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2 Kings (WEB)
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Chapter 1
1 Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. edit
2 Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick. So he sent messengers, and said to them, "Go, inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover of this sickness." edit
3 But the angel of Yahweh said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and tell them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel, that you go to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? edit
4 Now therefore thus says Yahweh, "You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die."'" Elijah departed. edit
5 The messengers returned to him, and he said to them, "Why is it that you have returned?" edit
6 They said to him, "A man came up to meet us, and said to us, 'Go, return to the king who sent you, and tell him, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel, that you send to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.'"'" edit
7 He said to them, "What kind of man was he who came up to meet you, and told you these words?" edit
8 They answered him, "He was a hairy man, and wearing a leather belt around his waist." He said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite." edit
9 Then sent a captain of fifty with his fifty to him. He went up to him; and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. He said to him, "Man of God, the king has said, 'Come down!'" edit
10 Elijah answered to the captain of fifty, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from the sky, and consume you and your fifty!" Fire came down from the sky, and consumed him and his fifty. edit
11 Again he sent to him another captain of fifty and his fifty. He answered him, "Man of God, the king has said, 'Come down quickly!'" edit
12 Elijah answered them, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from the sky, and consume you and your fifty!" The fire of God came down from the sky, and consumed him and his fifty. edit
13 Again he sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. The third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and begged him, and said to him, "Man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty your servants, be precious in your sight. edit
14 Behold, fire came down from the sky, and consumed the two former captains of fifty with their fifties. But now let my life be precious in your sight." edit
15 The angel of Yahweh said to Elijah, "Go down with him. Don't be afraid of him." He arose, and went down with him to the king. edit
16 He said to him, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.'" edit
17 So he died according to the word of Yahweh which Elijah had spoken. Jehoram began to reign in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son. edit
18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? edit
Chapter 2
1 It happened, when Yahweh would take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. edit
2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Please wait here, for Yahweh has sent me as far as Bethel." Elisha said, "As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. edit
3 The sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that Yahweh will take away your master from your head today?" He said, "Yes, I know it; hold your peace." edit
4 Elijah said to him, "Elisha, please wait here, for Yahweh has sent me to Jericho." He said, "As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." So they came to Jericho. edit
5 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came near to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that Yahweh will take away your master from your head today?" He answered, "Yes, I know it. Hold your peace." edit
6 Elijah said to him, "Please wait here, for Yahweh has sent me to the Jordan." He said, "As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." They both went on. edit
7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood opposite them at a distance; and they both stood by the Jordan. edit
8 Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that they two went over on dry ground. edit
9 It happened, when they had gone over, that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be on me." edit
10 He said, "You have asked a hard thing. If you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so." edit
11 It happened, as they still went on, and talked, that behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. edit
12 Elisha saw it, and he cried, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" He saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and tore them in two pieces. edit
13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of the Jordan. edit
14 He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and struck the waters, and said, "Where is Yahweh, the God of Elijah?" When he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha went over. edit
15 When the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho over against him saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." They came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. edit
16 They said to him, "See now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Let them go, please, and seek your master. Perhaps the Spirit of Yahweh has taken him up, and put him on some mountain, or into some valley. He said, "You shall not send them." edit
17 When they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, "Send them." They sent therefore fifty men; and they searched for three days, but didn't find him. edit
18 They came back to him, while he stayed at Jericho; and he said to them, "Didn't I tell you, 'Don't go?'" edit
19 The men of the city said to Elisha, "Behold, please, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land miscarries." edit
20 He said, "Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it." They brought it to him. edit
21 He went out to the spring of the waters, and threw salt into it, and said, "Thus says Yahweh, 'I have healed these waters. There shall not be from there any more death or miscarrying.'" edit
22 So the waters were healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke. edit
23 He went up from there to Bethel. As he was going up by the way, some youths came out of the city and mocked him, and said to him, "Go up, you baldy! Go up, you baldhead!" edit
24 He looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of Yahweh. Two female bears came out of the woods, and mauled forty-two of those youths. edit
25 He went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria. edit
Chapter 3
1 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. edit
2 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, but not like his father, and like his mother; for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made. edit
3 Nevertheless he cleaved to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin; he didn't depart from it. edit
4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder; and he rendered to the king of Israel the wool of one hundred thousand lambs, and of one hundred thousand rams. edit
5 But it happened, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. edit
6 King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time, and mustered all Israel. edit
7 He went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me against Moab to battle?" He said, "I will go up. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." edit
8 He said, "Which way shall we go up?" He answered, "The way of the wilderness of Edom." edit
9 So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days' journey. There was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them. edit
10 The king of Israel said, "Alas! For Yahweh has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab." edit
