Βασιλειῶν Δʹ 6
1 καὶ εἶπον οἱ υἱοὶ τῶν προφητῶν πρὸς Ελισαιε ἰδοὺ δὴ ὁ τόπος ἐν ᾧ ἡμεῖς οἰκοῦμεν ἐνώπιόν σου στενὸς ἀφ’ ἡμῶν
One day a group of prophets said to Elisha, “Look, this place where we meet together with you is very small.
2 πορευθῶμεν δὴ ἕως τοῦ Ιορδάνου καὶ λάβωμεν ἐκεῖθεν ἀνὴρ εἷς δοκὸν μίαν καὶ ποιήσωμεν ἑαυτοῖς ἐκεῖ τοῦ οἰκεῖν ἐκεῖ καὶ εἶπεν δεῦτε
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.”
3 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ εἷς ἐπιεικέως δεῦρο μετὰ τῶν δούλων σου καὶ εἶπεν ἐγὼ πορεύσομαι
One of them said to Elisha, “Please come with us.” So Elisha replied, “Okay, I will go with you.”
4 καὶ ἐπορεύθη μετ’ αὐτῶν καὶ ἦλθον εἰς τὸν Ιορδάνην καὶ ἔτεμνον τὰ ξύλα
So they went together. When they reached the Jordan [River], they cut down some trees.
5 καὶ ἰδοὺ ὁ εἷς καταβάλλων τὴν δοκόν καὶ τὸ σιδήριον ἐξέπεσεν εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ ἐβόησεν ὦ κύριε καὶ αὐτὸ κεχρημένον
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!”
6 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος τοῦ θεοῦ ποῦ ἔπεσεν καὶ ἔδειξεν αὐτῷ τὸν τόπον καὶ ἀπέκνισεν ξύλον καὶ ἔρριψεν ἐκεῖ καὶ ἐπεπόλασεν τὸ σιδήριον
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].
7 καὶ εἶπεν ὕψωσον σαυτῷ καὶ ἐξέτεινεν τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔλαβεν αὐτό
Elisha said, “Take it out of the water.” So the man reached his hand down and picked up the axe head.
8 καὶ βασιλεὺς Συρίας ἦν πολεμῶν ἐν Ισραηλ καὶ ἐβουλεύσατο πρὸς τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ λέγων εἰς τὸν τόπον τόνδε τινὰ ελμωνι παρεμβαλῶ
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.
9 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ελισαιε πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ισραηλ λέγων φύλαξαι μὴ παρελθεῖν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ ὅτι ἐκεῖ Συρία κέκρυπται
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.”
10 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ισραηλ εἰς τὸν τόπον ὃν εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ελισαιε καὶ ἐφυλάξατο ἐκεῖθεν οὐ μίαν οὐδὲ δύο
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.
11 καὶ ἐξεκινήθη ἡ ψυχὴ βασιλέως Συρίας περὶ τοῦ λόγου τούτου καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς οὐκ ἀναγγελεῖτέ μοι τίς προδίδωσίν με βασιλεῖ Ισραηλ
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?”
12 καὶ εἶπεν εἷς τῶν παίδων αὐτοῦ οὐχί κύριέ μου βασιλεῦ ὅτι Ελισαιε ὁ προφήτης ὁ ἐν Ισραηλ ἀναγγέλλει τῷ βασιλεῖ Ισραηλ πάντας τοὺς λόγους οὓς ἐὰν λαλήσῃς ἐν τῷ ταμιείῳ τοῦ κοιτῶνός σου
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!”
13 καὶ εἶπεν δεῦτε ἴδετε ποῦ οὗτος καὶ ἀποστείλας λήμψομαι αὐτόν καὶ ἀνήγγειλαν αὐτῷ λέγοντες ἰδοὺ ἐν Δωθαϊμ
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].”
14 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖ ἵππον καὶ ἅρμα καὶ δύναμιν βαρεῖαν καὶ ἦλθον νυκτὸς καὶ περιεκύκλωσαν τὴν πόλιν
So the king sent a large group of soldiers [to Dothan] with horses and chariots. They arrived at night and surrounded the town.
15 καὶ ὤρθρισεν ὁ λειτουργὸς Ελισαιε ἀναστῆναι καὶ ἐξῆλθεν καὶ ἰδοὺ δύναμις κυκλοῦσα τὴν πόλιν καὶ ἵππος καὶ ἅρμα καὶ εἶπεν τὸ παιδάριον πρὸς αὐτόν ὦ κύριε πῶς ποιήσωμεν
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?”
16 καὶ εἶπεν Ελισαιε μὴ φοβοῦ ὅτι πλείους οἱ μεθ’ ἡμῶν ὑπὲρ τοὺς μετ’ αὐτῶν
Elisha replied, “Do not be afraid! Those who will be helping us will be more than those who will be helping them!”
17 καὶ προσεύξατο Ελισαιε καὶ εἶπεν κύριε διάνοιξον τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τοῦ παιδαρίου καὶ ἰδέτω καὶ διήνοιξεν κύριος τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶδεν καὶ ἰδοὺ τὸ ὄρος πλῆρες ἵππων καὶ ἅρμα πυρὸς περικύκλῳ Ελισαιε
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!
