6 One day, the group of prophets said to Elisha, ‘The place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2 We must go to the Jordan River to cut down some trees. Each one of us can bring back some wood to build a new place for us to meet in.’ Elisha agreed and he told them to go.
3 One of the prophets said, ‘Please come with us, sir.’ Elisha replied, ‘I will come with you.’ 4 So he went with them. They arrived at the Jordan River. They started to cut down some trees. 5 While one of them was cutting down a tree, his iron axe fell into the water. He shouted, ‘Oh! My master! The axe did not belong to me!’ 6 Elisha asked him, ‘Where did it fall in the water?’ He showed Elisha the place. Then Elisha cut a branch from a tree. He threw it in the water at that place. It caused the iron axe to come to the top of the water. 7 Elisha told the prophet, ‘Lift it out of the water.’ So the man took hold of it with his hand.
8 There was a war between the king of Syria and Israel. The king of Syria talked with his officers. He said to them, ‘I will attack Israel at a certain place.’ 9 But Elisha, the man of God, sent a message to the king of Israel. He said, ‘Do not travel through that place. The Syrian army is going there to attack us.’ 10 So the king of Israel warned the people in that place to be careful. Several times Elisha told the king where the Syrian army would attack so that the king would be careful.
11 This made the king of Syria very angry. He asked his officers to come to him. He said to them, ‘One of you is helping the king of Israel. Who is it?’ 12 One of his officers said, ‘None of us is helping him, my master the king. There is a prophet who lives in Israel. His name is Elisha. He tells the king of Israel every word that you speak secretly, even what you say in your bedroom!’ 13 The king of Syria said, ‘Go and find the place where he is. Then I will send some men there to catch him.’
A report came back to the king of Syria, ‘Elisha is in Dothan.’ 14 So the king sent a big army of soldiers there, with horses and chariots. They arrived during the night and they made their camp all around the city.
15 The servant of Elisha, the man of God, got up early the next morning. He went out and he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city. He said to Elisha, ‘Oh! My master! What can we do?’ 16 Elisha replied, ‘Do not be afraid. There are more men to fight for us than there are for them.’ 17 Then Elisha prayed, ‘ Lord , please open my servant's eyes so that he can see clearly.’ The Lord opened the servant's eyes. Now he could see lots of horses and chariots that burned with fire. They were on the hill all around Elisha.
18 When the enemy soldiers came towards Elisha, he prayed, ‘ Lord , please make these people become blind.’ The Lord did what Elisha had asked. He made the enemy soldiers become blind. 19 Elisha said to them, ‘You are on the wrong road. You have come to the wrong city. Follow me! I will lead you to the man that you are looking for.’ Elisha led them to Samaria.
20 After they had gone into the city of Samaria, Elisha prayed again, ‘ Lord , please open the eyes of these men so that they can see again.’ The Lord opened their eyes. Now they could see that they were in the middle of Samaria! 21 When the king of Israel saw the Syrian army in his city, he asked Elisha, ‘My master, what should I do? Should I kill them?’ 22 Elisha answered, ‘You must not kill them. That would not be right. You did not win a fight against them with your weapons. Give them some food and water. Then they can eat and drink before they go back to their master.’
23 So the king of Israel made a big feast for them. They had a lot of food and drink. Then he sent them back to their master, the king of Syria. After this happened, no more groups of Syrian soldiers came to attack Israel.
24 But later, King Ben-Hadad of Syria sent his whole army to attack Samaria. His soldiers made their camp all around the city. 25 As a result, there was a famine in the city. The Syrian army were all around the city for a long time. Food in the city was very expensive. A donkey's head cost 80 pieces of silver. A small cup of dove's dung cost five pieces of silver. [ a ]
26 While the king of Israel was walking on the wall of the city, a woman shouted to him, ‘Please help me, my master the king!’ 27 The king replied, ‘Why do you ask me? Only the Lord can help you. I have no wheat or wine to give you.’ 28 Then the king asked her, ‘What is your problem?’ She answered, ‘This woman here said to me, “Let us take your son today, so that we can eat him. Tomorrow we will eat my son.” 29 So we cooked my son and we ate him. The next day I said to her, “Now we will take your son, so that we can eat him.” But she has hidden him somewhere!’
30 When the king heard the woman's words, he was very upset. He tore his clothes. As he walked along the wall, people could see what he was wearing. They saw that he was wearing sackcloth under his other clothes. [ b ] 31 He said, ‘I will certainly cut off Elisha's head today! May God punish me with death if Elisha still has his head by the end of the day!’
32 Elisha was sitting in his house. The leaders of the city were with him. The king sent a man to Elisha with a message. But before he arrived, Elisha said to the leaders, ‘I tell you this. That murderer, the king, has sent someone to cut off my head. When the king's man arrives, shut the door. Stop him from coming in here. We will soon hear the sound of his master as he arrives too.’