11 But Jehoshaphat said, "Isn't there here a prophet of Yahweh, that we may inquire of Yahweh by him?" One of the king of Israel's servants answered, "Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah." edit
12 Jehoshaphat said, "The word of Yahweh is with him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. edit
13 Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother." The king of Israel said to him, "No; for Yahweh has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab." edit
14 Elisha said, "As Yahweh of Armies lives, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I respect the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward you, nor see you. edit
15 But now bring me a minstrel." It happened, when the minstrel played, that the hand of Yahweh came on him. edit
16 He said, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Make this valley full of trenches.' edit
17 For thus says Yahweh, 'You will not see wind, neither will you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, and you will drink, both you and your livestock and your animals. edit
18 This is but a light thing in the sight of Yahweh. He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. edit
19 You shall strike every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all springs of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.'" edit
20 It happened in the morning, about the time of offering the offering, that behold, water came by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. edit
21 Now when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, they gathered themselves together, all who were able to put on armor, and upward, and stood on the border. edit
22 They rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water over against them as red as blood. edit
23 They said, "This is blood. The kings are surely destroyed, and they have struck each other. Now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!" edit
24 When they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and struck the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they went forward into the land smiting the Moabites. edit
25 They beat down the cities; and on every good piece of land they cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the springs of water, and felled all the good trees, until in Kir Hareseth they left its stones; however the men armed with slings went about it, and struck it. edit
26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too severe for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew sword, to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not. edit
27 Then he took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall. There was great wrath against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land. edit
Chapter 4
1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets to Elisha, saying, "Your servant my husband is dead. You know that your servant feared Yahweh. Now the creditor has come to take for himself my two children to be slaves." edit
2 Elisha said to her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me: what do you have in the house?" She said, "Your handmaid has nothing in the house, except a pot of oil." edit
3 Then he said, "Go, borrow containers from of all your neighbors, even empty containers. Don't borrow just a few. edit
4 You shall go in, and shut the door on you and on your sons, and pour out into all those containers; and you shall set aside that which is full." edit
5 So she went from him, and shut the door on her and on her sons; they brought the containers to her, and she poured out. edit
6 It happened, when the containers were full, that she said to her son, "Bring me another container." He said to her, "There isn't another container." The oil stopped flowing. edit
7 Then she came and told the man of God. He said, "Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest." edit
8 It fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman; and she persuaded him to eat bread. So it was, that as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat bread. edit
9 She said to her husband, "See now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, that passes by us continually. edit
10 Let us make, please, a little chamber on the wall. Let us set for him there a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp stand. It shall be, when he comes to us, that he shall turn in there." edit
11 One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and lay there. edit
12 He said to Gehazi his servant, "Call this Shunammite." When he had called her, she stood before him. edit
13 He said to him, "Say now to her, 'Behold, you have cared for us with all this care. What is to be done for you? Would you like to be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the army?'" She answered, "I dwell among my own people." edit
14 He said, "What then is to be done for her?" Gehazi answered, "Most certainly she has no son, and her husband is old." edit
15 He said, "Call her." When he had called her, she stood in the door. edit
16 He said, "At this season, when the time comes around, you will embrace a son." She said, "No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your handmaid." edit
17 The woman conceived, and bore a son at that season, when the time came around, as Elisha had said to her. edit
18 When the child was grown, it happened one day that he went out to his father to the reapers. edit
19 He said to his father, "My head! My head!" He said to his servant, "Carry him to his mother." edit
20 When he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees until noon, and then died. edit
21 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door on him, and went out. edit
22 She called to her husband, and said, "Please send me one of the servants, and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God, and come again." edit
23 He said, "Why would you want go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath." She said, "It's alright." edit
24 Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, "Drive, and go forward! Don't slow down for me, unless I ask you to." edit
25 So she went, and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel. It happened, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, "Behold, there is the Shunammite. edit
26 Please run now to meet her, and ask her, 'Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?'" She answered, "It is well." edit
27 When she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, "Leave her alone; for her soul is troubled within her; and Yahweh has hid it from me, and has not told me." edit
28 Then she said, "Did I desire a son of my lord? Didn't I say, Do not deceive me?" edit
29 Then he said to Gehazi, "Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand, and go your way. If you meet any man, don't greet him; and if anyone greets you, don't answer him again. Then lay my staff on the face of the child." edit
30 The mother of the child said, "As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." He arose, and followed her. edit
31 Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Therefore he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, "The child has not awakened." edit
32 When Elisha had come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid on his bed. edit
33 He went in therefore, and shut the door on them both, and prayed to Yahweh. edit
34 He went up, and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. He stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child grew warm. edit
35 Then he returned, and walked in the house once back and forth; and went up, and stretched himself on him. Then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. edit
36 He called Gehazi, and said, "Call this Shunammite!" So he called her. When she had come in to him, he said, "Take up your son." edit
37 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground; and she took up her son, and went out. edit
