2 Kings 6–7

An Ax Blade Floats

6The company of the prophets spoke to Elisha. They said, “Look. The place where we meet with you is too small for us. ²We would like to go to the Jordan River. Each of us can get some wood there. We want to build a place there for us to live in.”

Elisha said, “Go.”

³Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with us?”

“I will,” Elisha replied. ⁴And he went with them.

They went to the Jordan. There they began to cut down trees. ⁵One of them was cutting a tree down. The iron blade of his ax fell into the water. “Master!” he cried out. “This ax was borrowed!”

⁶The man of God asked, “Where did the blade fall?” He showed him the place. Then Elisha cut a stick and threw it there. That made the iron blade float. ⁷“Take it out of the water,” he said. So the man reached out and took it.

Elisha Makes the Soldiers of Aram Blind

⁸The king of Aram was at war with Israel. He talked things over with his officers. Then he said, “I’m going to set up my camp in a certain place.”

⁹The man of God sent a message to the king of Israel. It said, “Try to stay away from that place. Aram’s army is going to be down there.” ¹⁰The king of Israel checked on the place the man of God had told him about. Time after time Elisha warned the king. So the king was on guard in those places.

¹¹All of that made the king of Aram very angry. He sent for his officers. He said to them, “Tell me. Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”

¹²“You are my king and master,” said one of his officers. “None of us is on Israel’s side. But Elisha is a prophet in Israel. He tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your own bedroom.”

¹³“Go and find out where he is,” the king ordered. “Then I can send my men and capture him.” The report came back. It said, “He’s in Dothan.”

¹⁴Then the king sent horses and chariots and a strong army there. They went at night and surrounded the city.

¹⁵The servant of the man of God got up the next morning. He went out early. He saw that an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “My master!” the servant said. “What can we do?”

¹⁶“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

¹⁷Elisha prayed, “Lord, open my servant’s eyes so he can see.” Then the Lord opened his eyes. He looked up and saw the hills. He saw that Elisha was surrounded by horses and chariots. Fire was all around them.

¹⁸Aram’s army came down toward Elisha. Then he prayed to the Lord. He said, “Make these soldiers blind.” So the Lord made them blind, just as Elisha had prayed.

¹⁹Elisha told them, “This isn’t the right road. This isn’t the right city. Follow me. I’ll lead you to the man you are looking for.” He led them to Samaria.

²⁰They entered the city. Then Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men. Help them see again.” Then the Lord opened their eyes. They looked around. And there they were, inside Samaria!

²¹The king of Israel saw them. So he asked Elisha, “Should I kill them? I need your advice. You are like a father to me. Should I kill them?”

²²“Don’t kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill men you have captured with your own sword or bow? Put some food and water in front of them. Then they can eat and drink. They can go back to their master.”

²³So he prepared a big dinner for them. After they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away. They returned to their master. So the companies of soldiers from Aram stopped attacking Israel’s territory.

Aram’s Army Attacks Samaria

²⁴Some time later, Ben-Hadad gathered his entire army together. Ben-Hadad was the king of Aram. His army marched up and surrounded Samaria. Then they attacked it.

²⁵There wasn’t enough food anywhere in the city. It was surrounded for so long that people had to weigh out two pounds of silver for a donkey’s head. They had to weigh out two ounces of silver for half a pint of seed pods.

²⁶One day the king of Israel was walking on top of the wall. A woman cried out to him, “You are my king and master. Please help me!”

²⁷The king replied, “If the Lord doesn’t help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?” ²⁸He continued, “What’s wrong?”

She answered, “A woman said to me, ‘Give up your son. Then we can eat him today. Tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ ²⁹So we cooked my son. Then we ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son. Then we can eat him.’ But she had hidden him.”

³⁰When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his royal robes. As he walked along the wall, the people looked up at him. They saw that he was wearing black clothes under his robes. ³¹He said, “I’ll cut the head of Shaphat’s son Elisha off his shoulders today. If I don’t, may God punish me greatly!”

³²Elisha was sitting in his house. The elders were sitting there with him. The king went to see Elisha. He sent a messenger on ahead of him. Before the messenger arrived, Elisha spoke to the elders. He said, “That murderer is sending someone here to cut my head off. Can’t you see that? When the messenger comes, close the door. Hold it shut against him. Can’t you hear his master’s footsteps right behind him?”