33 While Elisha was still talking to the city's leaders, the king's man arrived with this message: ‘The Lord has caused this terrible trouble to happen to us. I cannot wait any longer for the Lord to help us.’ [ c ]
6 The group of prophets said to Elisha, “We are staying in that place over there, but it is too small for us. 2 Let’s go to the Jordan River and cut some wood. Each of us will get a log and we will build us a place to live there.”
Elisha answered, “Go and do it.”
3 One of them said, “Please go with us.”
Elisha said, “Yes, I will go with you.”
4 So Elisha went with the group of prophets. When they arrived at the Jordan River, they began to cut down some trees. 5 But when one man was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head slipped from the handle and fell into the water. He shouted, “Oh, master! I borrowed that ax!”
6 The man of God said, “Where did it fall?”
The man showed Elisha the place where the ax head fell. Then Elisha cut a stick and threw the stick into the water. The stick made the iron ax head float. 7 Elisha said, “So pick up the ax head.” Then the man reached out and took the ax head.
8 The king of Aram was making war against Israel. He had a council meeting with his army officers. He said, “Go to such and such a place and prepare to attack the Israelites when they come by.”
9 But the man of God sent a message to the king of Israel. Elisha said, “Be careful! Don’t go by that place, because the Aramean soldiers are hiding there!”
10 The king of Israel sent a message to his men at the place that the man of God warned him about. And the king of Israel saved quite a few men. [ a ]
11 The king of Aram was very upset about this. He called his army officers and said to them, “Tell me who is spying for the king of Israel.”
12 One of the officers of the king of Aram said, “My lord and king, not one of us is a spy. Elisha, the prophet from Israel, can tell the king of Israel many secret things—even the words that you speak in your bedroom!”
13 The king of Aram said, “Find Elisha, and I will send men to catch him.”
The servants told the king of Aram, “Elisha is in Dothan.”
14 Then the king of Aram sent horses, chariots, and a large army to Dothan. They arrived at night and surrounded the city. 15 Elisha’s servant got up early that morning. When he went outside, he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city.
The servant said to Elisha, “Oh, my master, what can we do?”
16 Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the army that fights for Aram.”
17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “ Lord , I ask you, open my servant’s eyes so that he can see.”
The Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and the servant saw the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire. They were all around Elisha.
18 These horses and chariots of fire came down to Elisha. He prayed to the Lord and said, “I pray that you will cause these people to become blind.”
So God did what Elisha asked. He caused the Aramean army to become blind. 19 Elisha said to the Aramean army, “This is not the right way. This is not the right city. Follow me. I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” Then Elisha led them to Samaria. [ b ]
20 When they arrived at Samaria, Elisha said, “ Lord , open the eyes of these men so that they can see.”
Then the Lord opened their eyes, and the Aramean army saw they were in the city of Samaria! 21 The king of Israel saw the Aramean army and said to Elisha, “My father, should I kill them? Should I kill them?”
22 Elisha answered, “No, don’t kill them. They are not soldiers you captured in battle. Give them some bread and water. Let them eat and drink. Then let them go home to their leader.”
23 So the king prepared a big meal for the Aramean army. After they ate and drank, he sent them back home to their leader. The Arameans did not send any more soldiers into the land of Israel to make raids.
24 After this happened, King Ben-Hadad of Aram gathered all his army and went to surround and attack the city of Samaria. 25 The soldiers would not let people bring food into the city, so there was a time of terrible hunger in Samaria. It was so bad in Samaria that a donkey’s head was sold for 80 pieces of silver and one pint [ c ] of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver.
26 The king of Israel was walking on the wall around the city. A woman shouted out to him. She said, “My lord and king, please help me!”
27 The king of Israel said, “If the Lord does not help you, how can I help you? I cannot give you grain from the threshing floor or wine from the winepress.” 28 Then he said to her, “What is your trouble?”
She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give me your son so that we can eat him today. Then we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 29 So we boiled my son and ate him. Then the next day, I said to this woman, ‘Give me your son so that we can eat him.’ But she has hidden her son!”
30 When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes to show he was upset. As he passed by on the wall, the people saw the king was wearing the rough cloth under his clothes to show he was sad and upset.
31 The king said, “May God punish me if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat is still on his body at the end of this day!”
32 The king sent a messenger to Elisha. Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. Before the messenger arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Look, that son of a murderer is sending men to cut off my head. When the messenger arrives, shut the door. Hold the door and don’t let him in. I hear the sound of his master’s feet coming behind him.”
33 While Elisha was still talking with the elders, the messenger [ d ] came to him. This was the message: “This trouble has come from the Lord . Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”
6 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
2 Let 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.
3 And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.
4 So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.
5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.
6 And 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 the iron did swim.
7 Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.
8 Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.
10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.