38 Elisha came again to Gilgal. There was a famine in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, "Set on the great pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets." edit
39 One went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered of it wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of stew; for they didn't recognize them. edit
40 So they poured out for the men to eat. It happened, as they were eating of the stew, that they cried out, and said, "Man of God, there is death in the pot!" They could not eat of it. edit
41 But he said, "Then bring meal." He cast it into the pot; and he said, "Pour out for the people, that they may eat." There was no harm in the pot. edit
42 A man from Baal Shalishah came, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. He said, "Give to the people, that they may eat." edit
43 His servant said, "What, should I set this before a hundred men?" But he said, "Give the people, that they may eat; for thus says Yahweh, 'They will eat, and will have some left over.'" edit
44 So he set it before them, and they ate, and left some of it, according to the word of Yahweh. edit
Chapter 5
1 Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him Yahweh had given victory to Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, a leper. edit
2 The Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maiden; and she waited on Naaman's wife. edit
3 She said to her mistress, "I wish that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would heal him of his leprosy." edit
4 Someone went in, and told his lord, saying, "The maiden who is from the land of Israel said this." edit
5 The king of Syria said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel." He departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of clothing. edit
6 He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, "Now when this letter has come to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy." edit
7 It happened, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he tore his clothes, and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me to heal a man of his leprosy? But consider, please, and see how he seeks a quarrel against me." edit
8 It was so, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel." edit
9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. edit
10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come again to you, and you shall be clean." edit
11 But Naaman was angry, and went away, and said, "Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leper.' edit
12 Aren't Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them, and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. edit
13 His servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, "My father, if the prophet had asked you do some great thing, wouldn't you have done it? How much rather then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean?'" edit
14 Then went he down, and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. edit
15 He returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him; and he said, "See now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel. Now therefore, please take a gift from your servant." edit
16 But he said, "As Yahweh lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none." He urged him to take it; but he refused. edit
17 Naaman said, "If not, then, please let there be given to your servant two mules' burden of earth; for your servant will from now on offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice to other gods, but to Yahweh. edit
18 In this thing may Yahweh pardon your servan: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon. When I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, may Yahweh pardon your servant in this thing." edit
19 He said to him, "Go in peace." So he departed from him a little way. edit
20 But Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, "Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought. As Yahweh lives, I will run after him, and take something from him." edit
21 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. When Naaman saw one running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him, and said, "Is all well?" edit
22 He said, "All is well. My master has sent me, saying, 'Behold, even now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.'" edit
23 Naaman said, "Be pleased to take two talents." He urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants; and they carried them before him. edit
24 When he came to the hill, he took them from their hand, and stored them in the house. Then he let the men go, and they departed. edit
25 But he went in, and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, "Where did you come from, Gehazi?" He said, "Your servant went nowhere." edit
26 He said to him, "Didn't my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive groves and vineyards, and sheep and cattle, and male servants and female servants? edit
27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and to your seed forever." He went out from his presence a leper, as white as snow. edit
Chapter 6
1 The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "See now, the place where we dwell before you is too small for us. edit
2 Let us go, please, to the Jordan, and every man take a beam from there, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell." He answered, "Go!" edit
3 One said, "Please be pleased to go with your servants." He answered, "I will go." edit
4 So he went with them. When they came to the Jordan, they cut down wood. edit
5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water. Then he cried, and said, "Alas, my master! For it was borrowed." edit
6 The man of God asked, "Where did it fall?" He showed him the place. He cut down a stick, threw it in there, and made the iron float. edit
7 He said, "Take it." So he put out his hand and took it. edit
8 Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, "My camp will be in such and such a place." edit
9 The man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, "Beware that you not pass such a place; for the Syrians are coming down there." edit
10 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. edit
11 The heart of the king of Syria was very troubled about this. He called his servants, and said to them, "Won't you show me which of us is for the king of Israel?" edit
12 One of his servants said, "No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom." edit
13 He said, "Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him." It was told him, saying, "Behold, he is in Dothan." edit
14 Therefore he sent horses, chariots, and a great army there. They came by night, and surrounded the city. edit
15 When the servant of the man of God had risen early, and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was around the city. His servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" edit
16 He answered, "Don't be afraid; for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." edit
17 Elisha prayed, and said, "Yahweh, please open his eyes, that he may see." Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. edit
18 When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to Yahweh, and said, "Please strike this people with blindness." He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. edit
19 Elisha said to them, "This is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek." He led them to Samaria. edit
20 It happened, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, "Yahweh, open the eyes of these men, that they may see." Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. edit
21 The king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, "My father, shall I strike them? Shall I strike them?" edit
22 He answered, "You shall not strike them. Would you strike those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master." edit
