Beginning
An Axhead Floats
6 The ·groups [company; brotherhood; L sons] of prophets said to Elisha, “The place where we ·meet [or are living] with you is too small for us. 2 Let’s go to the Jordan River. There everyone can get a ·log [beam; pole], and let’s build a place there to ·live [meet].”
Elisha said, “Go.”
3 One of them said, “Please go with us.”
Elisha answered, “I will go,” 4 so he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they cut down some trees. 5 As one man was cutting down a tree, the head of his ax fell into the water. He yelled, “·Oh no [T Alas], my ·master [lord]! I borrowed that ax!”
6 ·Elisha [L The man of God] asked, “Where did it fall?” The man showed him the place. Then Elisha cut down a stick and threw it into the water, and it made the iron head float. 7 Elisha said, “Pick up the axhead.” Then the man reached out and took it.
Elisha and the Blinded Arameans
8 The king of Aram was at war with Israel. He ·had [would have] a council meeting with his officers and ·said [say], “I will set up my camp in ·this [such and such a] place.”
9 Elisha, the man of God, ·sent [would send] a message to the king of Israel, saying, “·Be careful [Beware]! Don’t pass that place, because the Arameans are going ·down [to attack/gather] there!”
10 The king of Israel ·checked [would send word to] the place about which Elisha had warned him. Elisha warned him several times, so the king ·protected himself [was on his guard] there.
11 The king of Aram was ·angry [greatly disturbed] about this. He called his officers together and demanded, “Tell me who of us is ·working for [siding with; C he suspects a traitor] the king of Israel.”
12 One of the officers said, “No one, my ·master [lord] and king. It’s Elisha, the prophet from Israel. He can tell ·you [L the king of Israel] what you speak in your bedroom.”
13 The king said, “Go and find him so I can send men and ·catch [capture; seize] him.”
The report came back, “He is in Dothan.”
14 Then the king sent horses, chariots, and many troops to Dothan. They arrived at night and surrounded the city.
15 ·Elisha’s [L The man of God’s] servant got up early, and when he went out, he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city. The servant said to Elisha, “·Oh no [T Alas], my ·master [lord], what ·can [will] we do?”
16 Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid. ·The army that fights for us is larger than the one against us [L Those with us are more than those with them].”
17 Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, open my servant’s eyes, and let him see.”
The Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the ·mountain [hillside] was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
18 As the enemy came down toward Elisha, he prayed to the Lord, “·Make [Strike] these people blind.” So he made the Aramean army blind, ·as Elisha had asked [L in accordance with the word of Elisha].
19 Elisha said to them, “This is not the ·right road [way] or the ·right city [city]. Follow me and I’ll take you to the man you are looking for.” Then Elisha led them to Samaria [C the city, not the region].
20 After they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “Lord, open these men’s eyes so they can see.” So the Lord opened their eyes, and the Aramean army saw that they were inside the city of Samaria!
21 When the king of Israel saw the Aramean army, he said to Elisha, “My father, should I kill them? Should I kill them?”
22 Elisha answered, “Don’t kill them. ·You wouldn’t [L Would you…?] kill people whom you captured with your sword and bow. Give them food and water, and let them eat and drink and then go home to their ·master [lord].” 23 So he prepared a great feast for the Aramean army. After they ate and drank, the king sent them away, and they went home to their ·master [lord]. The ·soldiers [raiders] of Aram did not come anymore into the land of Israel.
A Great Famine
24 Later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered his whole army and ·surrounded and attacked [besieged] Samaria. 25 There was a ·shortage of food [great famine] in Samaria. ·It was so bad [or The siege lasted so long] that a donkey’s head sold for ·about two pounds [L eighty shekels/or pieces] of silver, and ·half of a pint [L a fourth of a kab] of dove’s dung sold for ·about two ounces [L five shekels/or pieces] of silver. 26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman yelled out to him, “Help me, my ·master [lord] 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 [C he has neither food nor drink to offer]?” 28 Then the king said to her, “What is your ·trouble [complaint]?”
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 [cooked] my son and ate him. Then the next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we can eat him.’ But she has hidden him.”
30 When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes [C a sign of mourning or distress]. As he walked along the wall, the people looked and saw he had on ·rough cloth [sackcloth; burlap] under his clothes [C also a sign of mourning]. 31 He said, “May God ·punish me terribly [deal severely with me, and worse; L do to me, and even more] if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat ·isn’t cut off from his body [L remains on his shoulders] today [C the king blames Elisha for the situation]!”
