2 Kings 6

¹ And sons of the prophet say unto Elisha, "Lo, we pray you, the place where we are dwelling before you is too strait for us; ² let us go, we pray you, unto the Jordan, and we take thence each one beam, and we make for ourselves there a place to dwell there"; and he said, "Go." ³ And the one said, "Be pleased, I pray you, and go with your servants"; and he said, "I - I go." ⁴ And he goes with them, and they come in to the Jordan, and cut down the trees, ⁵ and it comes to pass, the one is felling the beam, and the iron has fallen into the water, and he cries and said, "Alas! my lord, and it asked!" ⁶ And the man of Elohim said, "Whither has it fallen?" and he shows him the place, and he cuts a stick, and casts thither, and causes the iron to swim, ⁷ and said, "Raise to you"; and he puts forth his hand and takes it. ⁸ And the king of Aram has been fighting against Israel, and takes counsel with his servants, saying, "At such and such a place [is] my encamping." ⁹ And the man of Elohim sends unto the king of Israel, saying, "Take heed of passing by this place, for thither are the Arameans coming down"; ¹⁰ and the king of Israel sends unto the place of which the man of Elohim spoke to him, and warned him, and he is preserved there not once nor twice. ¹¹ And the heart of the king of Aram is tossed about concerning this thing, and he calls unto his servants, and said unto them, "Do you not declare to me who of us [is] for the king of Israel?" ¹² And one of his servants said, "Nay, my lord, O king, for Elisha the prophet, who [is] in Israel, declares to the king of Israel the words that you speak in the inner part of your bed-chamber." ¹³ And he said, "Go you and see where he [is], and I send and take him"; and it is declared to him, saying, "Lo - in Dothan." ¹⁴ And he sends thither horses and chariot, and a heavy force, and they come in by night, and go round against the city. ¹⁵ And the servant of the man of Elohim rises early, and goes out, and lo, a force is surrounding the city, and horse and chariot, and his young man said unto him, "Alas! my lord, how do we do?" ¹⁶ And he said, "Fear not, for more [are] they who [are] with us than they who [are] with them." ¹⁷ And Elisha prays, and said, "Yahweh, open, I pray You, his eyes, and he does see"; and Yahweh opens the eyes of the young man, and he sees, and lo, the hill is full of horses and chariots of fire, round about Elisha. ¹⁸ And they come down unto it, and Elisha prays unto Yahweh, and said, "Smite, I pray You, this nation with blindness"; and He smites them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha. ¹⁹ And Elisha said unto them, "This [is] not the way, nor [is] this the city; come after me, and I lead you unto the man whom you seek"; and he leads them to Samaria. ²⁰ And it comes to pass, at their coming in to Samaria, that Elisha said, "Yahweh, open the eyes of these, and they see"; and Yahweh opens their eyes, and they see, and lo, in the midst of Samaria! ²¹ And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, at his seeing them, "Do I smite - do I smite - my father?" ²² And he said, "You do not smite; those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow are you smiting? set bread and water before them, and they eat, and drink, and go unto their lord." ²³ And he prepares for them great provision, and they eat and drink, and he sends 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. ²⁴ And it comes to pass afterwards, that Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathers all his camp, and goes up, and lays 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 fourth of the cab of dove's dung at five silverlings. ²⁶ And it comes to pass, the king of Israel is passing by on the wall, and a woman has cried unto him, saying, "Save, my lord, O king." ²⁷ And he said, "Yahweh does not save you - whence do I save you? out of the threshing-floor, or out of the wine-vat?" ²⁸ And the king said to her, "What - to you?" and she said, "This woman said unto me, Give your son, and we eat him to-day, and my son we eat to-morrow"; ²⁹ and we boil my son and eat him, and I say unto her on the next day, Give your son, and we eat him; and she hides her son." ³⁰ And it comes to pass, at the king's hearing the words of the woman, that he rends his garments, and he is passing by on the wall, and the people see, and lo, the sackcloth [is] on his flesh within. ³¹ And he said, "Thus does Elohim do to me, and thus He does add - if it remain - the head of Elisha son of Shaphat - upon him this day." ³² And Elisha is sitting in his house, and the elders are sitting with him, and [the king] sends a man from before him; before the messenger does come unto him, even he himself said unto the elders, "Have you seen that this son of the murderer has sent to turn aside my head? see, at the coming in of the messenger, shut the door, and you have held him fast at the door, is not the sound of the feet of his lord behind him?" ³³ He is yet speaking with them, and lo, the messenger is coming down unto him, and he said, "Lo, this [is] the evil from Yahweh: what - do I wait for Yahweh any more?"