23 He prepared great feast for them. When they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. The bands of Syria stopped raiding the land of Israel. edit
24 It happened after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria. edit
25 There was a great famine in Samaria. Behold, they besieged it, until a donkey's head was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver. edit
26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, saying, "Help, my lord, O king!" edit
27 He said, "If Yahweh doesn't help you, from where could I help you? From of the threshing floor, or from the winepress?" edit
28 The king said to her, "What ails you?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.' edit
29 So we boiled my son, and ate him: and I said to her on the next day, 'Give your son, that we may eat him;' and she has hidden her son." edit
30 It happened, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he tore his clothes (now he was passing by on the wall); and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth underneath on his flesh. edit
31 Then he said, "God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stay on him this day." edit
32 But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. Then the king sent a man from before him; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, "Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Behold, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold the door shut against him. Isn't the sound of his master's feet behind him?" edit
33 While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him. Then he said, "Behold, this evil is from Yahweh. Why should I wait for Yahweh any longer?" edit
Chapter 7
1 Elisha said, "Hear the word of Yahweh. Thus says Yahweh, 'Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.'" edit
2 Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, "Behold, if Yahweh made windows in heaven, could this thing be?" He said, "Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, but shall not eat of it." edit
3 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate. They said one to another, "Why do we sit here until we die? edit
4 If we say, 'We will enter into the city,' then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. If we sit still here, we also die. Now therefore come, and let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they save us alive, we will live; and if they kill us, we will only die." edit
5 They rose up in the twilight, to go to the camp of the Syrians. When they had come to the outermost part of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no man there. edit
6 For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great army: and they said one to another, Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come on us. edit
7 Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their donkeys, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life. edit
8 When these lepers came to the outermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and ate and drink, and carried there silver, and gold, and clothing, and went and hid it. Then they came back, and entered into another tent, and carried there also, and went and hid it. edit
9 Then they said one to another, "We aren't doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we keep silent. If we wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come, let us go and tell the king's household." edit
10 So they came and called to the porter of the city; and they told them, saying, "We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but the horses tied, and the donkeys tied, and the tents as they were." edit
11 He called the porters; and they told it to the king's household within. edit
12 The king arose in the night, and said to his servants, "I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry. Therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, 'When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive, and get into the city.'" edit
13 One of his servants answered, "Please let some take five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city. Behold, they are like all the multitude of Israel who are left in it. Behold, they are like all the multitude of Israel who are consumed. Let us send and see." edit
14 They took therefore two chariots with horses; and the king sent after the army of the Syrians, saying, "Go and see." edit
15 They went after them to the Jordan; and behold, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. The messengers returned, and told the king. edit
16 The people went out, and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of Yahweh. edit
17 The king appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to be in charge of the gate: and the people trod on him in the gate, and he died as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. edit
18 It happened, as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, "Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria;" edit
19 And that captain answered the man of God, and said, "Now, behold, if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be?" and he said, "Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, but shall not eat of it." edit
20 It happened like that to him; for the people trod on him in the gate, and he died. edit
Chapter 8
1 Now Elisha had spoken to the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, "Arise, and go, you and your household, and stay for a while wherever you can; for Yahweh has called for a famine. It shall also come on the land seven years." edit
2 The woman arose, and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. edit
3 It happened at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines. Then she went forth to cry to the king for her house and for her land. edit
4 Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, "Please tell me all the great things that Elisha has done." edit
5 It happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored to life him who was dead, that behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. Gehazi said, "My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life." edit
6 When the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed to her a certain officer, saying, "Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now." edit
7 Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick. It was told him, saying, "The man of God has come here." edit
8 The king said to Hazael, "Take a present in your hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of Yahweh by him, saying, 'Will I recover from this sickness?'" edit
9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, "Your son Benhadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, 'Will I recover from this sickness?'" edit
10 Elisha said to him, "Go, tell him, 'You shall surely recover;' however Yahweh has shown me that he shall surely die." edit
11 He settled his gaze steadfastly , until he was ashamed. Then the man of God wept. edit
12 Hazael said, "Why do you weep, my lord?" He answered, "Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel. You will set their strongholds on fire, and you will kill their young men with the sword, and will dash in pieces their little ones, and rip up their women with child." edit
13 Hazael said, "But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?" Elisha answered, "Yahweh has shown me that you will be king over Syria." edit
14 Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, "What did Elisha say to you?" He answered, "He told me that you would surely recover." edit
15 It happened on the next day, that he took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died. Then Hazael reigned in his place. edit
16 In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being king of Judah then, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. edit