Beginning

The Axe Head Floats

6 And ^(A)the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Behold now, the place before you where we are living is too limited for us. ² Please let us go to the Jordan and each of us take from there a beam, and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live.” So he said, “Go.” ³ Then one said, “Please be willing to go with your servants.” And he ^[a]answered, “I shall go.” ⁴ So he went with them; and they came to the Jordan and cut down trees. ⁵ Now it happened that as one was felling a beam, ^[b]the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.” ⁶ Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And when he showed him the place, ^(B)he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. ⁷ And he said, “Take it up for yourself.” So he sent forth his hand and took it.

Horses and Chariots of Fire Around Elisha

⁸ Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he ^[c]counseled with his servants saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.” ^9 (C)And the man of God sent word to the king of Israel saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there.” ¹⁰ And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him; thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there, ^[d]more than once or twice.

¹¹ Then the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” ¹² And one of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” ¹³ So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him.” And it was told to him, saying, “Behold, he is in ^(D)Dothan.” ¹⁴ So he sent horses and chariots and a heavy military force there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

¹⁵ Then the attendant of the man of God arose early and went out, and behold, a military force with horses and chariots was all around the city. And his young man said to him, “Alas, my master! ^[e]What shall we do?” ¹⁶ So he said, “^(E)Do not fear, for ^(F)those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” ¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed and said, “^(G)O Yahweh, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of ^(H)horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. ¹⁸ And they came down to him, and Elisha prayed to Yahweh and said, “Strike this ^[f]people with blindness, I pray.” So He ^(I)struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. ¹⁹ Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city; walk after me and I will walk you over to the man whom you seek.” And he walked them over to Samaria.

²⁰ Now it happened that when they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “O ^(J)Yahweh, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So Yahweh opened their eyes and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. ²¹ Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “^(K)My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” ²² And he said, “You shall not strike them down. Would you ^(L)strike down those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? ^(M)Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and walk back to their master.” ²³ So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And ^(N)the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.

Aram’s Siege of Samaria

²⁴ Now it happened afterwards, that ^(O)Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his military camp and went up and besieged Samaria. ²⁵ Now there was a great ^(P)famine in Samaria. And behold, they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for ^[g]eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a ^[h]kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver. ²⁶ As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Save, my lord, O king!” ²⁷ He said, “^[i]If Yahweh does not save you, from where shall I save you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?” ²⁸ And the king said to her, “^(Q)What ^[j]is the matter with you?” And she said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ ^29 (R)So we boiled my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.” ³⁰ Now it happened that when the king heard the words of the woman, ^(S)he tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth ^[k]beneath on his ^[l]body. ³¹ Then he said, “May ^(T)God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat ^[m]remains on him today.”

Flour and Barley in Samaria

³² Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and ^(U)the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man from his presence; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you ^(V)see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and ^[n]hold the door shut against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?” ³³ While he was still speaking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, “^(W)Behold, this evil is from Yahweh; why should I wait for Yahweh any longer?”

7 Then Elisha said, “Listen to the word of Yahweh; thus says Yahweh, ‘^(X)About this time tomorrow a ^[o]seah of fine flour will be sold for a ^[p]shekel, and two ^[q]seahs of barley for a ^[r]shekel, in the gate of Samaria.’” ^2 (Y)And the royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of God and said, “Behold, ^(Z)if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” Then he said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat ^[s]of it.”

Lepers Report the Arameans’ Flight

³ Now there were four ^(AA)leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die? ⁴ If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ then the famine is in the city and we will die there; and if we sit here, we die also. So now come, and let us ^[t]go over to ^(AB)the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we will live; and if they put us to death, we will die.” ⁵ So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Arameans. Then they came to the outskirts of the camp of the Arameans, but behold, there was no one there. ⁶ Now ^(AC)the Lord had caused the camp of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses, even the sound of a great military force, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us ^(AD)the kings of the Hittites and ^(AE)the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.” ⁷ Therefore they ^(AF)arose and fled in the twilight, and forsook their tents and their horses and their donkeys, even the camp just as it was, and fled for their life. ⁸ So these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp and entered one tent and ate and drank. Then they ^(AG)carried from there silver and gold and clothes, and they went and hid them; and they returned and entered another tent and carried from there also and went and hid them.

⁹ Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent; if we wait until morning light, punishment will ^[u]overtake us. So now, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.” ¹⁰ So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and they told them, saying, “We came to the camp of the Arameans, and behold, there was no one there, nor the voice of man, only the horses tied and the donkeys tied, and the tents just as they were.” ¹¹ And the gatekeepers called and told it within the king’s household. ¹² Then the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “I will now tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know that ^(AH)we are hungry; therefore they have gone from the camp ^(AI)to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and get into the city.’” ¹³ And one of his servants answered and said, “Please, let some men take five of the remaining horses, which remain ^[v]in the city. Behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who remain in it; behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who have already come to an end, so let us send and see.” ¹⁴ They took therefore two chariots with horses, and the king sent after the camp of the Arameans, saying, “Go and see.”

