and a forth of the cab of dovesdung at five silverlings.
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 cometh to pass, the king of Israel is passing by on the wall, and a woman hath cried 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 saith, 'Jehovah doth not save thee — whence do I save thee? 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 saith to her, 'What — to thee?' and she saith, 'This woman said unto me, Give thy son, and we eat him to-day, and my son 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 and we boil my son and eat him, and I say unto her on the next day, Give thy son, and we eat him; and she hideth 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 cometh to pass, at the king's hearing the words of the woman, that he rendeth his garments, and he is passing by on the wall, and the people see, and lo, the sackcloth [is] on 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 saith, 'Thus doth God do to me, and thus He doth add — if it remain — the head of Elisha son of Shaphat — upon 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 elders are sitting with him, and [the king] sendeth a man from before him; before the messenger doth come unto him, even he himself said unto the elders, 'Have ye seen that this son of the murderer hath sent to turn aside my head? see, at the coming in of the messenger, shut the door, and ye 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 lo, the messenger is coming down unto him, and he saith, 'Lo, this [is] the evil from Jehovah: what — do I wait for Jehovah any more?'
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?”
