And ^athe 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 ¹answered, “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, ¹the 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, ^ahe 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.

8 Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he ¹counseled with his servants saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 ^aAnd 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, ¹more 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 ^aDothan.” 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! ¹What shall we do?” 16 So he said, “^aDo not fear, for ^bthose who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “^aO 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 ^bhorses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 And they came down to him, and Elisha prayed to Yahweh and said, “Strike this ¹people with blindness, I pray.” So He ^astruck 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 ^aYahweh, 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, “^aMy father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” 22 And he said, “You shall not strike them down. Would you ^astrike down those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? ^bSet 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 ^athe marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.

24 Now it happened afterwards, that ^aBen-hadad king of Aram gathered all his military camp and went up and besieged Samaria. 25 Now there was a great ^afamine in Samaria. And behold, they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for ¹eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a ²kab 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, “¹If 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, “^aWhat ¹is 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 ^aSo 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, ^ahe tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth ¹beneath on his ²body. 31 Then he said, “May ^aGod do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat ¹remains on him today.”

32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and ^athe 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 ^bsee how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and ¹hold 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, “^aBehold, this evil is from Yahweh; why should I wait for Yahweh any longer?”

Now ^athe sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Behold now, the place ¹before you where we are living is too cramped for us. 2 Please let us go to the Jordan, and let us each take from there a beam, and let us construct a place there for ourselves, to live there.” So he said, “Go.” 3 Then one of them said, “Please agree and go with your servants.” And he said, “I will go.” 4 So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. 5 But it happened that as one of them was ¹cutting down a beam, ²the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Oh, my master! It was borrowed!” 6 Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And when he showed him the place, ^ahe cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float. 7 Then he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it.

8 Now the king of Aram was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 But ^athe man of God sent word to the king of Israel, saying, “Be careful that you do not pass this place, because the Arameans are coming down there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent scouts to the place about which the man of God had told him; so he warned him, so that he was on his guard there, ¹more than once or twice.

11 Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this matter; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 One of his servants said, “No, my lord, the 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, so that I may send men and take him.” And it was told to him, saying, “Behold, he is in ^aDothan.” 14 So he sent horses and chariots and a substantial army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

15 Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “This is hopeless, my master! ¹What are we to do?” 16 And he said, “^aDo not be afraid, for ^bthose who are with us are ¹greater than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “^aLORD, please, open his eyes so that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of ^bhorses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Please strike this ¹people with blindness.” So He ^astruck them with blindness in accordance with the word of Elisha. 19 Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he brought them to Samaria.

20 When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “^aLORD, open the eyes of these men, so that they may see.” So the LORD 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, “^aMy father, shall I ¹kill them? Shall I ²kill them?” 22 But he ¹answered, “You shall not ²kill them. Would you ^3akill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? ^bSet bread and water before them, so that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.” 23 So he provided a large feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And ^athe marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.

24 Now it came about after this, that ^aBen-hadad the king of Aram gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria. 25 So there was a severe ^afamine in Samaria; and behold, they kept besieging it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a ¹kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver. 26 And as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord the king!” 27 But he said, “¹If the LORD does not help you, from where am I to help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?” 28 Then the king said to her, “^aWhat ¹is on your mind?” And she said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son so that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 29 ^aSo we cooked my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, so that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.” 30 When the king heard the woman’s words, ^ahe tore his clothes—and he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth ¹underneath on his ²body. 31 Then he said, “May ^aGod do so to me and more so, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat ¹remains on him today.”

32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and ^athe 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 ^bsee how this son of a murderer has sent a man to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and ¹hold the door shut against him. Is the sound of his master’s feet not behind him?” 33 While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, “^aBehold, this evil is from the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”

^aNow the ¹sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look now, the place where we ²live near you is too small for us. 2 Please let us go to the Jordan River and let each man take from there a beam for the building; and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live.” And he answered, “Go.” 3 Then one said, “Please be willing to go with your servants.” So he answered, “I shall go.” 4 So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down some of the trees. 5 But it happened that as one was cutting down a beam, the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Oh no, my master! It was borrowed!” 6 The man of God said, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, ^aElisha cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron axe head float. 7 He said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out with his hand and took it.

8 Now the king of Aram (Syria) was making war against Israel, and he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp shall be in such and such a place.” 9 ^aThe man of God sent word to the king of Israel saying, “Be careful not to pass by this place, because the Arameans are pulling back to there.” 10 Then the king of Israel sent word to the place about which Elisha had warned him; so he guarded himself there repeatedly.

11 Now the heart of the king of Aram (Syria) was enraged over this thing. He called his servants and said to them, “Will you not tell me which of us is helping the king of Israel?” 12 One of his servants said, “None of us is helping him, 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, so that I may send men and seize him.” And he was told, “He is in ^aDothan.” 14 So he sent horses and chariots and a powerful army there. They came by night and surrounded the city.

15 The servant of the man of God got up early and went out, and behold, there was an army with horses and chariots encircling the city. Elisha’s servant said to him, “Oh no, my master! What are we to do?” 16 Elisha answered, “^aDo not be afraid, for ^bthose who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “^aLORD, please, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servants eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of ^bhorses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha. 18 When the Arameans came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Please strike this people (nation) with ¹blindness.” And God ^astruck them with blindness, in accordance with Elisha’s request. 19 Then Elisha said to the Arameans, “This is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow me and I will lead you to the man whom you are seeking.” And he led them to Samaria.

20 When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “^aLORD, open the eyes of these men, so that they may see.” And the LORD opened their eyes and they saw. Behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 When the king of Israel (Jehoram) saw them, he said to Elisha, “^aMy father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” 22 Elisha answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you ^akill those you have taken captive with your sword and bow? ^bServe them bread and water, so that they may eat and drink, and go back to their master King Ben-hadad.” 23 So the king prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went to their master. And ^athe marauding bands of Aram did not come into the land of Israel again.

24 But it came about after this, that ^aBen-hadad king of Aram (Syria) gathered his whole army together and went up and besieged Samaria. 25 Now there was a great ^afamine in Samaria; and they ¹besieged it until a ²donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a ³kab of ⁴dove’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, “^aWhat 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 ^aSo 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, ^ahe ¹tore his clothes—now he was still walking along on the wall—and the people looked at him, and he had on ²sackcloth underneath his royal robe next to his skin. 31 Then he said, “¹May ^aGod 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 ^athe 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, “^bDo 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, “^aThis evil situation is from the LORD! Why should I wait for help from the LORD any longer?”