2Ki 6 | NASB1995 | STEP | Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha , “ Behold now , the place before you where we are living is too limited for us.

2 Kings 6

The Axe Head Recovered

1 Now ^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 ^{▼▼ Lit said}answered, “I shall go.” 4 So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. 5 But as one was felling a beam, ^{▼▼ Lit as for the iron, it fell}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, ^dhe cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float. 7 He said, “Take it up for yourself.” So he put out his hand and took it.

The Arameans Plot to Capture Elisha

8 Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he ^{▼▼ Lit took counsel}counseled with his servants saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 ^fThe 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 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, ^{▼▼ Lit not once or twice}more than once or twice.

11 Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 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 him, saying, “Behold, he is in ^hDothan.” 14 He sent horses and chariots and a great 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, “Alas, my master! ^{▼▼ Lit How}What shall we do?” 16 So he ^{▼▼ Lit said}answered, ^k“Do not fear, for ^lthose who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, ^m“O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of ⁿhorses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Strike this ^{▼▼ Lit nation}people with blindness, I pray.” So He ^pstruck them with blindness according to 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, “O ^qLord, open the eyes of these men, 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, ^r“My father, shall I ^{▼▼ Lit smite}kill them? Shall I ^{▼▼ Lit smite}kill them?” 22 He ^{▼▼ Lit said}answered, “You shall not ^{▼▼ Lit smite}kill them. Would you ^{▼▼ Lit smite
,} ^xkill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? ^ySet bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go 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 ^zthe marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.

The Siege of Samaria— Cannibalism

24 Now it came about after this, that ^aaBen-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army and went up and besieged Samaria. 25 There was a great ^abfamine in Samaria; and behold, they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a ^{▼▼ I.e. One kab equals approx 2 qts}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, “Help, my lord, O king!” 27 He said, ^{▼▼ Lit No, let the Lord help you}“If the Lord does not help you, from where shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?” 28 And the king said to her, ^ae“What ^{▼▼ Lit to you}is the matter with you?” And she ^{▼▼ Lit said}answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 29 ^ah“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 When the king heard the words of the woman, ^aihe tore his clothes— now he was passing by on the wall— and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth ^{▼▼ Lit within}beneath on his ^{▼▼ Lit flesh}body. 31 Then he said, “May ^alGod do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat ^{▼▼ Lit stands}remains on him today.”

32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and ^anthe 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 ^aosee how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and ^{▼▼ Lit press him with the door}hold the door shut against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?” 33 While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, ^aq“Behold, this evil is from the Lord; why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”