Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha , “ Please take note that the place where we meet with you is too small for us.
Please let us go to the Jordan , where each of us can get a log so we can build a place to live ... there. ” “ Go , ” said (Elisha).
Then one of them said , “ Please ... come with your servants. ” “ I will come , ” he replied.
So (Elisha) went with them , and when they came to the Jordan , they began to cut down some trees.
- As one of them was cutting down a tree , - the iron (axe head) fell into the water. “ Oh , my master , ” he cried out ... , “ it was borrowed ! ”
“ Where did it fall ? ” asked the man of God. And when he showed him the place , the man of God cut a stick , threw it there , and made the iron float.
“ Lift (it) out he said , and (the man) reached out his hand and took it.
Now the king of Aram was at war against Israel. After consulting with his servants , he said , “ My camp (will be) in such and such a place. ”
Then the man of God sent word to the king of Israel : ... “ Be careful passing by this place , for the Arameans are going down there. ”
So the king of Israel sent word to the place - the man of God had pointed out vvv Time and again ... ... (Elisha) warned the king , so that he was on his guard in such places.
For this reason the king of Aram became enraged ... and called his servants to demand of them , “ Tell me which one (is) on the side of the king of Israel ? ”
But one of his servants replied , “ No one , my lord the king. For Elisha , the prophet - in Israel , tells the king of Israel - the very words - you speak in your bedroom .... ”
So the king said , “ Go and see where he (is) , that I may send men to capture him. ” On receiving the report - , - “ Elisha is in Dothan , ”
(the king of Aram) sent horses , chariots , and a great army -. They went there by night and surrounded ... the city.
When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early in the morning , - an army with horses and chariots had surrounded - the city. So he ... asked Elisha , “ Oh , my master , what are we to do ? ”
“ Do not be afraid , ” Elisha answered , “ for those who (are) with us (are) more than those who (are) with them. ”
Then Elisha ... prayed , “ O LORD , please - open his eyes that he may see. ” And the LORD - opened the eyes of the young man , and he saw that ... the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
As the Arameans came down against him , Elisha prayed to the LORD ... , “ Please - strike these people with blindness. ” So He struck them with blindness , according to the word of Elisha.
And Elisha told them , “ This is not the way , and this is not the city. Follow - me , and I will take you to the man - you are seeking. ” And he led them to Samaria.
- When they had entered Samaria , Elisha said , “ O LORD , open - the eyes of these (men) that they may see. ” Then the LORD - opened their eyes , and they looked around and discovered that they were in Samaria.
And when the king of Israel saw them , he asked ... Elisha , “ My father , shall I kill (them) ? Shall I kill (them) ? ”
“ Do not kill them , ” he replied. “ {Would} you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow ? Set food and water before them , that they may eat and drink and then return to their master. ”
So (the king) prepared a great feast for them , and after they had finished eating and drinking , he sent them away , and they returned to their master. And the Aramean raiders did not come into the land of Israel again ....
- Some time later ... , vvv Ben-hadad king of Aram - assembled his entire army and marched up to besiege ... Samaria.
So there was a great famine in Samaria. Indeed , they besieged (the city) so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty (shekels) of silver , and a quarter cab of dove’s dung sold for five (shekels) of silver.
- As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall , a woman cried out to him , ... “ Help me , my lord the king ! ”
He answered , “ If the LORD does not help you , where can I find help for you ? From the threshing floor or ... the winepress ? ”
Then the king asked “ What And she answered , “ This woman said to me , ‘ Give up - your son , that we may eat him ... , and tomorrow we will eat my son. ’
So we boiled - my son and ate him , and the next day I said to her , ‘ Give up - your son , that we may eat him. ’ But she had hidden - her son. ”
- When the king - heard the words of the woman , he tore - his clothes. And as he passed by on the wall , the people saw vvv the sackcloth under his clothes next to his skin.
He announced , “ May God punish ... and ever so severely , if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders through this day ! ”
Now Elisha was sitting in his house , and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead , but before (he) arrived ... , Elisha said to the elders , “ Do you see how this murderer ... has sent someone to cut off - my head ? Look , when the messenger comes , shut the door to keep him out. - - Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him ? ”
While Elisha was still speaking with them , ... the messenger came down to him. And (the king) said , ... “ This calamity (is) from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer ? ”