Beginning

6 Forsooth the sons of prophets said to Elisha, Lo! the place in which we dwell before thee, is strait to us; (And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, Lo! the place in which we live before thee, is too narrow, or too small, for us;)

² go we therefore to Jordan, and each man take a portion of wood for himself, that we build to us there a place to dwell therein (so that we can build a place there for all of us to live in). And Elisha said, Go ye.

³ And one of them said, Therefore and thou come with thy servants. (And) He answered, I shall come.

⁴ And he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they hewed trees (they cut down some wood).

⁵ And it befelled, that when a man of them had cut down [a] matter, or (a piece of) wood, the iron of the ax felled into the water; and he cried [out], and said, Alas! alas! alas! my lord, and I had taken this same thing by borrowing (for I have borrowed this thing from someone!).

⁶ Soothly the man of God said, Where felled it? And he showed to him the place. Therefore he cutted down a tree, and sent it thither where the iron was; and the iron floated (And so he cut off a stick, and sent it down to where the piece of iron was; and the iron floated up).

⁷ And Elisha said, Take thou (it). Which held forth the hand, and took it (And he put forth his hand, and took it).

⁸ Forsooth the king of Syria fought against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, and said, Set we ambushments in this place, and in that.

⁹ And therefore the man of God sent to the king of Israel, and said, Beware, lest thou pass to that place, for (the) men of Syria be there in ambushments.

¹⁰ Therefore the king of Israel sent to the place, which the man of God had said to him, and before-occupied it, and kept himself there, not once, neither twice. (And so the king of Israel sent word to the place about which the man of God had warned him, and took precautions whenever he was there, and not just once, or twice.)

¹¹ And the heart of the king of Syria was troubled for this thing; and when his servants were called together, he said, Why show ye not to me, who is my traitor with the king of Israel?

¹² And one of his servants said, Nay, my lord the king, but Elisha, the prophet, that is in Israel (who is in Israel), showeth to the king of Israel all things, whatever things thou speakest in thy closet.

¹³ And the king said to them, Go ye, and see, where he is, that I send, and take him. And they told to him, and said, Lo! he dwelleth in Dothan.

¹⁴ And the king sent thither horses, and chariots, and the strength of his host; which, when they had come by night, compassed the city. (And the king sent there horses, and chariots, and the strong force of his army; which, when they had come by night, encompassed, or surrounded, the city.)

¹⁵ Soothly the minister of the man of God rose early, and went out, and he saw an host in the compass of the city, and horses, and chariots (And the servant of the man of God rose up early, and went out, and he saw an army all around the city, with horses, and chariots). And he told to the man of God, and said, Alas! alas! alas! my lord, what shall we do?

¹⁶ And he answered, Do not thou dread (Do not thou fear); for more be with us than with them.

¹⁷ And when Elisha had prayed, he said, Lord, open thou the eyes of this young man, that he (may) see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And, lo! the hill (was) full of horses, and of chariots of fire, in the compass of Elisha (all around Elisha).

¹⁸ And the enemies came down to him; but Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, I beseech thee, smite this folk with blindness (I beseech thee, strike these people with blindness). And the Lord smote them, (so) that they saw not, by the word of Elisha.

¹⁹ Forsooth Elisha said to them, This is not the way, neither this is the city; follow ye me, and I shall show you the man, whom ye seek. And he led them into Samaria.

²⁰ And when they had entered into Samaria, Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, (so) that they (can) see now. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw, that they were in the midst of Samaria.

²¹ And the king of Israel, when he had seen them, said to Elisha, My father, whether I shall smite them? (My father, shall I strike them down?)

²² And he said, Thou shalt not smite them, for thou hast not taken them by thy sword and bow, that thou smite them; but set thou bread and water before them, that they eat and drink, and go to their lord again. (And he said, Thou shalt not strike them down, for thou hast not taken them with thy sword and bow, so that thou may strike them down; but put thou bread and water before them, so that they can eat and drink, and then let them go back to their lord again.)

²³ And much preparing of meats was set forth to them; and they ate, and drank. And the king let go them, and they went to their lord; and [the] thieves of Syria came no more into the land of Israel (And then the king let them go, and they went back to their lord; and after that, the thieves of Syria no longer came into the land of Israel).

²⁴ Forsooth it was done after these things, Benhadad, king of Syria, gathered all his host (called up all his army), and went up, and besieged Samaria.

