2 Kings 7

Wycliffe Bible

7 Forsooth Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the Lord; the Lord saith these things, In this time tomorrow (At this time tomorrow), a bushel of [tried] flour shall be sold for a stater, and two bushels of barley for a stater, in the gate of Samaria.

² And one of the dukes, on whose hand the king leaned, answered to the man of God, and said, (Yea,) Though the Lord make also the gutters of heaven to be opened, whether that, that thou speakest, may be? And Elisha said, Thou shalt see it with thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof. (And one of the leaders, on whose hand the king leaned, answered to the man of God, and said, Even if the Lord shall make the gutters of the heavens to open up, what thou sayest could not be true! And Elisha said, Thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not eat any of it.)

³ Therefore four leprous men were beside the entering of the city’s gate, which said together, What will we be here, till we die? (And so four lepers were beside the entrance to the city gate, and they said together, Why should we stay here, and just wait until we all die?)

⁴ Whether we will enter into the city, we shall die for hunger; whether we dwell here (or if we stay here), we shall (also) die. Therefore come ye, and flee we over to the tents of Syria; if they shall spare us, we shall live; soothly if they will slay us, nevertheless we shall (still just) die.

⁵ Then they rose up in the eventide, to come to the tents of Syria; and when they had come to the beginning of the tents of Syria, they found not any man there.

⁶ Forsooth the Lord had made a sound of chariots, and of horses, and of a full much host to be heard in the tents of Syria; and they said together, Lo! the king of Israel hath hired by meed against us the kings of Hittites, and of Egyptians; and they came suddenly upon us. (For the Lord had made the sound of chariots, and of horses, and of a very large army to be heard among the tents, or in the camp, of the Syrians; and they had said together, Lo! the king of Israel hath hired for money the kings of the Hittites, and of the Egyptians, to come against us; and they have suddenly come upon us!)

⁷ Therefore they rose up, and fled in darkness, and left their tents, and their horses, and mules, and asses, in the castles (with the tents); and they fled, coveting to save their lives only. (And so they rose up, and fled away in the darkness, and left their tents, and their horses, and mules, and donkeys, with the tents, or in the camp; and they fled, desiring only to save their own lives.)

⁸ Therefore when those leprous men had come to the beginning of the castles, or tents, they entered into one tabernacle, and ate, and drank; and they took from thence silver, and gold, and clothes; and went, and hid it; and again they turned again to another tabernacle, and in like manner they took away from thence, and hid. (And so when those lepers had come to the beginning of the tents, or of the camp, they went into one tent, and ate, and drank; and they took from there silver, and gold, and clothes; and went, and hid it; and then they turned to another tent, and in like manner they took away from there, and hid it all.)

⁹ And they said together, We do not rightfully, for this is a day of good message; if we hold it still, and do not tell till the morrowtide, we shall be reproved of trespassing (if we keep it quiet, and do not tell anyone until the morning, we shall be blamed for not reporting it); come ye, go we, and tell it in the king’s hall.

¹⁰ And when they had come to the gate of the city, they told to them, and said, We went to the castles of Syria (We went to the tents, or the camp, of the Syrians), and we found not any man there, but (all the) horses and asses tied (up), and [the] tents fastened (in place).

¹¹ And so the porters went (And so the guards went), and told these things in the palace of the king within.

¹² And the king rose up by night, and said to his servants, I say to you, what the men of Syria have done to us; they know, that we travail with hunger, therefore they have gone out of the castles, and be hid in the fields, and say, When they shall go out of the city, we shall take them quick, and then we shall be able to enter into the city. (And the king rose up in the night, and said to his servants, I shall tell you, what the men of Syria have done to us; they know, that we be hungry, and so they have gone out of their tents, and be hid in the fields, and they say, When they shall go out of the city, we shall take them alive, and then we shall be able to enter into their city.)

¹³ And one of his servants answered, Take we (some of) [the] five horses, that [be] left in the city; for those be left only in all the multitude of Israel, for [the] other horses be wasted (for those be the only ones left in all the multitude of Israel, for all the others have died, or have been eaten); and we sending may espy.

¹⁴ Therefore they brought forth two horses; and the king sent (men upon them) into the tents of the men of Syria, and said, Go ye, and see. (And so they brought forth two horses; and the king sent out men upon them to follow after the Syrian army, saying, Go ye, and see what you can see.)

¹⁵ The which went after them unto (the) Jordan; lo! forsooth all the way was full of clothes, and of vessels, which the men of Syria (had) casted forth, when they were troubled. And the messengers turned again, and showed it to the king (And the messengers returned, and reported to the king about all these things).

¹⁶ And the people went out, and ravished the castles of Syria (And the people went out, and spoiled the tents, or the camp, of the Syrians); and a bushel of tried flour was made sold for a stater, and two bushels of barley for a stater, by the word of the Lord.

¹⁷ Forsooth the king ordained at the gate that duke, in whose hand the king leaned; whom the company trode with their feet, and he was dead, by the word, which the man of God spake, when the king came down to him. (And the king ordered that leader, on whose hand he had leaned, to go to the city gate; and the people then trode upon him with their feet, and he died, according to the word, which the man of God spoke, when the king had come down to him.)

¹⁸ And (so) it was done by the word of the man of God, that he [had] said to the king, when he said, Two bushels of barley shall be sold for a stater, and a bushel of tried wheat flour for a stater, in this same time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria;

¹⁹ when that duke answered to the man of God, and said, Yea, though the Lord shall make the gutters in heaven to be opened, whether this that thou speakest may be? and the man of God said, Thou shalt see it with thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof. (when that leader had answered the man of God, and said, Even if the Lord shall make the gutters of the heavens to open up, what thou sayest could not be true! and the man of God said, Thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not eat any of it.)

²⁰ Therefore it befelled to him, as it was before-said; and the people trode him with their feet in the gate, and he was dead. (And so it befell to him, as it had been foretold; and the people trode upon him with their feet at the city gate, and he died.)