18 καὶ κατέβησαν πρὸς αὐτόν καὶ προσηύξατο Ελισαιε πρὸς κύριον καὶ εἶπεν πάταξον δὴ τοῦτο τὸ ἔθνος ἀορασίᾳ καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτοὺς ἀορασίᾳ κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμα Ελισαιε
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.
19 καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς Ελισαιε οὐχ αὕτη ἡ πόλις καὶ αὕτη ἡ ὁδός δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου καὶ ἀπάξω ὑμᾶς πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα ὃν ζητεῖτε καὶ ἀπήγαγεν αὐτοὺς εἰς Σαμάρειαν
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]!
20 καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς εἰσῆλθον εἰς Σαμάρειαν καὶ εἶπεν Ελισαιε ἄνοιξον δή κύριε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ ἰδέτωσαν καὶ διήνοιξεν κύριος τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ εἶδον καὶ ἰδοὺ ἦσαν ἐν μέσῳ Σαμαρείας
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].
21 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ισραηλ ὡς εἶδεν αὐτούς εἰ πατάξας πατάξω πάτερ
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?”
22 καὶ εἶπεν οὐ πατάξεις εἰ μὴ οὓς ᾐχμαλώτευσας ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ σου καὶ τόξῳ σου σὺ τύπτεις παράθες ἄρτους καὶ ὕδωρ ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν καὶ φαγέτωσαν καὶ πιέτωσαν καὶ ἀπελθέτωσαν πρὸς τὸν κύριον αὐτῶν
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.”
23 καὶ παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς παράθεσιν μεγάλην καὶ ἔφαγον καὶ ἔπιον καὶ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτούς καὶ ἀπῆλθον πρὸς τὸν κύριον αὐτῶν καὶ οὐ προσέθεντο ἔτι μονόζωνοι Συρίας τοῦ ἐλθεῖν εἰς γῆν Ισραηλ
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.
24 καὶ ἐγένετο μετὰ ταῦτα καὶ ἤθροισεν υἱὸς Αδερ βασιλεὺς Συρίας πᾶσαν τὴν παρεμβολὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνέβη καὶ περιεκάθισεν Σαμάρειαν
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].
25 καὶ ἐγένετο λιμὸς μέγας ἐν Σαμαρείᾳ καὶ ἰδοὺ περιεκάθηντο ἐπ’ αὐτήν ἕως οὗ ἐγενήθη κεφαλὴ ὄνου πεντήκοντα σίκλων ἀργυρίου καὶ τέταρτον τοῦ κάβου κόπρου περιστερῶν πέντε σίκλων ἀργυρίου
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.
26 καὶ ἦν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ισραηλ διαπορευόμενος ἐπὶ τοῦ τείχους καὶ γυνὴ ἐβόησεν πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγουσα σῶσον κύριε βασιλεῦ
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!”
27 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ μή σε σώσαι κύριος πόθεν σώσω σε μὴ ἀπὸ τῆς ἅλωνος ἢ ἀπὸ τῆς ληνοῦ
He replied, “If Yahweh will not help you, I certainly cannot [RHQ] help you. I certainly [RHQ] do not have any wheat or wine!
28 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ ὁ βασιλεύς τί ἐστίν σοι καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνὴ αὕτη εἶπεν πρός με δὸς τὸν υἱόν σου καὶ φαγόμεθα αὐτὸν σήμερον καὶ τὸν υἱόν μου καὶ φαγόμεθα αὐτὸν αὔριον
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.’
29 καὶ ἡψήσαμεν τὸν υἱόν μου καὶ ἐφάγομεν αὐτόν καὶ εἶπον πρὸς αὐτὴν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ δευτέρᾳ δὸς τὸν υἱόν σου καὶ φάγωμεν αὐτόν καὶ ἔκρυψεν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς
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!”
30 καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἤκουσεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ισραηλ τοὺς λόγους τῆς γυναικός διέρρηξεν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς διεπορεύετο ἐπὶ τοῦ τείχους καὶ εἶδεν ὁ λαὸς τὸν σάκκον ἐπὶ τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ ἔσωθεν
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].
31 καὶ εἶπεν τάδε ποιήσαι μοι ὁ θεὸς καὶ τάδε προσθείη εἰ στήσεται ἡ κεφαλὴ Ελισαιε ἐπ’ αὐτῷ σήμερον
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]!”
32 καὶ Ελισαιε ἐκάθητο ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ἐκάθηντο μετ’ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἄνδρα πρὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ πρὶν ἐλθεῖν τὸν ἄγγελον πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ αὐτὸς εἶπεν πρὸς τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους εἰ οἴδατε ὅτι ἀπέστειλεν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ φονευτοῦ οὗτος ἀφελεῖν τὴν κεφαλήν μου ἴδετε ὡς ἂν ἔλθῃ ὁ ἄγγελος ἀποκλείσατε τὴν θύραν καὶ παραθλίψατε αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ θύρᾳ οὐχὶ φωνὴ τῶν ποδῶν τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ κατόπισθεν αὐτοῦ
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!”
33 ἔτι αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος μετ’ αὐτῶν καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος κατέβη πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ εἶπεν ἰδοὺ αὕτη ἡ κακία παρὰ κυρίου τί ὑπομείνω τῷ κυρίῳ ἔτι
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]!)”