11 Therefore 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?
12 And one of his servants said, None, 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.
13 And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.
15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
17 And 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.
18 And 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.
19 And 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. But he led them to Samaria.
20 And 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.
21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
22 And 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.
23 And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
24 And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
25 And 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 cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.
26 And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.
27 And he said, If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?
28 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.
29 So 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.
30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.
31 Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.
32 But 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 him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?
33 And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the Lord ; what should I wait for the Lord any longer?
6 Now ( A ) the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Behold now, the place [ a ] before you where we are living is too cramped for us. 2 Please let us go to the Jordan, and let us each take from there a beam, and let us construct a place there for ourselves, to live there.” So he said, “Go.” 3 Then one of them said, “Please agree and go with your servants.” And he said, “I will go.” 4 So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. 5 But it happened that as one of them was [ b ] cutting down a beam, [ c ] the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Oh, my master! It was borrowed!” 6 Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And when he showed him the place, ( B ) he cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float. 7 Then he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it.
8 Now the king of Aram was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 But ( C ) the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, saying, “Be careful that you do not pass this place, because the Arameans are coming down there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent scouts to the place about which the man of God had told him; so he warned him, so that he was on his guard there, [ d ] more than once or twice.
11 Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this matter; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 One of his servants said, “No, my lord, the king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 13 So he said, “Go and see where he is, so that I may send men and take him.” And it was told to him, saying, “Behold, he is in ( D ) Dothan.” 14 So he sent horses and chariots and a substantial army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
15 Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “This is hopeless, my master! [ e ] What are we to do?” 16 And he said, “ ( E ) Do not be afraid, for ( F ) those who are with us are [ f ] greater than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “ ( G ) Lord , please, open his eyes so that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of ( H ) horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this [ g ] people with blindness.” So He ( I ) struck them with blindness in accordance with the word of Elisha. 19 Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he brought them to Samaria.
20 When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “ ( J ) Lord , open the eyes of these men , so that they may see.” So the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “ ( K ) My father, shall I [ h ] kill them? Shall I [ i ] kill them?” 22 But he [ j ] answered, “You shall not [ k ] kill them . Would you [ l ] ( L ) kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? ( M ) Set bread and water before them, so that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.” 23 So he provided a large feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And ( N ) the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.
24 Now it came about after this, that ( O ) Ben-hadad the king of Aram gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria. 25 So there was a severe ( P ) famine in Samaria; and behold, they kept besieging it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a [ m ] kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver. 26 And as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord the king!” 27 But he said, “ [ n ] If the Lord does not help you, from where am I to help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?” 28 Then the king said to her, “ ( Q ) What [ o ] is on your mind?” And she said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son so that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 29 ( R ) So we cooked my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, so that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.” 30 When the king heard the woman’s words, ( S ) he tore his clothes—and he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth [ p ] underneath on his [ q ] body. 31 Then he said, “May ( T ) God do so to me and more so, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat [ r ] remains on him today.”
32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and ( U ) the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man from his presence; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you ( V ) see how this son of a murderer has sent a man to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and [ s ] hold the door shut against him. Is the sound of his master’s feet not behind him?” 33 While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, “ ( W ) Behold, this evil is from the Lord ; why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”
6 The company ( A ) of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.”
And he said, “Go.”
3 Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?”
“I will,” Elisha replied. 4 And he went with them.
They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!”
6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw ( B ) it there, and made the iron float. 7 “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
8 Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.”
9 The man of God sent word to the king ( C ) of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned ( D ) the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.
11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”
12 “None of us, my lord the king ( E ) ,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”
13 “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” ( F ) 14 Then he sent ( G ) horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.
15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
16 “Don’t be afraid,” ( H ) the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more ( I ) than those who are with them.”
17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord , so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots ( J ) of fire all around Elisha.
18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord , “Strike this army with blindness.” ( K ) So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
19 Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria.
20 After they entered the city, Elisha said, “ Lord , open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.
21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father? ( L ) Shall I kill them?”
22 “Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill those you have captured ( M ) with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” 23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands ( N ) from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.
24 Some time later, Ben-Hadad ( O ) king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege ( P ) to Samaria. 25 There was a great famine ( Q ) in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels [ a ] of silver, and a quarter of a cab [ b ] of seed pods [ c ] ( R ) for five shekels. [ d ]
26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”
27 The king replied, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?” 28 Then he asked her, “What’s the matter?”
She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ 29 So we cooked my son and ate ( S ) him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she had hidden him.”
30 When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore ( T ) his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and they saw that, under his robes, he had sackcloth ( U ) on his body. 31 He said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today!”
32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders ( V ) were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Don’t you see how this murderer ( W ) is sending someone to cut off my head? ( X ) Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?” 33 While he was still talking to them, the messenger came down to him.
The king said, “This disaster is from the Lord . Why should I wait ( Y ) for the Lord any longer?”
