2 Kings 6:24-33

International Children’s Bible

A Time of Hunger

²⁴ Later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered all his army. He went to surround and attack Samaria. ²⁵ There was a time of terrible hunger in Samaria. It was so bad that a donkey’s head was sold for about two pounds of silver. Half of a pint of dove’s dung sold for about two ounces of silver.

²⁶ The king of Israel was passing by on the wall. A woman yelled out to him, “Help me, my master and king!”

²⁷ The king said, “If the Lord doesn’t help you, how can I? Can I get help from the threshing floor or from the winepress?” ²⁸ Then the king said to her, “What is your trouble?”

She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we can eat him today. Then we will eat my son tomorrow.’ ²⁹ So we boiled my son and ate him. Then the next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we can eat him.’ But she had hidden him.”

³⁰ When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes to show how upset he was. He walked along the wall. The people looked and saw he had on rough cloth under his clothes. This was to show his sadness. ³¹ He said, “The head of Elisha son of Shaphat will be taken from his body today! May God punish me terribly if this doesn’t happen!”

³² The king sent a messenger to Elisha. Elisha was sitting in his house. And the elders were sitting with him. But before the messenger arrived, Elisha spoke to them. He said, “See, this murderer is sending men to take off my head. When the messenger arrives, shut the door. Hold it and don’t let him in. The sound of his master’s feet is behind him.”

³³ While Elisha was still talking with the leaders, the king came. He said, “This trouble has come from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”