²⁵ And great hunger was made in Samaria; and so long it was besieged (and it was besieged for so long), till [that] the head of an ass were sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a measure called [a] cab, (out) of the craw of culvers^[a], was sold for five pieces of silver.

²⁶ And when the king of Israel passed by the wall of the city, a woman cried to him, and said, My lord the king, save thou me.

²⁷ Which said (Who said), Nay, the Lord save thee; whereof may I save thee? (out) of [the] cornfloor, either (out) of [the] presser?

²⁸ And the king said to her, What wilt thou that I do to thee? (What wilt thou that I do for thee?) And she answered, This woman said to me, Give thy son, that we eat him today, and we shall eat my son tomorrow.

²⁹ Therefore we seethed my son, and ate him. And I said to her in the tother day, Give thy son, that we eat him; and she hid her son. (And so we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her the next day, Give thy son to us now, so that we can eat him; but she hid her son.)

³⁰ And when the king had heard this, he rent his clothes, and passed by the wall; and all the people saw the hair-shirt, with which the king was clothed at the flesh within; (And when the king had heard this, he tore his clothes, and passed forth by the wall; and all the people saw the hair-shirt, or the sackcloth, with which the king was clothed upon his flesh;)

³¹ And the king said, God do to me these things, and add these things too, if the head of Elisha, the son of Shaphat, shall stand on him today (shall remain on him this day).

³² Soothly Elisha sat in his house, and (the) eld men sat with him; then the king before-sent a man to Elisha, and before that that messenger came, Elisha said to the eld men, Whether ye know, that the son of (a) man-queller [hath] sent hither, that mine head be girded off? Therefore see ye, when the messenger cometh, shut ye the door, and suffer ye not him to enter; for lo! the sound of the feet of his lord is behind him. (And Elisha sat in his house, and the old men, or the elders, sat with him; then the king sent out a man from before himself to Elisha, but before that the messenger came, Elisha said to the old men, or the elders, Do ye not know, that this son of a man-killer hath sent a man here, to gird off my head? And so see ye, when the messenger cometh, that ye shut the door, and do not allow him to enter; for lo! the sound of the feet of his lord is behind him.)

³³ And yet while he spake to them, the messenger that came to him appeared; and (then also) the king (who) said, Lo! so great evil is of the Lord; soothly what more shall I abide of the Lord? (And yet while he spoke to them, the messenger who came to him appeared; and then also the king, who said, Lo! this great evil is from the Lord; how more longer shall I have to wait for the Lord?)

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.)

8 Forsooth Elisha spake to the woman, whose son he made to live, and said, Rise thou, and go, both thou and thine house, and go in pilgrimage/and make pilgrimage, wherever thou shalt find it best; for the Lord shall call hunger, and it shall come upon the land seven years. (For Elisha spoke to the woman, whose son he had made to live again, and said, Rise thou up, and go away, both thou and thy household, or thy family, and go in pilgrimage, wherever thou shalt find it best; for the Lord shall call for a famine, and it shall come upon the land for seven years.)

² And she rose (up), and did after the word of the man of God; and she went with her house, and was in pilgrimage in the land of Philistines many days (and she went away with her family, and was in pilgrimage in the land of the Philistines for seven years).

³ And when (the) seven years were ended, the woman turned again from the land of Philistines (the woman returned from the land of the Philistines); and she went out, to ask the king for her house, and [for] her fields.

⁴ And (it happened that) the king spake (then) with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and said, Tell thou to me all the great deeds that Elisha did.

⁵ And when he told to the king (And as he told the king), how Elisha had raised (up) a dead man, the woman appeared, whose son he had made to live (again), and she cried to the king for her house, and for her fields. And Gehazi said, My lord the king, this is the (very) woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha raised (back to life).

⁶ And the king asked the woman, and she told to him, that the things were sooth. And the king gave, or assigned, to her a chamberlain, and said, Restore thou to her all things that be hers, and all [the] fruits of the fields, from the day in which she left the land unto this present time.

⁷ Also Elisha came to Damascus (And Elisha came to Damascus), and Benhadad, king of Syria, was sick; and they told to him, and said, The man of God came hither.

⁸ And the king said to Hazael, Take with thee gifts, and go thou into the meeting of the man of God, and ask thou counsel by him of the Lord, and say thou, Whether I may escape from this my sickness? (And the king said to Hazael, Take gifts with thee, and go to meet the man of God, and ask thou for counsel with the Lord by him, and ask thou, Shall I recover from this sickness of mine?)

