2 Kings 6
6
1And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell before thee is too strait for us. 2Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. 3And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. 4So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. 5But as one was felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, my master! for it was borrowed. 6And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither, and made the iron to swim. 7And he said, Take it up to thee. So he put out his hand, and took it.
8Now the king of Syria warred against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. 9And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are coming down. 10And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice. 11And the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? 12And one of his servants said, Nay, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
13And he said, Go and see where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. 14Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. 15And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host with horses and chariots was round about the city. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? 16And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 17And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 18And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 19And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. And he led them to Samaria. 20And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father; shall I smite them? shall I smite them? 22And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. 23And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
24And it came to pass after this, that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. 25And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver. 26And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. 27And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the threshing-floor, or out of the winepress? 28And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. 29So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son. 30And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; (now he was passing by upon the wall;) and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh. 31Then he said, God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day. 32But Elisha sat in his house; and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold the door fast against him: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him.? 33And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer?
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2 Kings 6
6
An ax head floats
1The members of the group of prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we now live under your authority is too small for us. 2Let’s go to the Jordan River and each get a log from there. Then we can make a place to live there.”
Elisha said, “Do it!”
3One of them said, “Please come with us, your servants.”
Elisha said, “Okay, I’ll go.” 4So he went with them. They came to the Jordan River and began cutting down trees. 5One of them was cutting down a tree when his ax head fell into the water. He cried out, “Oh, no! Master, it was a borrowed ax!”
6The man of God said, “Where did it fall?” He showed Elisha the place. Elisha then cut a piece of wood, threw it into the river there, and the ax head floated up. 7“Lift it out,” Elisha said. So the man then reached out and grabbed it.
Aramean attacks are stopped
8Aram’s king was fighting against Israel. He took counsel with his officers, saying, “I’ll camp at such-and-such a place.”
9The man of God sent word to Israel’s king: “Beware of passing by this place because the Arameans are going down there.” 10Then Israel’s king sent word to the place the man of God had mentioned to him. Time after time, Elisha warned the king, and the king stayed on the alert.
11Aram’s king was extremely upset about this. He called his officers and said to them, “Tell me! Who among us is siding with Israel’s king?”
12One of his officers said, “No one, Your Majesty! It’s Elisha the Israelite prophet who tells Israel’s king the words that you speak in the privacy of your bedroom.”
13He said, “Go and find out where he is. Then I will send men to capture him.”
They told him, “He is in Dothan.” 14So the king sent horses and chariots there with a strong army. They came at night and surrounded the city.
15Elisha’s servant got up early and went out. He saw an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. His servant said to Elisha, “Oh, no! Master, what will we do?”
16“Don’t be afraid,” Elisha said, “because there are more of us than there are of them.” 17Then Elisha prayed, “LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw that the mountain was full of horses and fiery chariots surrounding Elisha. 18The Arameans came toward him, so Elisha prayed to the LORD, “Strike this nation with blindness.” And the LORD struck them blind, just as Elisha asked. 19Elisha said to them, “This isn’t the right road or the right city. Follow me, and I’ll lead you to the man you are looking for.” But he took them to Samaria!
20When they arrived in Samaria, Elisha said, “LORD, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” The LORD opened their eyes, and they saw that they were right in the middle of Samaria! 21When he saw them, Israel’s king said to Elisha, “Should I kill them, my father? Should I?”
22He said, “No, don’t kill them. Did you capture them with your own sword or bow? Do you have the right to kill them?#6.22 Heb uncertain Put food and water in front of them so they can eat and drink and return to their master.” 23So the king gave them a great feast, and they ate and drank. Then the king let them go, and they returned to their master. After that, Aramean raiding parties didn’t come into Israel anymore.
Ben-hadad attacks Samaria
24Now it happened later that Aram’s King Ben-hadad gathered all his forces and went up to attack Samaria. 25The siege lasted so long that there was a great famine in Samaria. A donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver and a quarter kab of doves’ dung#6.25 Or wild onions or carob pods for five shekels. 26Israel’s king was passing by on the city wall when a woman appealed to him, “Help me, Your Majesty!”
27The king said, “No! May the LORD help you! Where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or the winepress?” 28But then the king asked her, “What’s troubling you?”
She answered, “A woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we can eat him today; we’ll eat my son tomorrow.’ 29So we cooked and ate my son. The next day I said to her, ‘Hand over your son so we can eat him.’ But she had hidden her son.”
30When the king heard the woman’s story, he ripped his clothes. And as he passed by along the wall, the people could see that he was wearing mourning clothes underneath. 31He said, “So may God do to me, and more, if the head of Elisha, Shaphat’s son, remains on his shoulders today!”
32Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger on ahead, but before the man arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see that this murderer has sent someone to cut off my head? Watch for when the messenger comes, then close the door and hold it shut against him. The sound of his master’s feet is right behind him, isn’t it?”
33While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger#6.33 Or perhaps the king; cf 7:2 arrived and said, “Look, this disaster is the LORD’s doing. Why should I trust the LORD any longer?”
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