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;
The sons of the prophets told Elisha, “Look, the place we meet with you is too small 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's go to the Jordan and each of us can carry one log back. We can build a new place there for us to meet.” “Go ahead,” said Elisha.
3 And the one saith, 'Be pleased, I pray thee, and go with thy servants;' and he saith, 'I — I go.'
One of them asked, “Please come with your servants.” “I'll come,” he replied.
4 And he goeth with them, and they come in to the Jordan, and cut down the trees,
So he went with them. When they got to the Jordan, they started cutting down trees.
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!'
But as one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no! My master, it was one that was borrowed!” he shouted.
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,
“Where did it fall?” the man of God asked. When he showed him the place, the man of God cut a stick, threw it in there, and made the iron axhead float.
7 and saith, 'Raise to thee;' and he putteth forth his hand and taketh it.
“Pick it up,” Elisha told the man. So he reached out his hand and picked it up.
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.'
The Aramean king was at war with Israel. After consulting with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in this particular place.”
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;
Then the man of God sent a warning to the king of Israel: “Watch out if you go near this place, because the Arameans are going to be there.”
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.
So the king of Israel sent a warning to the place the man of God had indicated. Elisha repeatedly warned the king, so that he was on the alert in those places.
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?'
This made the Aramean king really mad. He summoned his officers, demanding an answer: “Tell me, which of us is on the side of 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.'
“It's none of us, my lord the king,” one of his officers replied. “It's Elisha, the prophet who lives in Israel—he tells the king of Israel even what you say in your bedroom.”
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.'
So the king gave the order, “Go and find out where he is so I can send soldiers to capture him.” He was told, “Elisha 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.
So he sent horses, chariots, and a large army. They came at night and surrounded the town.
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?'
Early in the morning when the servant of the man of God got up, he went out and saw that an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my master, what are we going to do?” he asked Elisha.
16 And he saith, 'Fear not, for more [are] they who [are] with us than they who [are] with them.'
Elisha replied, “Don't be afraid, for there are many more who are with us than there are 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.
Elisha prayed, saying, “Lord, please open his eyes so he can see.” The Lord opened the servant's eyes, and when he looked he saw the hills 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.
As the army descended on him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Please strike these people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
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 went and told them, “This isn't the right road, and this isn't the right town. Follow me, and I'll take you to the man you're looking for.” He led them to 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!
After they had entered Samaria, Elisha prayed, “Lord, open the eyes of these men that they can see.” The Lord opened their eyes, and they looked around and saw that they were in Samaria.
21 And the king of Israel saith unto Elisha, at his seeing them, 'Do I smite — do I smite — my father?'
When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill 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.'
“No, don't you kill them!” he replied. “Would you kill prisoners you captured with your own sword or bow? Give them some food and water so that they may eat and drink, and then let them go back to their master.”
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.
So the king had a great feast prepared for them, and once they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them back to their master. The Aramean raiders did not enter the land of Israel again.
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,
Sometime after this Ben-hadad king of Aram called up all his army and went to lay siege to 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.
So there was a major famine in Samaria. In fact the siege lasted so long that a donkey's head cost eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter cab of dove's dung cost five shekels of silver.
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.'
As the king of Israel was walking by on the city wall, a woman called out to him, “Help 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?'
“If the Lord doesn't help you, why would you think I can help you?” the king replied. “I don't have grain from the threshing floor, or wine from the winepress.”
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;
But then he asked her, “What's the problem?” “This woman told me, ‘Give up your son and we'll eat him today, and tomorrow we'll eat my son,’” she answered.
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.'
“So we cooked my son and we ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we can eat him,’ but she's hidden 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 heard what the woman said he ripped his clothes. As he walked by on the wall, the people saw that he was wearing sackcloth under his clothes next to his skin.
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.'
“May God punish me very severely if the head of Elisha, son of Shaphat, remains on his shoulders today!” he declared.
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?'
Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders. The king had sent a messenger on ahead, but before he got there, Elisha told the elders, “Can you see how this murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? So, as soon as the messenger arrives, close the door and hold it shut against him. Isn't that the sound of his master's footsteps following 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 Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger arrived. The king said, “This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”