Plundering the Arameans

¹⁵ Then they went after them to the Jordan, and behold, all the way was full of clothes and equipment which the Arameans had thrown away in their haste. Then the messengers returned and told the king.

¹⁶ So the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. Then a ^[w]seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel and two ^[x]seahs of barley for a shekel, ^(AJ)according to the word of Yahweh. ¹⁷ Now the king appointed ^(AK)the royal officer on whose hand he leaned ^[y]to have charge of the gate; but the people trampled on him at the gate, and he died just as the man of God had spoken, ^(AL)who spoke when the king came down to him. ¹⁸ So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, “^(AM)Two ^[z]seahs of barley for a shekel and a ^[aa]seah of fine flour for a shekel will be sold tomorrow about this time at the gate of Samaria.” ¹⁹ And the royal officer had answered the man of God and said, “Now behold, ^(AN)if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat ^[ab]of it.” ²⁰ And so it happened to him, for the people trampled on him at the gate and he died.

Jehoram Restores the Shunammite’s Land

8 Now ^(AO)Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go ^[ac]with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for ^(AP)Yahweh has called for a famine, and ^(AQ)it will even come on the land for seven years.” ² So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. ³ Now it happened at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went out to cry out to the king for her house and for her field. ⁴ Now the king was speaking with ^(AR)Gehazi, the young man of the man of God, saying, “Please recount to me all the great things that Elisha has done.” ⁵ Now it happened as he was recounting to the king ^(AS)how he had restored to life the one who was dead, that behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life was crying out to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.” ⁶ Then the king asked the woman, and she recounted it to him. So the king appointed for her a certain officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now.”

Elisha Weeps over Hazael’s Evil

⁷ Then Elisha came to ^(AT)Damascus. Now ^(AU)Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and it was told to him, saying, “^(AV)The man of God has come here.” ⁸ And the king said to ^(AW)Hazael, “^(AX)Take a present in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and ^(AY)inquire of Yahweh by him, saying, ‘Will I be restored to life from this sickness?’” ⁹ So Hazael went to meet him and took a present in his hand, even every kind of good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ loads; and he came and stood before him and said, “^(AZ)Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I be restored to life from this sickness?’” ¹⁰ Then Elisha said to him, “^(BA)Go, say to him, ‘You will surely be restored to life,’ but ^(BB)Yahweh has shown me that he will certainly die.” ¹¹ And he ^[ad]fixed his gaze steadily on him ^(BC)until he was ashamed, and ^(BD)the man of God wept. ¹² Then Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” Then he said, “Because ^(BE)I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: their fortifications you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their infants you ^(BF)will dash in pieces, and their pregnant women you will rip up.” ¹³ Then Hazael said, “But what is your servant, ^(BG)who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” And Elisha ^[ae]answered, “^(BH)Yahweh has shown me that you will be king over Aram.” ¹⁴ So he went from Elisha and came to his master. And he said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he said, “He said to me that ^(BI)you would surely be restored to life.” ¹⁵ Now it happened that on the following day, he took the cover and dipped it in water and spread it on his face; ^(BJ)so he died. And Hazael became king in his place.

Jehoram Reigns over Judah

¹⁶ Now in the fifth year of ^(BK)Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then the king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king. ¹⁷ He was ^(BL)thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for ^(BM)the daughter of Ahab became his wife; and he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. ¹⁹ However, Yahweh was not willing to make Judah a ruin, for the sake of David His servant, ^(BN)since He had ^[af]promised him to give a ^[ag]lamp to him through his sons always.

²⁰ In his days ^(BO)Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah and made a king over themselves. ²¹ Then Joram crossed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him. And he arose by night and struck the Edomites who were surrounding him and the commanders of the chariots; ^(BP)but ^[ah]his army fled to their tents. ^22 (BQ)So Edom revolted ^[ai]against Judah to this day. Then ^(BR)Libnah revolted at the same time. ²³ Now the rest of the acts of Joram and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

Ahaziah Reigns over Judah

²⁴ So Joram slept with his fathers and ^(BS)was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and ^(BT)Ahaziah his son became king in his place.

^25 (BU)In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah became king. ^26 (BV)Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. ^27 (BW)He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, like the house of Ahab had done, because he was a son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

²⁸ Then he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war with ^(BX)Hazael king of Aram at ^(BY)Ramoth-gilead, and the Arameans struck Joram. ²⁹ So ^(BZ)King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Arameans had caused by striking him at ^(CA)Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then ^(CB)Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was sick.