2 Kings 6

Thomson^{(i) 1} When the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, Behold the place where we dwell before thee it too confined for us; ² let us we pray thee, go to the Jordan, and take thence every man a piece of timber, and build there for ourselves a dwelling, and he said, Go; ³ one of them intreated him saying, Come along with thy servants; and he said I will go. ⁴ So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan and were cutting the timber, ⁵ behold as one was felling the beam the ax dropped in the water. Upon which he cried out, my lord! Now it was quite hid. ⁶ And the man of God said, Where did it fall? And when he had shewed him the place, he cut a chip of wood and threw it there, and the ax swam on the surface. ⁷ And he said, Take it up. So he stretched forth his hand and took it up. ⁸ When the king of Syria was carrying on a war against Israel, and consulted with his servants saying, In such and such a place I will encamp in ambush, ⁹ Elisha sent to the king of Israel saying, Take care not to pass by such a place, for the Syrians lie concealed there. ¹⁰ And when the king of Israel sent to the place which Elisha mentioned, and avoided it more than once or twice, ¹¹ the heart of the king of Syria was moved at this. And he called his servants and said to them, Why will you not tell me, who it is that betrayeth me to the king of Israel? ¹² Thereupon one of his servants said, That is not the case, my lord, king! For it is Elisha the prophet in Israel who telleth the king of Israel all the words which thou speakest in thy bed chamber. ¹³ Then he said, Go see where he is, and I will send and take him. And when they told him saying, Behold he is at Dothaim, ¹⁴ he sent thither horses and chariots, even a strong detachment. And they came by night and surrounded the city. ¹⁵ And when Elisha's servant arose early in the morning and went out, behold an army with horses and chariots surrounded the city, whereupon the servant said to him, my lord, what shall we do? ¹⁶ And Elisha said, Fear not; for there are more with us than with them. ¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed and said, Lord I beseech thee, open his eyes that he may see. Accordingly the Lord opened his eyes and he looked and lo! the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. ¹⁸ And as the Syrians were coming down upon him Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, Smite I pray thee, this people with dimness of sight. And when he had smitten them with dimness of sight, according to the word of Elisha, ¹⁹ Elisha said to them, This is not the city; nor this the way. Come, follow me, and I will lead you to the man whom you are seeking. ²⁰ So he led them away to Samaria; and when they had entered Samaria, Elisha said, Open, Lord, I beseech thee, their eyes, and let them see. So he opened their eyes and looked, and behold they were in the midst of Samaria. ²¹ Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, My father, shall I smite them? ²² To which he replied, Thou must not smite them. Dost thou smite any but those whom thou hast captivated with thy own sword, or thy own bow? Set bread and water before them and let them eat and drink, and go to their lord. ²³ So he made a great entertainment for them. And when they had eaten and drunk he dismissed them, and they went to their master, and the predatory bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. ²⁴ After this, Son Ader king of Syria, assembled his whole army and came up and sat down before Samaria, and there was a great famine in Samaria. ²⁵ For behold they besieged it until an ass's head was sold for fifty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a kab of vetches for five shekels of silver. ²⁶ And as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him and said, Save me, my lord, king! ²⁷ And the king said to her, Unless the Lord save thee, whence can I save thee, from the threshing floor or from the press? ²⁸ Then the king said to her, What is the matter with thee? And the woman said, This woman said to me, Give thy son that we may eat him to-day; and we will eat my son to-morrow. ²⁹ So when we had boiled my son and eaten him, I said to her on the next day, Give thy son that we may eat him; but she hath hidden her son. ³⁰ When the king of Israel heard the words of the woman he rent his clothes, as he was passing along on the wall, so that all the people saw the sackcloth underneath on his flesh. ³¹ And he said, God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha shall stand on him this day. ³² Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And when the king despatched a man before him; before the messenger came to him he said to the elders, Do you see that this son of a murderer hath sent to take off my head? Look! when the messenger cometh, shut the door and stop him there. Is not the sound of his master's feet behind him? ³³ And while he was speaking with them, behold the messenger came down to him. And when the king said, Behold this calamity is from the Lord; why should I wait any longer for the Lord?