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2 Kings 7
1599 Geneva Bible

7 1 Elisha prophesieth plenty of vittles, and other things to Samaria. 6 The Syrians run away and have no man following them. 17 The prince that would not believe the word of Elisha, is trodden to death.

1 Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the Lord: thus saith the Lord, [a]Tomorrow this time a measure of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel in the gate of Samaria.

2 Then a prince, on whose hand the king [b]leaned, answered the man of God, and said, Though the Lord would make [c]windows in the heaven, could this thing come to pass? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not [d]eat thereof.

3 Now there were four leprous men at the [e]entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?

4 If we say, We will enter into the city, the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall into the camp of the Aramites: if they save our lives, we shall live: and if they kill us, we are but dead.

5 So they rose up in the twilight, to go to the camp of the Aramites: and when they were come to the utmost part of the camp of the Aramites, lo, there was no man there.

6 For the Lord had caused the camp of the Aramites to hear a [f]noise of chariots and a noise of horses, and a noise of a great army, so that they said one to another, Behold, the King of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians to come upon us.

7 Wherefore they arose, and fled in the twilight, and left their tents and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and [g]fled for their lives.

8 And when these lepers came to the utmost part of the camp, they entered into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it: after, they returned, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.

9 Then said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace. If we tarry till daylight, some [h]mischief will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go, and tell the king’s household.

10 So they came and called unto the porters of the city, and told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Aramites, and lo, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied and asses tied: and the tents are as they were.

11 And the porters cried and declared to the king’s house within.

12 Then the King arose in the night, and said unto his servants, [i]I will show you now, what the Aramites have done unto us. They know that we are famished, therefore they are gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.

13 And one of his servants answered, and said, Let me take now five of the horses that remain, and are left in the city, (behold, they are even as all the [j]multitude of Israel that are left therein: behold, I say, they are as the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed) and we will send to see.

14 So they took [k]two chariots of horses, and the king sent after the host of the Aramites, saying, Go and see.

15 And they went after them unto Jordan, and lo, all the way was full of clothes and vessels which the Aramites had cast from them in their haste: and the messengers returned, and told the king.

16 Then the people went out and spoiled the camp of the Aramites: so a measure of fine flour was at a shekel, and two measures of barley at a shekel [l]according to the word of the Lord.

17 And the king gave the prince (on whose hand he leaned) the charge of the gate, and the people [m]trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, which spake it, when the king came down to him.

18 And it came to pass, as the man of God had spoken to the King, saying, Two measures of barley at a shekel, and a measure of fine flour shall be at a shekel, tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.

19 But the prince had answered the man of God, and said, Though the Lord would make windows in the heaven, could it come so to pass? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not eat thereof.

20 And so it came unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 7:1 The godly are ever assured of God’s help in their necessities, but the times and hours are only revealed by God’s Spirit.
  2. 2 Kings 7:2 To whom the king gave the charge and oversight of things, as verse 17.
  3. 2 Kings 7:2 He mocked at the Prophet’s words, saying, that if God rained down corn from heaven, yet this could not come to pass.
  4. 2 Kings 7:2 Thy infidelity shall be punished herein when thou shalt see this miracle, and yet not be partaker thereof.
  5. 2 Kings 7:3 For it was commanded in the law that they should dwell apart, and not among their brethren, Lev. 13:46.
  6. 2 Kings 7:6 Thus God needeth no great preparation to destroy the wicked, though they be never so many: for he can scatter them with a small noise, or shaking of a leaf.
  7. 2 Kings 7:7 The wicked need no greater enemy than their own conscience to pursue them.
  8. 2 Kings 7:9 Or, we shall be punished for our faults.
  9. 2 Kings 7:12 He mistrusted the Prophet’s words, and therefore could believe nothing, as they which are more politic than godly ever cast more perils than needeth.
  10. 2 Kings 7:13 There are no more left, but they, or the rest are consumed with the famine, as the rest of the people.
  11. 2 Kings 7:14 Or, two horses of the chariot, which were accustomed to draw in the chariot.
  12. 2 Kings 7:16 Which he spake by the mouth of Elisha, verse 1.
  13. 2 Kings 7:17 As the people preased out of the gate to run to the Syrian’s tents, where they had heard was meat, and great spoil left.
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2 Kings 7
New International Version

7 Elisha replied, “Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah[a] of the finest flour will sell for a shekel[b] and two seahs[c] of barley for a shekel(A) at the gate of Samaria.”

2 The officer on whose arm the king was leaning(B) said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates(C) of the heavens, could this happen?”

“You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha, “but you will not eat(D) any of it!”

The Siege Lifted

3 Now there were four men with leprosy[d](E) at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.”

5 At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there, 6 for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound(F) of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired(G) the Hittite(H) and Egyptian kings to attack us!” 7 So they got up and fled(I) in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.

8 The men who had leprosy(J) reached the edge of the camp, entered one of the tents and ate and drank. Then they took silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.

9 Then they said to each other, “What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.”

10 So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, “We went into the Aramean camp and no one was there—not a sound of anyone—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were.” 11 The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.

12 The king got up in the night and said to his officers, “I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving; so they have left the camp to hide(K) in the countryside, thinking, ‘They will surely come out, and then we will take them alive and get into the city.’”

13 One of his officers answered, “Have some men take five of the horses that are left in the city. Their plight will be like that of all the Israelites left here—yes, they will only be like all these Israelites who are doomed. So let us send them to find out what happened.”

14 So they selected two chariots with their horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, “Go and find out what has happened.” 15 They followed them as far as the Jordan, and they found the whole road strewn with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight.(L) So the messengers returned and reported to the king. 16 Then the people went out and plundered(M) the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of the finest flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel,(N) as the Lord had said.

17 Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died,(O) just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house. 18 It happened as the man of God had said to the king: “About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.”

19 The officer had said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates(P) of the heavens, could this happen?” The man of God had replied, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!” 20 And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 7:1 That is, probably about 12 pounds or about 5.5 kilograms of flour; also in verses 16 and 18
  2. 2 Kings 7:1 That is, about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams; also in verses 16 and 18
  3. 2 Kings 7:1 That is, probably about 20 pounds or about 9 kilograms of barley; also in verses 16 and 18
  4. 2 Kings 7:3 The Hebrew for leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin; also in verse 8.
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