32 The king sent a messenger to Elisha, who was sitting in his house with the elders [C an indication that Elisha is more powerful than the king]. But before the messenger arrived, Elisha said to them, “See, this murderer is sending men to ·cut off [L take away] my head. When the messenger arrives, shut the door and hold it; don’t let him in. ·The [L Is not the…?] sound of his ·master’s [lord’s] feet is behind him.”
33 Elisha was still talking with the leaders when the messenger arrived. The king said, “This ·trouble [misery; L evil] has come from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”
7 Elisha said, “Listen to the Lord’s word. ·This is what the Lord says [T Thus says the Lord]: ‘About this time tomorrow ·seven quarts [a measure/L seah; C the exact quantity of a seah is debated] of ·fine [choice] flour will be sold for ·two-fifths of an ounce of silver [L a shekel], and ·thirteen quarts [two measures/L seahs] of barley will be sold for ·two-fifths of an ounce of silver [L a shekel; C food would be readily available]. This will happen at the gate of Samaria [C the common location of the marketplace].’”
2 Then the officer ·who was close to the king [L on whose arm the king was leaning] answered Elisha, “Even if the Lord opened windows in the sky [C resulting in rain], that couldn’t happen.”
Elisha said, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it.”
3 There were four men with ·a skin disease [T leprosy; 5:1] at the entrance to the city gate. They said to each other, “Why ·do [should] we sit here until we die? 4 There is ·no food [famine] 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 [spare us], we will live. If they kill us, we die.”
5 So they got up at ·twilight [dusk] and went to the Aramean camp, but when they arrived at the edge of the camp, 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 got up and ran away in the ·twilight [dusk], ·leaving [abandoning] their tents, horses, and donkeys. They left the camp ·standing [just as it was] and ·ran [fled] for their lives.
8 When the ·men with the skin disease [T lepers; 5:1] came to the edge of the camp, they went into one of the tents and 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 [L not doing right]. ·Today we have [This is a day of] good news, but we are ·silent [keeping it to ourselves; holding our tongues]. If we wait until the sun comes up, we’ll be ·discovered [punished; found guilty]. Let’s go right now and tell the people in the king’s ·palace [L household].”
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 [as they were].” 11 Then the gatekeepers shouted out and told the ·people in the palace [L king’s household].
12 The king got up in the night and said to his officers, “I’ll tell you what the Arameans are doing to us. They know we are starving. 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 of the horses that are still left in the city. These men are like all the Israelites who are left; they, like a multitude of Israelites who have already perished, are 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, saying, “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 that the Arameans had thrown away as they had hurriedly left. So the messengers returned and told the king. 16 Then the people went out and ·took valuables from [plundered; ransacked] the Aramean camp. So ·seven quarts [a measure/L seah] of fine flour were sold for ·two-fifths of an ounce of silver [L a shekel], and ·thirteen quarts [two measures/L seahs; 7:1] of barley were sold for ·two-fifths of an ounce of silver [L a shekel], ·just as the Lord had said [L in accordance with the word of the Lord].
17 The king ·chose [appointed] the officer ·who was close to him [L on whose arm he leaned] to guard the gate, but the people trampled the officer to death. This happened just as ·Elisha [the man of God] had told the king when the king came to his house. 18 He had said, “·Thirteen quarts [Two measures/L seahs] of barley and ·seven quarts [a measure/L seah]of fine flour will each sell for ·two-fifths of an ounce of silver [a shekel] about this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria.”
19 But the officer had answered, “Even if the Lord opened windows in the sky, that couldn’t happen.” And Elisha had told him, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you won’t eat any of it.” 20 It happened to the officer just that way. The people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.
The Shunammite Regains Her Land
8 Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had ·brought back [restored] to life. He said, “Get up and go with your ·family [L household]. ·Stay [Settle; Live; T Sojourn] any place you can, because the Lord has called for a ·time without food [famine] that will last seven years.” 2 So the woman got up and did as the man of God had said. She left with her ·family [L household], and they ·stayed [settled; lived; T sojourned] in the land of the Philistines for seven years. 3 After seven years she returned from the land of the Philistines and went to ·beg [appeal to] the king for her house and land. 4 The king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. The king had said, “Please tell me all the great things Elisha has done.” 5 Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had ·brought [restored] a dead boy back to life. Just then the woman whose son Elisha had ·brought back [restored] to life came and ·begged [appealed to] the king for her house and land.
