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2 Kings 6:24-33
New English Translation

The Lord Saves Samaria

24 Later King Ben Hadad of Syria assembled his entire army and attacked[a] and besieged Samaria. 25 Samaria’s food supply ran out.[b] They laid siege to it so long that[c] a donkey’s head was selling for eighty shekels of silver[d] and a quarter of a kab[e] of dove’s droppings[f] for five shekels of silver.[g]

26 While the king of Israel was passing by on the city wall, a woman shouted to him, “Help us, my master, O king!” 27 He replied, “No, let the Lord help you. How can I help you? The threshing floor and winepress are empty.”[h] 28 Then the king asked her, “What’s your problem?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Hand over your son; we’ll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow.’ 29 So we boiled my son and ate him. Then I said to her the next day, ‘Hand over your son and we’ll eat him.’ But she hid her son!” 30 When the king heard what the woman said, he tore his clothes. As he was passing by on the wall, the people could see he was wearing sackcloth under his clothes.[i] 31 Then he said, “May God judge me severely[j] if Elisha son of Shaphat still has his head by the end of the day!”[k]

32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the community leaders.[l] The king[m] sent a messenger on ahead, but before he arrived,[n] Elisha[o] said to the leaders,[p] “Do you realize this assassin intends to cut off my head?[q] Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and lean against it. His master will certainly be right behind him.”[r] 33 He was still talking to them when[s] the messenger approached[t] and said, “Look, the Lord is responsible for this disaster![u] Why should I continue to wait for the Lord to help?”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 6:24 tn Heb “went up.”
  2. 2 Kings 6:25 tn Heb “and there was a great famine in Samaria.”
  3. 2 Kings 6:25 tn Heb “and look, [they] were besieging it until.”
  4. 2 Kings 6:25 tn Heb “eighty, silver.” The unit of measurement is omitted.
  5. 2 Kings 6:25 sn A kab was a unit of dry measure, equivalent to approximately 2 quarts (2 liters).
  6. 2 Kings 6:25 tn The consonantal text (Kethib) reads “dove dung” (חֲרֵייוֹנִים, khareyonim), while the marginal reading (Qere) has “discharge” (דִּבְיוֹנִים, divyonim). Based on evidence from Akkadian, M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 79) suggest that “dove’s dung” was a popular name for the inedible husks of seeds.
  7. 2 Kings 6:25 tn Heb “five, silver.” The unit of measurement is omitted.
  8. 2 Kings 6:27 tn Heb “From where can I help you, from the threshing floor or the winepress?” The rhetorical question expresses the king’s frustration. He has no grain or wine to give to the masses.
  9. 2 Kings 6:30 tn Heb “the people saw, and look, [there was] sackcloth against his skin underneath.”
  10. 2 Kings 6:31 tn Heb “So may God do to me, and so may he add.”
  11. 2 Kings 6:31 tn Heb “if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat stays on him today.”
  12. 2 Kings 6:32 tn Heb “and the elders were sitting with him.”
  13. 2 Kings 6:32 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  14. 2 Kings 6:32 tn Heb “sent a man from before him, before the messenger came to him.”
  15. 2 Kings 6:32 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  16. 2 Kings 6:32 tn Heb “elders.”
  17. 2 Kings 6:32 tn Heb “Do you see that this son of an assassin has sent to remove my head?”
  18. 2 Kings 6:32 tn Heb “Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”
  19. 2 Kings 6:33 tn The Hebrew text also has “look” here.
  20. 2 Kings 6:33 tn Heb “came down to him.”
  21. 2 Kings 6:33 tn Heb “Look, this is a disaster from the Lord.”
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2 Kings 6:24-33
Amplified Bible

The Siege of Samaria—Cannibalism

24 But it came about after this, that Ben-hadad king of Aram (Syria) gathered his whole army together and went up and besieged Samaria. 25 Now there was a great famine in Samaria; and they [a]besieged it until a [b]donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a [c]kab of [d]dove’s dung for five shekels of silver. 26 As the king of Israel (Jehoram) was passing by on the [city] wall a woman cried out to him, “Help, my lord, O king!” 27 He said, “If the Lord does not help you, from where shall I get you help? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?” 28 And the king said to her, “What is the matter with you?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son so we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 29 So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give your son so that we may eat him’; but she had hidden her son.” 30 When the king heard the woman’s words, he [e]tore his clothes—now he was still walking along on the wall—and the people looked [at him], and he had on [f]sackcloth underneath [his royal robe] next to his skin. 31 Then he said, “[g]May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today!”

32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man ahead of him [to behead Elisha]; but before the messenger arrived, Elisha told the elders, “Do you see how this son of [Jezebel] a murderer has sent [a man] to remove my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it securely against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet [just] behind him?” 33 While Elisha was still talking with them, the messenger came down to him [followed by the king] and the king said, “This evil [situation] is from the Lord! Why should I wait for [help from] the Lord any longer?”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 6:25 The purpose of a siege was to starve out or weaken the inhabitants of a fortified city, minimizing risk to the attacking army. The success of the siege depended on whether the city was sufficiently stocked with food and water. Here, with a famine, not only does the city fall well short of adequate provisions, but those inhabitants who have a surplus of anything edible or useful make the situation even worse by engaging in price-gouging.
  2. 2 Kings 6:25 Apparently the famine was so severe that the inhabitants were purchasing products that were barely edible as well as being ceremonially unclean.
  3. 2 Kings 6:25 One kab is about two quarts.
  4. 2 Kings 6:25 Normally dung was used as fertilizer or for fuel; however, in this verse “dove’s dung” may be a nickname for a wild pealike vegetable.
  5. 2 Kings 6:30 Usually an act symbolizing grief or anguish.
  6. 2 Kings 6:30 A coarse cloth usually made of goat’s hair and worn as a sign of mourning.
  7. 2 Kings 6:31 Jehoram, the king of Israel, may have been angry at Elisha because the prophet had persuaded him not to kill the enemy army when he had the chance (v 22). He may also have blamed Elisha for the famine (or for failing to ask God to end it), though there is no indication that Elisha had called for it or announced it.
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