Elijah Announces a Great Drought

17 Now Elijah^(A) the Tishbite, from Tishbe^[a] in Gilead,^(B) said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain^(C) in the next few years except at my word.”

Elijah Fed by Ravens

² Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: ³ “Leave here, turn eastward and hide^(D) in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. ⁴ You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens^(E) to supply you with food there.”

⁵ So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. ⁶ The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning^(F) and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath

⁷ Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. ⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him: ⁹ “Go at once to Zarephath^(G) in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow^(H) there to supply you with food.” ¹⁰ So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?”^{(I) 11} As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

¹² “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil^(J) in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

¹³ Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain^(K) on the land.’”

¹⁵ She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. ¹⁶ For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

¹⁷ Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. ¹⁸ She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin^(L) and kill my son?”

¹⁹ “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. ²⁰ Then he cried^(M) out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” ²¹ Then he stretched^(N) himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

²² The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. ²³ Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother^(O) and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know^(P) that you are a man of God^(Q) and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”^(R)

Elijah and Obadiah

18 After a long time, in the third^(S) year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present^(T) yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain^(U) on the land.” ² So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.

Now the famine was severe^(V) in Samaria, ³ and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator.^(W) (Obadiah was a devout believer^(X) in the Lord. ⁴ While Jezebel^(Y) was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden^(Z) them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied^(AA) them with food and water.) ⁵ Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs^(AB) and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.”^{(AC) 6} So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.

⁷ As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized^(AD) him, bowed down to the ground, and said, “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?”

⁸ “Yes,” he replied. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”

⁹ “What have I done wrong,” asked Obadiah, “that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? ¹⁰ As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look^(AE) for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. ¹¹ But now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ ¹² I don’t know where the Spirit^(AF) of the Lord may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the Lord since my youth. ¹³ Haven’t you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord? I hid a hundred of the Lord’s prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. ¹⁴ And now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ He will kill me!”

¹⁵ Elijah said, “As the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present^(AG) myself to Ahab today.”

Elijah on Mount Carmel

¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. ¹⁷ When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler^(AH) of Israel?”

¹⁸ “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you^(AI) and your father’s family have. You have abandoned^(AJ) the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. ¹⁹ Now summon^(AK) the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel.^(AL) And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”^(AM)

²⁰ So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.^{(AN) 21} Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver^(AO) between two opinions? If the Lord^(AP) is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.

²² Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left,^(AQ) but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.^{(AR) 23} Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. ²⁴ Then you call^(AS) on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord.^(AT) The god who answers by fire^(AU)—he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

²⁵ Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” ²⁶ So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

Then they called^(AV) on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response;^(AW) no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

²⁷ At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”^{(AX) 28} So they shouted louder and slashed^(AY) themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. ²⁹ Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice.^(AZ) But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.^(BA)

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar^(BB) of the Lord, which had been torn down. ³¹ Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.”^{(BC) 32} With the stones he built an altar in the name^(BD) of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs^[b] of seed. ³³ He arranged^(BE) the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”

³⁴ “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. ³⁵ The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

³⁶ At the time^(BF) of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham,^(BG) Isaac and Israel, let it be known^(BH) today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.^{(BI) 37} Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know^(BJ) that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

³⁸ Then the fire^(BK) of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

³⁹ When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate^(BL) and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”^(BM)

⁴⁰ Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley^(BN) and slaughtered^(BO) there.

⁴¹ And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” ⁴² So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.^(BP)

⁴³ “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.

“There is nothing there,” he said.

Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

⁴⁴ The seventh time^(BQ) the servant reported, “A cloud^(BR) as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”

So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”

⁴⁵ Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain^(BS) started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.^{(BT) 46} The power^(BU) of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt,^(BV) he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

Elijah Flees to Horeb

19 Now Ahab told Jezebel^(BW) everything Elijah had done and how he had killed^(BX) all the prophets with the sword. ² So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely,^(BY) if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”^(BZ)

³ Elijah was afraid^[c] and ran^(CA) for his life.^(CB) When he came to Beersheba^(CC) in Judah, he left his servant there, ⁴ while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush,^(CD) sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life;^(CE) I am no better than my ancestors.” ⁵ Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.^(CF)

All at once an angel^(CG) touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” ⁶ He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

⁷ The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” ⁸ So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty^(CH) days and forty nights until he reached Horeb,^(CI) the mountain of God. ⁹ There he went into a cave^(CJ) and spent the night.

The Lord Appears to Elijah

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”^(CK)

¹⁰ He replied, “I have been very zealous^(CL) for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant,^(CM) torn down your altars,^(CN) and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left,^(CO) and now they are trying to kill me too.”

¹¹ The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain^(CP) in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”^(CQ)

Then a great and powerful wind^(CR) tore the mountains apart and shattered^(CS) the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire,^(CT) but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.^{(CU) 13} When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face^(CV) and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁴ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left,^(CW) and now they are trying to kill me too.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael^(CX) king over Aram. ¹⁶ Also, anoint^(CY) Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha^(CZ) son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah^(DA) to succeed you as prophet. ¹⁷ Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael,^(DB) and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu.^{(DC) 18} Yet I reserve^(DD) seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed^(DE) him.”

The Call of Elisha

¹⁹ So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak^(DF) around him. ²⁰ Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,”^(DG) he said, “and then I will come with you.”

“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”

²¹ So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen^(DH) and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.^(DI)

Elijah Taken Up to Heaven

2 When the Lord was about to take^(A) Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind,^(B) Elijah and Elisha^(C) were on their way from Gilgal.^{(D) 2} Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here;^(E) the Lord has sent me to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.”^(F) So they went down to Bethel.