³³Elisha was still talking to the elders when the messenger came down to him. The king also arrived. He said, “The Lord has sent this horrible trouble on us. Why should I wait any longer for him to help us?”

7Elisha said, “Listen to a message from the Lord. He says, ‘About this time tomorrow, you will be able to buy seven quarts of flour for less than half of an ounce of silver. You will also be able to buy 13 quarts of barley for the same price. That’s all you will have to pay for those things at the gate of Samaria.’ ”

²The king was leaning on an officer’s arm. The officer spoke to the man of God. He said, “Suppose the Lord opens the windows of the skies. Suppose he pours food down on us. Even if he does, could what you are saying really happen?”

“You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha. “But you won’t eat any of it!”

The Attack on Samaria Ends

³There were four men who had a skin disease. They were at the entrance of the gate of Samaria. They said to one another, “Why should we stay here until we die? ⁴Suppose we say, ‘We’ll go into the city.’ There isn’t any food there, and we’ll die. But if we stay here, we’ll die anyway. So let’s go over to Aram’s army camp. Let’s give ourselves up. If they spare us, we’ll live. If they kill us, we’ll die.”

⁵At sunset they got up. They went to Aram’s army camp. They arrived at the edge of it. But no one was there. ⁶The Lord had caused the soldiers of Aram to hear a noise. It sounded like chariots and horses and a huge army. So the soldiers spoke to one another. They said, “Listen! The king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings. He has paid them to attack us!” ⁷So they had gotten up and had run away at sunset. They had left their tents and horses and donkeys behind. They had left the camp as it was. And they had run for their lives.

⁸The men who had a skin disease arrived at the edge of the camp. They entered one of the tents. They ate and drank. Then they carried away silver, gold and clothes. They went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent. They took some things from it and hid them also.

⁹But then they said to one another, “What we’re doing isn’t right. This is a day of good news. And we’re keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until sunrise, we’ll be punished. Let’s go at once. Let’s report this to the royal palace.”

¹⁰So they went. They called out to the people who were guarding the city gates. They told them, “We went into Aram’s army camp. No one was there. We didn’t hear anyone. The horses and donkeys were still tied up. The tents were left just as they were.”

¹¹The people who guarded the gates shouted the news. It was reported inside the palace.

¹²The king of Israel got up in the night. He spoke to his officers. He said, “I’ll tell you what the men of Aram have done to us. They know we are very hungry. So they have left the camp to hide in the countryside. They are thinking, ‘We are sure they’ll come out. Then we’ll take them alive. And we’ll get into the city.’ ”

¹³One of the king’s officers spoke up. He said, “A few horses are still left in the city. Have some men get five of them. They won’t be any worse off than all of the other Israelites who are left here. In fact, all of us will soon be dead. So let’s send the men to find out what happened.”

¹⁴The men chose two chariots and their horses. The king sent them out to look for Aram’s army. He commanded the drivers, “Go and find out what has happened.”

¹⁵They followed the trail of Aram’s soldiers all the way to the Jordan River. They found clothes and supplies all along the road. The soldiers had thrown them down when they ran away. So the men returned. They reported to the king what they had seen.

¹⁶Then the people went out of the city. They took everything of value from Aram’s army camp. So seven quarts of flour sold for less than half of an ounce of silver. And 13 quarts of barley sold for the same price. That’s exactly what the Lord had said would happen.

¹⁷The king had put an officer in charge of the city gate. He was the officer on whose arm the king leaned. On their way out of the city, the people knocked the officer down. In the entrance of the gate they walked all over him. And he died. That’s exactly what the man of God had said would happen. He had said it when the king came down to his house.

¹⁸What the man of God had told the king came true. He had said, “About this time tomorrow, you will be able to buy seven quarts of flour for less than half of an ounce of silver. You will also be able to buy 13 quarts of barley for the same price. That’s all you will have to pay for those things at the gate of Samaria.”

¹⁹The officer had spoken to the man of God. He had said, “Suppose the Lord opens the windows of the skies. Suppose he pours food down on us. Even if he does, could what you are saying really happen?” The man of…