2 Kings 6
6
1The sons of the prophets told Elisha, “Look, the place we meet with you is too small for us. 2Let'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.
3One of them asked, “Please come with your servants.”
“I'll come,” he replied.
4So he went with them. When they got to the Jordan, they started cutting down trees. 5But as one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water. “Oh no! My master, it was one that was borrowed!” he shouted.
6“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 ax head float.
7“Pick it up,” Elisha told the man. So he reached out his hand and picked it up.
8The Aramean king was at war with Israel. After consulting with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in this particular place.”
9Then 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.”
10So 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.
11This 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“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.”
13So 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.” 14So he sent horses, chariots, and a large army. They came at night and surrounded the town.
15Early 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.
16Elisha replied, “Don't be afraid, for there are many more who are with us than there are with them!” 17Elisha 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.
18As the army#6:18. Referring to the Arameans. descended on him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Please strike these people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
19Then 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.
20After they had entered Samaria, Elisha prayed, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” The Lord opened their eyes, and they looked around and saw that they were in Samaria.
21When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”
22“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.”
23So 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.
24Sometime after this Ben-hadad king of Aram called up all his army and went to lay siege to Samaria. 25So 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#6:25. “Dove's dung”: Some believe this referred to a kind of wild vegetable. One “cab” was equivalent to about 1.2 liters. cost five shekels of silver.
26As the king of Israel was walking by on the city wall, a woman called out to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”
27“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.” 28But 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“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.”
30When 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“May God punish me very severely if the head of Elisha, son of Shaphat, remains on his shoulders today!” he declared.
32Elisha 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?”
33While 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?”#6:33. The king believed the Lord had caused the problems and since there seemed to be no action from the Lord to solve them, the king was taking matters into his own hands. He was rejecting God, and intended to take vengeance on God's prophet Elisha.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
2 Kings 6
6
An Ax Blade Floats
1The group of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look. The place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2We would like to go to the Jordan River. Each of us can get some wood there. We want to build a place there for us to meet.”
Elisha said, “Go.”
3Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with us?”
“I will,” Elisha replied. 4And he went with them.
They went to the Jordan River. There they began to cut down trees. 5One of them was cutting down a tree. The iron blade of his ax fell into the water. “Oh no, master!” he cried out. “This ax was borrowed!”
6The man of God asked, “Where did the blade fall?” He showed Elisha the place. Then Elisha cut a stick and threw it there. That made the iron blade float. 7“Take it out of the water,” he said. So the man reached out and took it.
Elisha Makes the Soldiers of Aram Blind
8The king of Aram was at war with Israel. He talked things over with his officers. Then he said, “I’m going to set up my camp in a certain place.”
9Elisha, the man of God, sent a message to the king of Israel. Elisha said, “Try to stay away from that place. Aram’s army is going to be down there.” 10The king of Israel checked on the place the man of God had told him about. Time after time Elisha warned the king. So the king was on guard in those places.
11All of that made the king of Aram very angry. He sent for his officers. He said to them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”
12“You are my king and master,” said one of his officers. “None of us is on Israel’s side. But Elisha is a prophet in Israel. He tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in your own bedroom.”
13“Go and find out where he is,” the king ordered. “Then I can send my men and capture him.” The report came back. The officers said, “He’s in Dothan.” 14Then the king sent horses and chariots and a strong army there. They went at night and surrounded the city.
15The servant of the man of God got up the next morning. He went out early. He saw that an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my master!” the servant said. “What can we do?”
16“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17Elisha prayed, “Lord, open my servant’s eyes so that he can see.” Then the Lord opened his eyes. Elisha’s servant looked up and saw the hills. He saw that Elisha was surrounded by horses and chariots made of fire.
18Aram’s army came down toward Elisha. Then he prayed to the Lord, “Make these soldiers blind.” So the Lord made them blind, just as Elisha had prayed.
19Elisha told them, “This isn’t the right road. This isn’t the right city. Follow me. I’ll lead you to the man you are looking for.” He led them to Samaria.
20They entered the city. Then Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men. Help them see again.” Then the Lord opened their eyes. They looked around. And there they were, inside Samaria!
21The king of Israel saw them. So he asked Elisha, “Should I kill them? I need your advice. You are like a father to me. Should I kill them?”
22“Don’t kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill people you have captured with your own sword or bow? Put some food and water in front of them. Then they can eat and drink. They can go back to their master.” 23So the king of Israel prepared a great feast for them. After they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away. They returned to their master. So the groups of fighting men from Aram stopped attacking Israel’s territory.
Aram’s Army Attacks Samaria and People Go Hungry
24Some time later, Ben-Hadad gathered his entire army together. Ben-Hadad was the king of Aram. His army marched up and surrounded Samaria. Then they attacked it. 25There wasn’t enough food anywhere in the city. It was surrounded for so long that people had to weigh out two pounds of silver for a donkey’s head. They had to weigh out two ounces of silver for half a pint of seed pods.
26One day the king of Israel was walking on top of the city wall. A woman cried out to him, “You are my king and master. Please help me!”
27The king replied, “If the Lord doesn’t help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?” 28He continued, “What’s wrong?”
She answered, “A woman said to me, ‘Give up your son. Then we can eat him today. Tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ 29So we cooked my son. Then we ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son. Then we can eat him.’ But she had hidden him.”
30When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his royal robes. As he walked along the wall, the people looked up at him. They saw that under his robes he was wearing the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. 31He said, “I’ll cut the head of Shaphat’s son Elisha off his shoulders today. If I don’t, may God punish me greatly!”
32Elisha was sitting in his house. The elders were sitting there with him. The king went to see Elisha. He sent a messenger on ahead of him. Before the messenger arrived, Elisha spoke to the elders. He said, “That murderer is sending someone here to cut off my head. Can’t you see that? When the messenger comes, close the door. Hold it shut against him. Can’t you hear his master’s footsteps right behind him?” 33Elisha was still talking to the elders when the messenger came down to him.
The king also arrived. He said, “The Lord has sent this horrible trouble on us. Why should I wait any longer for him to help us?”
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