Aram’s Army Attacks Samaria and People Go Hungry

²⁴ Some 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. ²⁵ There 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.

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

²⁷ The king replied, “If the Lord doesn’t help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?” ²⁸ He 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.’ ²⁹ So 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.”

³⁰ When 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 under his robes he was wearing the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. ³¹ He said, “I’ll cut the head of Shaphat’s son Elisha off his shoulders today. If I don’t, may God punish me greatly!”

³² Elisha 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 off my head. 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?” ³³ Elisha 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?”

7 Elisha replied, “Listen to a message from the Lord. He says, ‘About this time tomorrow, flour won’t cost very much. Even 12 pounds of the finest flour will cost less than half of an ounce of silver. You will also be able to buy 20 pounds of barley for the same price. That’s all you will have to pay for those things at the gate of Samaria.’ ”

² The king was leaning on an officer’s arm. The officer spoke to the man of God. The officer said, “Suppose the Lord opens the sky and pours down food 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

³ There 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? ⁴ Suppose 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.”

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

⁸ The 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 took 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.

⁹ But 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.”

¹⁰ So 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.” ¹¹ The people who guarded the gates shouted the news. It was reported inside the palace.

¹² The 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.’ ”

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

¹⁴ The 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.” ¹⁵ They 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 who were sent out returned. They reported to the king what they had seen. ¹⁶ Then the people went out of the city. They took everything of value from Aram’s army camp. So 12 pounds of the finest flour sold for less than half of an ounce of silver. And 20 pounds of barley sold for the same price. That’s exactly what the Lord had said would happen.

¹⁷ The 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 he was crushed as they walked on top of him. And so 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. ¹⁸ What Elisha, the man of God, had told the king came true. Elisha had said, “About this time tomorrow, flour won’t cost very much. Even 12 pounds of the finest flour will cost less than half of an ounce of silver. You will also be able to buy 20 pounds of barley for the same price. That’s all you will have to pay for those things at the gate of Samaria.”

¹⁹ The officer had spoken to the man of God. The officer had said, “Suppose the Lord opens the sky and pours down food on us. Even if he does, could what you are saying really happen?” The man of God had replied, “You will see it with your own eyes. But you won’t eat any of it!” ²⁰ And that’s exactly what happened to the officer. On their way out of the city, the people knocked him down. In the entrance of the gate he was crushed as they walked on top of him. And so he died.