³ The company^(G) of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.”

⁴ Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.^(H)”

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

⁵ The company^(I) of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.”

⁶ Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here;^(J) the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”^(K)

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.”^(L) So the two of them walked on.

⁷ Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. ⁸ Elijah took his cloak,^(M) rolled it up and struck^(N) the water with it. The water divided^(O) to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry^(P) ground.

⁹ When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

“Let me inherit a double^(Q) portion of your spirit,”^(R) Elisha replied.

¹⁰ “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”

¹¹ As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire^(S) and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven^(T) in a whirlwind.^{(U) 12} Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots^(V) and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore^(W) it in two.

¹³ Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ He took the cloak^(X) that had fallen from Elijah and struck^(Y) the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

¹⁵ The company^(Z) of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit^(AA) of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. ¹⁶ “Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit^(AB) of the Lord has picked him up^(AC) and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.”

“No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.”

¹⁷ But they persisted until he was too embarrassed^(AD) to refuse. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. ¹⁸ When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”

Healing of the Water

¹⁹ The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.”

²⁰ “Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.

²¹ Then he went out to the spring and threw^(AE) the salt into it, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’” ²² And the water has remained pure^(AF) to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.

Elisha Is Jeered

²³ From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered^(AG) at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” ²⁴ He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse^(AH) on them in the name^(AI) of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. ²⁵ And he went on to Mount Carmel^(AJ) and from there returned to Samaria.

The Widow’s Olive Oil

4 The wife of a man from the company^(A) of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor^(B) is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

² Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”^(C)

³ Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. ⁴ Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

⁵ She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. ⁶ When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

⁷ She went and told the man of God,^(D) and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

The Shunammite’s Son Restored to Life

⁸ One day Elisha went to Shunem.^(E) And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. ⁹ She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. ¹⁰ Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay^(F) there whenever he comes to us.”

¹¹ One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. ¹² He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.”^(G) So he called her, and she stood before him. ¹³ Elisha said to him, “Tell her, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’”

She replied, “I have a home among my own people.”

¹⁴ “What can be done for her?” Elisha asked.

Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.”

¹⁵ Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. ¹⁶ “About this time^(H) next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.”

“No, my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!”

¹⁷ But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.

¹⁸ The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers.^{(I) 19} He said to his father, “My head! My head!”

His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰ After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. ²¹ She went up and laid him on the bed^(J) of the man of God, then shut the door and went out.

²² She called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return.”

²³ “Why go to him today?” he asked. “It’s not the New Moon^(K) or the Sabbath.”

“That’s all right,” she said.

²⁴ She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on; don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.” ²⁵ So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.^(L)

When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, “Look! There’s the Shunammite! ²⁶ Run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’”

“Everything is all right,” she said.

²⁷ When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress,^(M) but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why.”

²⁸ “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?”

²⁹ Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tuck your cloak into your belt,^(N) take my staff^(O) in your hand and run. Don’t greet anyone you meet, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy’s face.”

³⁰ But the child’s mother said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.

³¹ Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened.”

³² When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch.^{(P) 33} He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed^(Q) to the Lord. ³⁴ Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched^(R) himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm. ³⁵ Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times^(S) and opened his eyes.^(T)

³⁶ Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” And he did. When she came, he said, “Take your son.”^{(U) 37} She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.

Death in the Pot

³⁸ Elisha returned to Gilgal^(V) and there was a famine^(W) in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these prophets.”

³⁹ One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine and picked as many of its gourds as his garment could hold. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. ⁴⁰ The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.

⁴¹ Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He put it into the pot and said, “Serve it to the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.^(X)

Feeding of a Hundred

⁴² A man came from Baal Shalishah,^(Y) bringing the man of God twenty loaves^(Z) of barley bread^(AA) baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said.

⁴³ “How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked.

But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat.^(AB) For this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.^(AC)’” ⁴⁴ Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.

An Axhead Floats

6 The company^(A) of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. ² Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.”

And he said, “Go.”

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

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

They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. ⁵ As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!”

⁶ The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw^(B) it there, and made the iron float. ⁷ “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.

Elisha Traps Blinded Arameans

⁸ Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.”

⁹ The man of God sent word to the king^(C) of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” ¹⁰ So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned^(D) the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.

¹¹ This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”

¹² “None of us, my lord the king^(E),” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”

¹³ “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.”^{(F) 14} Then he sent^(G) horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.

¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

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

¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots^(J) of fire all around Elisha.

¹⁸ As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.”^(K) So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.

¹⁹ Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria.

²⁰ After they entered the city, Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.

²¹ When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father?^(L) Shall I kill them?”

²² “Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill those you have captured^(M) with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” ²³ So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands^(N) from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.

Famine in Besieged Samaria

²⁴ Some time later, Ben-Hadad^(O) king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege^(P) to Samaria. ²⁵ There was a great famine^(Q) in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels^[a] of silver, and a quarter of a cab^[b] of seed pods^[c](R) for five shekels.^[d]

²⁶ As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”

²⁷ The king replied, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?” ²⁸ Then he asked her, “What’s the matter?”

She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ ²⁹ So we cooked my son and ate^(S) him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she had hidden him.”

³⁰ When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore^(T) his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and they saw that, under his robes, he had sackcloth^(U) on his body. ³¹ He said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today!”

³² Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders^(V) were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Don’t you see how this murderer^(W) is sending someone to cut off my head?^(X) Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?” ³³ While he was still talking to them, the messenger came down to him.

The king said, “This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait^(Y) for the Lord any longer?”

The Charge Against Israel

Judgment Against Israel

Israel to Reap the Whirlwind

Punishment for Israel