| Chapter
6 |
| 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 showed 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 show 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? |