Gehazi said, “My ·master [lord] and king, this is the woman, and this is the son Elisha ·brought back [restored] to life.”
6 The king ·asked [questioned] the woman, and she told him about it. Then the king ·chose [appointed] an officer to help her. “·Give [Restore to] the woman everything that is hers,” the king said. “Give her all the ·money made [revenue] from her land from the day she left until now.”
Ben-Hadad Is Killed
7 Then Elisha went to Damascus, where Ben-Hadad king of Aram was sick. Someone told him, “The man of God has ·arrived [come all this way].”
8 The king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand and go meet him. ·Ask [Inquire of] the Lord through him if I will recover from my sickness.”
9 So Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift of forty camels loaded with ·every good thing [the finest wares] in Damascus. He came and stood before Elisha and said, “Your son [C a term of respect, not literal] Ben-Hadad king of Aram sent me to you. He asks if he will recover from his sickness.”
10 Elisha said to Hazael, “Go and tell Ben-Hadad, ‘You will surely recover,’ but the Lord has told me he will really die [C perhaps indicating that Elisha knew that the king would soon die, but not from illness].” 11 ·Hazael stared at Elisha [or Elisha stared at Hazael; L He stared at him] until he felt ·ashamed [uneasy]. Then Elisha cried.
12 Hazael asked, “Why are you crying, my ·master [lord]?”
Elisha answered, “Because I know what ·evil [harm; terrible things] you will do to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. You will burn their ·strong, walled [fortified] cities with fire and kill their young men with the sword. You will ·throw [dash] their babies ·to the ground [or in pieces] and ·split [rip] open their pregnant women.”
13 Hazael said, “·Am I a dog? How could I [or How could I, a mere dog,] ·do such things [or accomplish such great things]?”
Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”
14 Then Hazael left Elisha and ·came [returned] to his ·master [lord]. Ben-Hadad said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?”
Hazael answered, “He told me that you will ·surely [certainly] recover.” 15 But the next day Hazael took a blanket and ·dipped [soaked] it in water. Then he ·put [spread; held] it over Ben-Hadad’s face, and he died. So Hazael became king in Ben-Hadad’s place.
Jehoram King of Judah(A)
16 While Jehoshaphat was king in Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat became king of Judah. This was during the fifth year Joram son of Ahab was king of Israel. 17 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he ·began to rule [became king], and he ·ruled [reigned] eight years in Jerusalem. 18 He ·followed [L walked in] the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the ·family [L house] of Ahab had done, because he married Ahab’s daughter. Jehoram did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. 19 But the Lord ·would not [was unwilling to] destroy Judah ·because [for the sake] of his servant David. The Lord had promised ·that one of David’s descendants would always rule [L to give a lamp to him and his descendants forever; C a metaphor for the reign of a king; 2 Sam. 7:12; 1 Kin. 11:36; 2 Chr. 21:7].
20 In Jehoram’s time Edom ·broke away from [revolted against] Judah’s ·rule [L hand] and ·chose [set up] their own king. 21 So Jehoram and all his chariots ·went [crossed over] to Zair. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders. Jehoram got up and attacked the Edomites at night, but his army ran away to their ·tents [homes]. 22 From then until now Edom has ·fought [been in revolt/rebellion] against the rule of Judah. At the same time Libnah also ·broke away from Judah’s rule [revolted; rebelled].
23 The other acts of Jehoram and all the things he did ·are [L are they not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Judah. 24 Jehoram ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors] and was buried with his ·ancestors [fathers] in the City of David [C Jerusalem], and Jehoram’s son Ahaziah ·ruled [became king] in his place.
25 Ahaziah son of Jehoram ·became king of [began to reign/rule over] Judah during the twelfth year Joram son of Ahab was king of Israel. 26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he ·ruled [reigned] one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. 27 Ahaziah ·followed [L walked in] the ways of Ahab’s ·family [L house]. He did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord], as Ahab’s ·family [L house] had done, because he was a son-in-law to the house of Ahab.
28 Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to Ramoth in Gilead, where they fought against Hazael king of Aram. The Arameans wounded Joram. 29 So King Joram returned to Jezreel to ·heal [recover] from the wound he had received from the Arameans at Ramoth when he fought Hazael king of Aram. Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to visit Joram son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he ·had been wounded [was ailing/ill].
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