⁸ Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my ^[a]camp. ⁹ And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are coming down. ¹⁰ And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice. ¹¹ And the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? ¹² And one of his servants said, Nay, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. ¹³ And he said, Go and see where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.

¹⁴ Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. ¹⁵ And when the ^[b]servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, a host with horses and chariots was round about the city. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? ¹⁶ And he answered, Fear not; for they that are with us are more than they that are with them. ¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, and said, Jehovah, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And Jehovah opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. ¹⁸ And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto Jehovah, and said, Smite this ^[c]people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. ¹⁹ And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. And he led them to Samaria.

²⁰ And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Jehovah, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And Jehovah opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. ²¹ And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? ²² And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. ²³ And he prepared great provision for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.