2 Kings 6
1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8
9 10 11
12 13 14
15 16 17
18 19 20
21 22 23
24 25
1 And the sons of the
prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too
strait for us.
2 Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan,
and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may
dwell. And he answered, Go ye.
3 And one said, Be content, I pray thee,
and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.
4 So he went with them. And when they came
to Jordan, they cut down wood.
5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe
head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was
borrowed.
6 And the man of God said, Where fell it?
And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in
thither; and the iron did swim.
7 Therefore said he, Take it up to
thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.
8 Then the king of Syria
warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and
such a place shall be my camp.
9 And the man of God sent unto the king of
Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians
are come down.
10 And the king of Israel sent to the
place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there,
not once nor twice.
11 Therefore the heart of the king of
Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said
unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?
12 And one of his servants said, None, my
lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king
of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
13 And he said, Go and spy
where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying,
Behold, he is in Dothan.
14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and
chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city
about.
15 And when the servant of the man of God
was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with
horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall
we do?
16 And he answered, Fear not: for they
that be with us are more than they that be with them.
17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I
pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the
young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and
chariots of fire round about Elisha.
18 And when they came down to him, Elisha
prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness.
And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
19 And Elisha said unto them, This is
not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to
the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.
20 And it came to pass, when they were
come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men,
that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they
were in the midst of Samaria.
21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha,
when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
22 And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them:
wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with
thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to
their master.
23 And he prepared great provision for
them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to
their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
24 And it came to pass after
this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and
besieged Samaria.
25 And there was a great famine in
Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold
for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s
dung for five pieces of silver.
26 And as the king of Israel was passing
by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.
27 And he said, If the LORD do not help
thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?
28 And the king said unto her, What aileth
thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat
him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.
29 So we boiled my son, and did eat him:
and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she
hath hid her son.
30 And it came to pass, when the king
heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon
the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within
upon his flesh.
31 Then he said, God do so and more also
to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.
32 But Elisha sat in his house, and the
elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the
messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer
hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the
door, and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master’s
feet behind him?
33 And while he yet talked with them,
behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is
of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?
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