2 Kings 6

1 And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we live in front of you is too cramped for us. 2 Let us go as far as the Jordan, and let each man take one beam from there, and let us make ourselves a place to live there.” And he said, “Go.” [a] 3 And one of them said, “Please, be so kind — come with your servants.” And he said, “I will go.”

4 And he went with them, and they came to the Jordan and began cutting the wood. 5 And as one of them was felling his beam, the iron head dropped into the water. And he cried out, “Oh, my master — and it was borrowed!” [b] 6 And the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. And Elisha broke off a stick and threw it in there, and the iron came up to the surface. † 7 And he said, “Lift it out for yourself.” And he stretched out his hand and took it.

8 Now the king of Aram was making war on Israel, and he took counsel with his servants and said, “I will make my camp at such and such a place.” [c] 9 And Elisha sent word to the king of Israel, saying, “Take care that you do not pass by that place, for the Arameans are hidden there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place that Elisha had named to him, and he kept himself clear of it, not once and not twice.

11 And the soul of the king of Aram was shaken over this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not tell me who is betraying me to the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “No, my lord the king. It is Elisha the prophet who is in Israel who tells the king of Israel every word you speak in the inner room of your bedchamber.” 13 And he said, “Go and see where he is, and I will send and take him.” And they brought him word, saying, “Look, he is in Dothan.”

14 And he sent horses there, and chariots, and a heavy force; and they came by night and surrounded the city. 15 And Elisha’s attendant got up early and went outside, and there was a force surrounding the city, and horses and chariots. And the young man said to him, “Oh, my master, what are we to do?” 16 And Elisha said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, open the young man’s eyes, and let him see.” And the Lord opened his eyes, and he saw, and there was the mountain, full of horses, and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

18 And they came down toward him, and Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Strike this people, I ask you, with blindness.” And he struck them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha. [d] 19 And Elisha said to them, “This is not the city, and this is not the way. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them away to Samaria. 20 And when they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “Open their eyes, Lord, and let them see.” And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw, and there they were, in the middle of Samaria.

21 And the king of Israel said, when he saw them, “Shall I strike them down? Shall I really strike them down, my father?” 22 And he said, “You are not to strike them down — you may strike only men you yourself have taken captive with your own sword and your own bow. Set bread and water before them, and let them eat and drink and go off to their master.” [e] 23 And he set a great spread before them, and they ate and drank; and he sent them away, and they went off to their master. And the raiding bands of Aram came no more into the land of Israel.

24 And after this the son of Hadad, king of Aram, gathered his whole army and went up and laid siege to Samaria. [f] 25 And there was a great famine in Samaria; and there they were, camped against it, until a donkey’s head sold for a pound and a quarter of silver, and about a cup and a half of dove’s dung for two ounces of silver. [g]

26 And the king of Israel was passing along on the wall, and a woman cried out to him, saying, “Save me, my lord the king!” 27 And he said to her, “May the Lord not save you. Where am I to save you from? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?” [h] 28 And the king said to her, “What is the matter with you?” And she said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son and we will eat him today, and my son — we will eat him tomorrow.’ 29 So we boiled my son and ate him. And I said to her on the second day, ‘Give up your son and let us eat him’ — and she has hidden her son.”

30 And when the king of Israel heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes; and he was passing along on the wall, and the people saw the sackcloth on his flesh underneath. 31 And he said, “May God do so to me, and more, if the head of Elisha stands on him today.”

32 And Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man on ahead of him; but before the messenger reached him, Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take off my head? See to it: when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold him back hard at the door. Is that not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?” [i] 33 While he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him, and he said, “Look, this evil is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?” [j]