Mar 22 - 2 Kings 6-8
2 Kings
1Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha: "Behold, the place in which we live before you is too narrow for us2Let us go as far as the Jordan, and let us each take from the forest a piece of timber, so that we may build for ourselves a place to live there." And he said, "Go.3And one of them said, "Then you, too, should go with your servants." And he answered, "I will go.4And he went with them. And when they had arrived at the Jordan, they were cutting down wood5Then it happened that, while someone was cutting timber, the iron of the ax fell into the water. And he cried out and said: "Alas, alas, alas, my lord! For this thing was borrowed.6Then the man of God said, "Where did it fall?" And he indicated to him the place. Then he cut off a piece of wood, and he threw it in. And the iron floated up7And he said, "Take it." And he extended his hand, and took it8Now the king of Syria was fighting against Israel, and he took counsel with his servants, saying, "In this and that place, let us set up an ambush.9And so the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying: "Take care not to pass by that place. For the Syrians are there in ambush.10And so the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God had told him, and he prevented it. And he preserved himself, concerning that place, not merely once or twice11And the heart of the king of Syria was disturbed over this matter. And calling together his servants, he said, "Why have you not revealed to me the one who is betraying me to the king of Israel?12And one of his servants said: "By no means, my lord the king! Rather it is the prophet Elisha, who is in Israel, who is revealing to the king of Israel every word whatsoever that you will speak in your conclave.13And he said to them, "Go, and see where he is, so that I may send and capture him." And they reported to him, saying, "Behold, he is in Dothan.14Therefore, he sent horses, and chariots, and experienced soldiers to that place. And when they had arrived in the night, they encircled the city15Now the servant of the man of God, arising at first light, went out and saw the army all around the city, with horses and chariots. And he reported it to him, saying: "Alas, alas, alas, my lord! What shall we do?16But he responded: "Do not be afraid. For there are more with us than with them.17And when Elisha had prayed, he said, "O Lord, open the eyes of this one, so that he may see." And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire, all around Elisha18Then truly, the enemies descended to him. But Elisha prayed to the Lord, saying: "Strike, I beg you, this people with blindness." And the Lord struck them, so that they would not see, in accord with the word of Elisha19Then Elisha said to them: "This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will reveal to you the man whom you are seeking." Then he led them into Samaria20And when they had entered into Samaria, Elisha said, "O Lord, open the eyes of these ones, so that they may see." And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw themselves to be in the midst of Samaria21And the king of Israel, when he had seen them, said to Elisha, "My father, should I not strike them?22And he said: "You should not strike them. For you did not capture them with your sword or bow, so that you might strike them. Instead, set bread and water before them, so that they may eat and drink, and then go to their lord.23And a great preparation of foods was placed before them. And they ate and drank. And he dismissed them. And they went away to their lord. And the robbers of Syria no longer came into the land of Israel24Now it happened that, after these things, Benhadad, the king of Syria, gathered together his entire army, and he ascended and was besieging Samaria25And a great famine occurred in Samaria. And it was blockaded for a long time, until the head of a donkey was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and one fourth part of a pint of pigeons’ dung sold for five silver coins26And as the king of Israel was passing by the wall, a certain woman cried out to him, saying, "Save me, my lord the king!27And he said: "If the Lord does not save you, how am I able to save you? From the grain floor, or from the wine press?" And the king said to her, "What is the matter with you?" And she responded28"This woman said to me: ‘Give your son, so that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.29Therefore, we cooked my son, and we ate him. And I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, so that we may eat him.’ But she concealed her son.30When the king had heard this, he tore his garments, and he passed along the wall. And all the people saw the haircloth that he had worn underneath, beside his flesh31And the king said, "May God do these things to me, and may he add these other things, if the head of Elisha, the son of Shaphat, will remain on him this day!32Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And so he sent a man ahead. And before that messenger arrived, he said to the elders: "Do you not know that this son of a murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? Therefore, watch, and when the messenger arrives, close the door. And you shall not permit him to enter. For behold, the sound of his lord’s feet is behind him.33While he was still speaking to them, the messenger appeared who was sent to him. And he said: "Behold, such a great evil is from the Lord! What more should I expect from the Lord?
