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
- 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 Kings 7:2 To whom the king gave the charge and oversight of things, as verse 17.
- 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.
- 2 Kings 7:2 Thy infidelity shall be punished herein when thou shalt see this miracle, and yet not be partaker thereof.
- 2 Kings 7:3 For it was commanded in the law that they should dwell apart, and not among their brethren, Lev. 13:46.
- 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.
- 2 Kings 7:7 The wicked need no greater enemy than their own conscience to pursue them.
- 2 Kings 7:9 Or, we shall be punished for our faults.
- 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.
- 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.
- 2 Kings 7:14 Or, two horses of the chariot, which were accustomed to draw in the chariot.
- 2 Kings 7:16 Which he spake by the mouth of Elisha, verse 1.
- 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.
2 Kings 7
International Children’s Bible
7 Elisha said, “Listen to the Lord’s word. This is what he says: ‘About this time tomorrow 7 quarts of fine flour will be sold for two-fifths of an ounce of silver. And 13 quarts of barley will be sold for two-fifths of an ounce of silver. This will happen at the gate of Samaria.’”
2 Then the officer who was close to the king answered Elisha. He said, “Even if the Lord opened windows in heaven, that couldn’t happen.”
Elisha said, “Because you have said that, you will see it with your eyes. But you will not eat any of it.”
3 There were four men with a harmful skin disease at the entrance to the city gate. They said to each other, “Why do we sit here until we die? 4 A time of hunger is 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, we will live. If they kill us, then we die.”
5 So they got up at twilight. And they went to the Aramean camp. But when they arrived, 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 ran away in the twilight. They left their tents, horses and donkeys. They left the camp standing and ran for their lives.
8 The men with the skin disease came to the edge of the camp. Then they went into one of the tents. They 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. Today we have good news, but we are silent. If we wait until the sun comes up, we’ll be punished. Let’s go now and tell the people in the king’s palace.”
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.” 11 Then the gatekeepers shouted out and told the people in the palace.
12 So the king got up in the night. He said to his officers, “I’ll tell you what the Arameans are doing to us. They know we are hungry. 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 horses still left in the city. These men are like all the Israelites who are left. They are also 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. He told them, “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. The Arameans had thrown these things away as they had hurried away. So the messengers came back and told the king. 16 Then the people went out and took valuable things from the Aramean camp. So 7 quarts of fine flour were sold for two-fifths of an ounce of silver. And 13 quarts of barley were sold for two-fifths of an ounce of silver. It happened just as the Lord had said.
17 The king chose the officer who was close to him to guard the gate. But the people ran over the officer so that he died. This happened just as the man of God had told the king. Elisha had said it when the king came to his house. 18 He had said, “Thirteen quarts of barley and 7 quarts of fine flour will each sell for two-fifths of an ounce of silver. It will happen about this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria.”
19 But the officer had answered, “Even if the Lord opened windows in heaven, that couldn’t happen.” And Elisha had told him, “Because you have said that, you will see it with your eyes. But you won’t eat any of it.” 20 It happened to the officer just that way. The people ran over him in the gate, and he died.
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