⁹ Therefore Hazael went in to the meeting of him, and had with him gifts, and all the goods of Damascus, the burdens of forty camels. And when he had stood before Elisha, he said, Thy son, Benhadad, king of Syria, sent me to thee, and said, Whether I may be healed of this my sickness? (And so Hazael went to meet him, and had gifts with him, and all the good things of Damascus, yea, the loads of forty camels. And when he had stood before Elisha, he said, Thy son, Benhadad, the king of Syria, sent me to thee, and said, Shall I be healed of my sickness?)

¹⁰ And Elisha said, Go thou, and say to him, Thou shalt be healed; forsooth the Lord [hath] showed to me that he shall die by death (but the Lord hath shown me that he shall die).

¹¹ And he stood with him, and he was troubled, unto the casting down of his cheer (and he cast down his face); and the man of God wept.

¹² And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, For I know what evils thou shalt do to the sons of Israel; thou shalt burn [up] by fire the strengthened cities of them, and thou shalt slay by (the) sword the young men of them, and thou shalt hurtle down the little children of them, and thou shalt part the women with child. (And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, For I know what evils thou shalt do to the Israelites; thou shalt burn down their fortified cities, and thou shalt kill with the sword their young men, and thou shalt hurtle down their little children, and thou shalt carve up their women with child.)

¹³ And Hazael said, What soothly am I, thy servant, a dog, that I do this great thing? (And Hazael said, Truly what am I, thy servant, nothing but a dog? for how can I do such a great thing?) And Elisha said, The Lord hath showed to me that thou shalt be king of Syria.

¹⁴ And when he had departed from Elisha, he came to his lord; which said to Hazael, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, Elisha said to me, Thou shalt receive health (Thou shalt recover).

¹⁵ And when the tother day had come, Hazael took the cloth that lay on the bed of Benhadad, and he beshedded it with water, and he spreaded it abroad upon the face of Benhadad; and when he was dead, Hazael reigned for him.

¹⁶ In the fifth year of Joram^[b], son of Ahab, king of Israel, and of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, Jehoram^[c], the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, reigned. (In the fifth year of Joram, the son of Ahab, the king of Israel, Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, began to reign.)

¹⁷ He was of two and thirty years when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

¹⁸ And he went in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had gone; for the daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did that, that was evil in the sight of the Lord.

¹⁹ Forsooth the Lord would not destroy Judah, for David, his servant, as he promised to David, that he should give to him a lantern, and to his sons in all days. (But the Lord did not destroy Judah, for the sake of his servant David, as he had promised David, that he would give him, and his sons, a light, or a flame, to burn forever.)

²⁰ In those days Edom, that is, Idumea, went away, that it should not be under Judah; and made a king to itself (and got themselves a king).

²¹ And Jehoram came to Zair, and all the chariots with him; and he rose by night, and smote Idumeans, that compassed him, and the princes of chariots; soothly the people fled into their tabernacles. (And Jehoram came to Zair, and all the chariots with him; and he rose up by night, and struck the Edomites, who surrounded him, and the leaders of their chariots; and the people fled into their tents.)

²² Therefore Edom went away, that it was not under (the hand of) Judah till to this day; then also Libnah went away in that time. (And so Edom went away, and they were not under the hand of Judah unto this day; and also Libnah went away at that time.)

²³ Certainly the residue of the words of Jehoram, and all things which he did, whether these be not written in the book of [the] words of [the] days of the kings of Judah?

²⁴ And Jehoram slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David; and Ahaziah, his son, reigned for him.

²⁵ In the twelfth year of Joram, the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, reigned (began to reign).

²⁶ Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, was of two and twenty years, when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri, king of Israel.

²⁷ And he went in the ways of the house of Ahab, and did that, that is evil (and he did what was evil), in (the) sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab did; for he was [the] husband of a daughter of the house of Ahab.

²⁸ Also he went with Joram, the son of Ahab, to fight against Hazael, king of Syria, in Ramoth of Gilead; and men of Syria wounded Joram.

²⁹ Which turned again, to be healed in Jezreel; for men of Syria wounded him in Ramoth, fighting against Hazael, king of Syria. And Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, the king of Judah, came down to see Joram, the son of Ahab, into Jezreel, that was sick there. (Who returned home, to recover in Jezreel; for the Syrians had wounded him at Ramah, fighting against Hazael, the king of Syria. And Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, the king of Judah, came down to Jezreel to see Joram, the son of Ahab, because he was sick.)