1Then Elisha said: "Listen to the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord: Tomorrow, at this time, one measure of fine wheat flour will be one silver coin, and two measures of barley will be one silver coin, at the gate of Samaria.2And one of the leaders, upon whose hand the king leaned, responding to the man of God, said, "Even if the Lord will open the floodgates of heaven, how can what you say possibly be?" And he said, "You will see it with your own eyes, and you will not eat from it.3Now there were four lepers beside the entrance of the gate. And they said one to another: "Should we choose to stay here until we die4If we choose to enter the city, we will die from the famine. And if we remain here, we also will die. Therefore, come and let us flee over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare us, we will live. But if they choose to kill us, we will die anyway.5Therefore, they rose up in the evening, so that they might go to the camp of the Syrians. And when they had arrived at the beginning of the camp of the Syrians, they found no one in that place6For indeed, the Lord had caused them to hear, in the camp of Syria, the sound of chariots and horses, and a very numerous army. And they said one to another: "Behold, the king of Israel has paid wages to the kings of the Hittites and of the Egyptians against us. And they will overwhelm us.7Therefore, they rose up and fled away in the dark. And they left behind their tents and horses and donkeys in the camp. And they fled, desiring to save so much as their own lives8And so, when these lepers had arrived at the beginning of the camp, they entered one tent, and they ate and drank. And they took from there silver, and gold, and clothing. And they went away and hid it. And they returned again to another tent, and similarly, carrying away from there, they hid it9Then they said one to another: "We are not doing the right thing. For this is a day of good news. If we remain silent and refuse to report it until morning, we will be charged with a crime. Come, let us go and report it in the court of the king.10And when they had arrived at the gate of the city, they explained to them, saying: "We went into the camp of the Syrians, and we found no one in that place, except horses and donkeys tied, and the tents still standing.11Therefore, the gatekeepers went and reported it in the palace of the king12And he rose up in the night, and he said to his servants: "I tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are suffering from famine, and therefore they have gone out from the camp, and they lie hidden in the fields, saying: ‘When they will have gone out from the city, we will capture them alive, and then we will be able to enter the city.’ 13But one of his servants responded: "Let us take the five horses that remain in the city (for there were no more amid the entire multitude of Israel, since the rest had been consumed), and sending, we will be able to explore.14Therefore, they brought two horses. And the king sent them into the camp of the Syrians, saying, "Go, and see.15And they went away after them, as far as the Jordan. But behold, the entire way was filled with clothing and vessels, which the Syrians had thrown aside when they were disturbed. And the messengers returned and told the king16And the people, going out, pillaged the camp of the Syrians. And one measure of fine wheat flour went for one silver coin, and two measures of barley went for one silver coin, in accord with the word of the Lord17Then the king stationed that leader, on whose hand he leaned, at the gate. And the crowd trampled him at the entrance of the gate. And he died, in accord with what the man of God had said when the king had descended to him18And this happened in accord with the word of the man of God, which he had spoken to the king, when he said: "Two measures of barley will be one silver coin, and one measure of fine wheat flour will be one silver coin, at this same time tomorrow, at the gate of Samaria.19Then that leader had responded to the man of God, and he had said, "Even if the Lord will open the floodgates of heaven, how can what you say possibly happen?" And he said to him, "You will see it with your own eyes, and you will not eat from it.20Therefore, it happened to him just as it had been predicted. For the people trampled him at the gate, and he died
1Now Elisha spoke to the woman, whose son he had caused to live, saying: "Rise up. Go, you and your household, and sojourn in whatever place you can find. For the Lord has called forth a famine, and it shall overwhelm the land for seven years.2And she rose up, and she acted in accord with the word of the man of God. And going with her household, she sojourned in the land of the Philistines for many days3And when the seven years had ended, the woman returned from the land of the Philistines. And she departed, so that she might petition the king on behalf of her house and on behalf of her fields4Now the king was speaking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, "Describe for me all the great deeds that Elisha has done.5And as he was describing for the king the manner in which he had raised the dead, the woman appeared, whose son he had restored to life, crying out to the king on behalf of her house and on behalf of her fields. And Gehazi said, "My lord the king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha raised up.6And the king questioned the woman. And she explained it to him. And the king appointed a eunuch to her, saying, "Restore to her all that is hers, with all the proceeds of the fields, from the day that she left the land until the present.7Also, Elisha arrived in Damascus, and Benhadad, the king of Syria, was ill. And they reported to him, saying, "The man of God has arrived here.8And the king said to Hazael: "Take with you gifts. And go to meet the man of God. And consult the Lord through him, saying: ‘Will I be able to escape from this, my infirmity?’ 9And so, Hazael went to meet him, having with him gifts, and all the goods of Damascus, the burdens of forty camels. And when he had stood before him, he said: "Your son, Benhadad, the king of Syria, sent me to you, saying: ‘Will I be able to be healed from this, my infirmity?’ 10And Elisha said to him: "Go, tell him: ‘You will be healed.’ But the Lord has revealed to me that, dying he shall die.11And he stood beside him, and he was so troubled that his face became flushed. And the man of God wept12And Hazael said to him, "Why is my lord weeping?" And he said: "Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel. Their fortified cities you will burn with fire. And their young men you will kill with the sword. And you will destroy their little ones, and tear open the pregnant women.13And Hazael said, "But what am I, your servant, a dog, that I would do this great thing?" And Elisha said, "The Lord has revealed to me that you will be the king of Syria.14And when he had departed from Elisha, he went to his lord, who said to him, "What did Elisha say to you?" And he responded: "He said to me, ‘You shall receive health.’ 15And when the next day had arrived, he took a small covering, and poured water on it, and he spread it over his face. And when he died, Hazael reigned in his place16In the fifth year of Joram, the son of Ahab, the king of Israel, and of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah: Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, reigned as the king of Judah17He was thirty-two years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem18And he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had walked. For the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord19But the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, because of David, his servant, just as he had promised him, so that he might grant a light to him and to his sons, for all days20In his days, Idumea drew apart, so as not to be under Judah, and they appointed a king for themselves21And so, Jehoram went to Zair, and all the chariots with him. And he rose up in the night, and he struck down the Idumeans who had surrounded him, and the leaders of the chariots. But the people fled to their tents22And Idumea drew apart, so as not to be under Judah, even to this day. Then Libnah also drew apart, at the same time23Now the rest of the words of Jehoram, and all that he did, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Judah24And Jehoram slept with his fathers, and he was buried with them in the city of David. And Ahaziah, his son, reigned in his place25In the twelfth year of Joram, the son of Ahab, the king of Israel: Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, the king of Judah, reigned26Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri, the king of Israel27And he walked in the ways of the house of Ahab. And he did what is evil before the Lord, just as the house of Ahab did. For he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab28Also, he went with Joram, the son of Ahab, in order to fight against Hazael, the king of Syria, at Ramoth Gilead. And the Syrians had wounded Joram29And he turned back, so that he might be cured at Jezreel. For the Syrians had wounded him at Ramoth, fighting against Hazael, the king of Syria. Then Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, the king of Judah, descended to visit Joram, the son of Ahab, at Jezreel, because he was sick there