2 Kings 7
Expanded Bible
7 Elisha said, “Listen to the Lord’s word. ·This is what the Lord says [T Thus says the Lord]: ‘About this time tomorrow ·seven quarts [a measure/L seah; C the exact quantity of a seah is debated] of ·fine [choice] flour will be sold for ·two-fifths of an ounce of silver [L a shekel], and ·thirteen quarts [two measures/L seahs] of barley will be sold for ·two-fifths of an ounce of silver [L a shekel; C food would be readily available]. This will happen at the gate of Samaria [C the common location of the marketplace].’”
2 Then the officer ·who was close to the king [L on whose arm the king was leaning] answered Elisha, “Even if the Lord opened windows in the sky [C resulting in rain], that couldn’t happen.”
Elisha said, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it.”
3 There were four men with ·a skin disease [T leprosy; 5:1] at the entrance to the city gate. They said to each other, “Why ·do [should] we sit here until we die? 4 There is ·no food [famine] in the city. So if we go into the city, we will die there. If we stay here, we will die. So let’s go to the Aramean camp. If they ·let us live [spare us], we will live. If they kill us, we die.”
5 So they got up at ·twilight [dusk] and went to the Aramean camp, but when they arrived at the edge of the camp, no one was there. 6 The Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a large army. They had said to each other, “The king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!” 7 So they got up and ran away in the ·twilight [dusk], ·leaving [abandoning] their tents, horses, and donkeys. They left the camp ·standing [just as it was] and ·ran [fled] for their lives.
8 When the ·men with the skin disease [T lepers; 5:1] came to the edge of the camp, they went into one of the tents and ate and drank. They carried silver, gold, and clothes out of the camp and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent. They carried things from this tent and hid them, also. 9 Then they said to each other, “We’re ·doing wrong [L not doing right]. ·Today we have [This is a day of] good news, but we are ·silent [keeping it to ourselves; holding our tongues]. If we wait until the sun comes up, we’ll be ·discovered [punished; found guilty]. Let’s go right now and tell the people in the king’s ·palace [L household].”
10 So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city. They said, “We went to the Aramean camp, but no one is there; we didn’t hear anyone. The horses and donkeys were still tied up, and the tents ·were still standing [as they were].” 11 Then the gatekeepers shouted out and told the ·people in the palace [L king’s household].
12 The king got up in the night and said to his officers, “I’ll tell you what the Arameans are doing to us. They know we are starving. They have gone out of the camp to hide in the field. They’re saying, ‘When the Israelites come out of the city, we’ll capture them alive. Then we’ll enter the city.’”
13 One of his officers answered, “Let some men take five of the horses that are still left in the city. These men are like all the Israelites who are left; they, like a multitude of Israelites who have already perished, are about to die. Let’s send them to see what has happened.”
14 So the men took two chariots with horses. The king sent them after the Aramean army, saying, “Go and see what has happened.” 15 The men followed the Aramean army as far as the Jordan River. The road was full of clothes and equipment that the Arameans had thrown away as they had hurriedly left. So the messengers returned and told the king. 16 Then the people went out and ·took valuables from [plundered; ransacked] the Aramean camp. So ·seven quarts [a measure/L seah] of fine flour were sold for ·two-fifths of an ounce of silver [L a shekel], and ·thirteen quarts [two measures/L seahs; 7:1] of barley were sold for ·two-fifths of an ounce of silver [L a shekel], ·just as the Lord had said [L in accordance with the word of the Lord].
17 The king ·chose [appointed] the officer ·who was close to him [L on whose arm he leaned] to guard the gate, but the people trampled the officer to death. This happened just as ·Elisha [the man of God] had told the king when the king came to his house. 18 He had said, “·Thirteen quarts [Two measures/L seahs] of barley and ·seven quarts [a measure/L seah]of fine flour will each sell for ·two-fifths of an ounce of silver [a shekel] about this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria.”
19 But the officer had answered, “Even if the Lord opened windows in the sky, that couldn’t happen.” And Elisha had told him, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you won’t eat any of it.” 20 It happened to the officer just that way. The people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.
2 Kings 7
Amplified Bible
Elisha Promises Food
7 Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord, ‘Tomorrow about this time a [a]measure of finely-milled flour will sell for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’” 2 Then the royal officer on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “If the Lord should make windows in heaven [for the rain], could this thing take place?” Elisha said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but [because you doubt] you will not eat of it.”
Four Lepers Relate Arameans’ Flight
3 Now four men who were [b]lepers were at the entrance of the [city’s] gate; and they said to one another, “Why should we sit here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘We will enter the city’—then the famine is in the city and we will die there; and if we sit still here, we will also die. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Arameans (Syrians). If they let us live, we will live; and if they kill us, we will only die.” 5 So they got up at twilight to go to the Aramean camp. But when they came to the edge of the camp, there was no one there. 6 For the Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the sound of chariots, and the sound of horses, the sound of a great army. They had said to one another, “The king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come [and fight] against us.” 7 So the Arameans set out and fled during the twilight, and left their tents, horses, and donkeys, even left the camp just as it was, and fled for their lives. 8 When these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried away from there silver, gold, and clothing, and went and hid them. Then they went back and entered another tent and carried [some valuable things] from there also, and went and hid them.
9 Then they said one to another, “We are not doing the right thing. This is a day of good news, yet we are keeping silent. If we wait until the morning light, some punishment [for not reporting this now] will come on us. So now come, let us go and tell the king’s household.” 10 So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city. They told them, “We went to the camp of the Arameans (Syrians), and behold, there was no one there, nor the sound of man there—only the horses and donkeys tied up, and the tents [had been left] just as they were.” 11 Then the gatekeepers called out and it was reported to the king’s household inside [the city]. 12 Then the king got up in the night and said to his servants, “I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know that we are hungry; so they have left the camp to hide themselves in the open country, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive and get into the city.’” 13 One of his servants replied, “Please let some men take five of the horses which remain inside the city. Consider this: [if they are caught then at worst] they will be like all the people of Israel who are left in the city; [even if they are killed then] they will be like all the people of Israel who have already died. So let us send [them] and see [what happens].” 14 So they took two chariots with horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army, saying, “Go and see.”
The Promise Fulfilled
15 They went after them to the Jordan, and all the road was entirely littered with clothing and equipment which the Arameans (Syrians) had thrown away when they hurriedly fled. And the messengers returned and told the king.
16 Then the people [of Israel] went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. So [goods were so plentiful that] a measure of finely-milled flour [was sold] for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in accordance with the word of the Lord [as spoken through Elisha].(A) 17 Now the king had appointed the royal officer on whose arm he leaned to be in charge of the [city] gate; and the [starving] people trampled him at the gate [as they struggled to get through for food], and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to him. 18 It happened just as [Elisha] the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, “Two measures of barley will be sold for a shekel and a measure of finely-milled flour for a shekel tomorrow about this time at the gate of Samaria.” 19 The royal officer had answered the man of God and said, “Now behold, [even] if the Lord should make windows in heaven, could such a thing happen?” And Elisha had answered, “You will see it with your own eyes, but [because of your doubt] you will not eat it.”(B) 20 And so it happened to him; for the people trampled him at the gate, and he died.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 7:1 Heb seah.
- 2 Kings 7:3 See note 5:1.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
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