1
And the sons of the prophets said to▵ Elisha, Behold, now◦, the place where we◦ dwell before thee is too strait for us.
2
Let us go now◦, even··to the Jordan, and let us take from thence each··man◦ one beam, and let us make there a place for ourselves to dwell. And he said, go ye.
3
And one said, Be··content, we pray◦ thee, to go with thy servants. And he said, I◦ will go.
4
And he went with◦ them. And they came toward the Jordan, and they severed wood.
5
And it was, as one was felling a beam, that the iron fell into▵ the water, and he cried, and said, Alas, my lord, and it◦ was borrowed*.
6
And the man◦ of God said, Whither▵ did it fall? And he showed him the place. And he cut··down◦ wood and cast it thither, and caused the iron to float.
7
And he said, Lift· it ·up◦ for thyself. And he put··forth◦ his hand and took it.
8
And the king of Syria was fighting against Israel; and he counseled his servants, saying, At▵ a place, set··apart and isolated* shall be my camp.
9
And the man◦ of God sent to▵ the king of Israel, saying, Take··heed that thou pass not this place; for there the Syrians have set··down.
10
And the king of Israel sent to▵ the place of which the man◦ of God had said unto him and warned him of; and he took··heed there, not once nor twice.
11
And the heart of the king of Syria was··tempestuous over this thing; and he called his servants and said unto▵ them, Will you not tell me which of us is for◦ the king of Israel?
12
And one of his servants said, No◦, my lord, O king; for Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words which thou speakest in thy bed chamber.
13
And he said, Go and see where he◦ is, and I will send and take him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
14
And he sent there horses and chariots and a heavy host; and they came by night and encircled the city.
15
And the minister of the man◦ of God got··up··early to rise, and he went··out, and behold, a host was surrounding the city, both horse and chariot, and his lad said unto▵ him, Alas my lord, how◦ shall we do?
16
And he said, Fear not; for they who are with◦ us are more than they who are with◦ them.
17
And Elisha prayed and said, Jehovah, open◦ his eyes, I pray◦, that he may see. And Jehovah opened◦ the eyes of the lad and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was··full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
18
And they came··down to▵ him, and Elisha prayed unto▵ Jehovah and said, Smite, I pray◦, this nation, 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, and this is not the city; go after me and I will bring you to▵ the man◦ whom you seek. And he went with them to Samaria.
20
And it was, when they had come··into Samaria, that Elisha said, Jehovah, open◦ their eyes that they may see. And Jehovah 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, Shall I smite? Shall I smite them, my father?
22
And he said, 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, and let them eat and drink, and go to▵ their lord.
23
And he procured for them◦ great procurement; and they ate and they drank and he sent· them ·away, and they went to▵ their lord. And the troops of Syria came not again any··more into the land of Israel.
24
And it was, after this, that Ben-hadad, king of Syria brought··together all his camp, and went··up, and besieged Samaria.
25
And there was a great famine in Samaria; and, behold, they besieged it until the head of a donkey was for eighty of silver, and a fourth of a kab of the dung▵ of doves for five of silver.
26
And the king of Israel was passing··by upon the wall, and a woman cried unto▵ him, saying, Save, my lord, O king.
27
And he said, If Jehovah save thee not, whence◦ shall I save thee? out··of the threshing··floor or out··of the winepress?
28
And the king said, What hast thou? And she said, This woman said unto▵ me, Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and my son we will eat tomorrow.
29
And we cooked my son, and did eat him; and I said unto▵ her the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him; and she had hid· her son ·away.
30
And it was, as the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his garments; and he◦ was passing··by on the wall; and the people saw, and, behold, he had sackcloth upon his flesh within.
31
And he said, God do thus to me and thus may He add, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat stand upon him today.
32
And Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with◦ him; and he sent a man◦ from before him. But before◦ the messenger came to▵ him, he◦ said to▵ the elders, Do you see that this son of a murderer has sent to remove my head? see, when◦ the messenger comes, close the door and press··against him with the door. Is that not the sound* of the feet of his lord after him?
33
He was still speaking with them, and behold, the messenger came··down to▵ him; and he said, Behold, this evil is from Jehovah. Why should I still hope for Jehovah?
