2 Kings 6:8 – 7:20

2 Kings 6

Elisha Guarded by Angels

⁸ Now when the king of Aram was waging war against Israel, he would make plans with his officials, saying, “My camp will be at such and such a place.”

⁹ But the man of God would send a message to the king of Israel, saying, “Be careful when you pass this place because the Arameans are going down there.” ¹⁰ So the king of Israel would send scouts to the place that the man of God had pointed out. So the man of God warned him, and he was kept safe—and not just once or twice.

¹¹ The king of Aram was enraged because of this. He summoned his officials and said to them, “Won’t you tell me who of us is for the king of Israel?”

¹² One of his officials said, “No, my lord the king. It is Elisha, the prophet in Israel, who tells the king of Israel the words which you speak in your bedroom.”

¹³ Then he said, “Go and see where he is. Then I’ll send men and capture him.”

He was told, “Dothan is where he is.”

¹⁴ So he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They came at night and surrounded the city. ¹⁵ When the man of God’s servant got up early and went out, there were soldiers, horses, and chariots surrounding the city. So his attendant said to Elisha, “Oh no, my lord! What will we do?”

¹⁶ He answered, “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, open his eyes so that he can see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire, all around Elisha.

¹⁸ When the Arameans came down, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike these people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, just as Elisha had asked.

¹⁹ Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the road, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are looking for.” So he brought them to Samaria. ²⁰ When they came into Samaria, Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open their eyes so that they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw that they were right in the middle of Samaria.

²¹ When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “Shall I strike them down, my father? Shall I strike them down?”

²² He said, “Do not strike them down. Would you strike down a man you captured with your own sword and bow? ^[1] Set food and water before them so that they can eat and drink and then go back to their master.” ²³ So he gave a great feast for them. They ate and drank. Then he sent them on their way, and they went to their master. The Aramean raiding parties did not come into the land of Israel anymore.

Ben Hadad Lays Siege to Samaria

²⁴ After these things, Ben Hadad king of Aram mobilized his whole army and went up and laid siege to Samaria. ²⁵ There was a severe famine in Samaria, because the siege lasted until a donkey head sold for eighty shekels ^[2] of silver and a cup of dove’s droppings ^[3] for five shekels of silver.

²⁶ When the king of Israel was walking on the wall, a woman cried out to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”

²⁷ But he said, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?” ²⁸ Then the king asked her, “What is the problem?”

She said, “This woman said to me, ‘Come on, give up your son, and we will eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ ²⁹ So we cooked my son and ate him. Then I said to her the next day, ‘Give up your son so that we may eat him,’ but she hid her son.”

³⁰ When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes. As he was walking on the wall, the people were surprised to see that he was wearing sackcloth on his body, underneath his clothing.

³¹ Then he said, “May God punish me severely and even double it, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today!”

³² Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a man ahead of him. But before the messenger came to him, Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see that this murderer has sent this man to cut off my head? When the messenger comes, shut the door and push against it. Isn’t the sound of the feet of his master behind him?”

³³ While he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him. Then the king said, “Indeed this evil is from the Lord. Why should I wait hopefully for the Lord anymore?”

The End of the Siege

2 Kings 7

¹ Then Elisha said, “All of you, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says. At this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, twelve pounds ^[4] of fine flour will sell for a shekel and twenty-four pounds of barley for a shekel.”

² Then the officer at the king’s right hand, on whose arm the king was leaning, answered the man of God, “Really? Even if the Lord opened the windows of heaven, could this happen?”

Elisha said, “Listen to me. You yourself will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it.”

³ Now four lepers were at the entrance to the gate. They said to each other, “Why should we sit here until we die? ⁴ If we say, ‘Let’s go into the city,’ there is famine in the city and we will die there. But if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they let us live, we will live. If they kill us, we will die.”

⁵ So they got up at twilight to go to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp of the Arameans, they saw that there was no one there! ⁶ For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of horses and chariots and the sound of a great army. They said to each other, “Listen! The king of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us!” ⁷ Then they arose and fled at twilight. They left their tents, their horses, and their donkeys in the camp just as they were, and they fled for their lives.

⁸ So when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent, and they ate and drank. They picked up silver, gold, and clothing and went and hid it. Then they returned and went to another tent. They took some of what was there and went and hid it.

⁹ Then they said to each other, “We should not be doing this. Today is a day of good news, and we are keeping silent. If we wait until daylight, our sin will find us. So come on, let’s go and tell about this at the king’s palace.”

¹⁰ So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, “We went into the camp of the Arameans, and we looked, but there was no one there! Not even the sound of a man! But the horses and the donkeys are tied there, and the tents are just as they were!”

¹¹ Then the gatekeepers proclaimed the news, and it was reported in the king’s palace. ¹² So the king got up at night and said to his officials, “I’ll tell you what the Arameans are doing to us: They know that we are hungry so they left the camp to hide in the fields, saying, ‘They will certainly come out of the city, and we will capture them alive. Then we’ll get into the city!’”

¹³ But one of his officials answered, “Please let some men take five of the horses that are left in the city—look, they won’t be any worse off than all the rest of the Israelites who are left here—all the other Israelites who are about to die. Let’s send them out, and let’s see.”

¹⁴ So they took two chariots with their horses, and the king sent them after the army of Aram, saying, “Go and take a look.” ¹⁵ So they followed them to the Jordan. The whole road was full of clothing and equipment that the Arameans threw away while they fled in panic. Then the messengers returned and reported to the king.

¹⁶ Then the people went out and looted the Aramean camp. So twelve pounds of fine flour sold for a shekel and twenty-four pounds of barley for a shekel, just as the Lord had said. ¹⁷ The king appointed the officer on whose arm he leaned to be in charge of the gate. But the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had said when the king went down to speak to him.

¹⁸ It happened just as the man of God had said to the king: “Twenty-four pounds of barley will be sold for a shekel and twelve pounds of fine flour for a shekel by this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria.”

¹⁹ The officer had said to the man of God, “Really? Even if the Lord opened the windows of heaven, could something like this happen?”

The man of God had said, “Listen to me. You yourself will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it.”

²⁰ So all this happened to him just like that: The people trampled him in the gate and he died.