Chapter 6

¹ And the sons of the prophets said to Elisaie, Behold now, the place wherein we dwell before thee is too narrow for us. ² Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and make for ourselves ¹a habitation there. ³ And he said, Go. And one of them said gently, Come with thy servants. And he said, I will go. ⁴ And he went with them, and they came to Jordan, and began to cut down ²wood. ⁵ And behold, one was cutting down a beam, and the ³axe head fell into the water: and he cried out, Alas! master: and it was hidden. ⁶ And the man of God said, Where did it fall? and he shewed him the place: and he ⁴broke off a stick, and threw it in there, and the iron came to the surface. ⁷ And he said, Take it up to thyself. And he stretched out his hand, and took it.

⁸ And the king of Syria was at war with Israel: and he consulted with his servants, saying, I will encamp in such a place. ⁹ And Elisaie sent to the king of Israel, saying, Take heed that thou pass not by ⁵that place, for the Syrians are hidden there. ¹⁰ And the king of Israel sent to the place

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which Elisaie mentioned to him, and saved himself thence not once or twice.

¹¹ And the mind of the king of Syria was very much disturbed concerning this thing; and he called his servants, and said to them, Will ye not tell me who betrays me to the king of Israel? ¹² And one of his servants said, Nay, my Lord, O king, for Elisaie the prophet that is in Israel reports to the king of Israel all the words whatsoever thou mayest say in ⁶thy bedchamber. ¹³ And he said, Go, see where this man is, and I will send and take him. And they sent word to him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothaim.

¹⁴ And he sent thither horses, and chariots, and a mighty host: and they came by night, and compassed about the city. ¹⁵ And the servant of Elisaie ⁷rose up early and went out; and, behold, a host compassed the city, and horses and chariots: and the servant said to him, O master, ⁸what shall we do? ¹⁶ And Elisaie said, Fear not, for they who are with us are more than they that are with them. ¹⁷ And Elisaie prayed, and said, Lord, open, I pray thee, the eyes of the servant, and let him see. And the Lord opened his eyes, and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses, and there were chariots of fire round about Elisaie. ¹⁸ And they came down to him; and he prayed to the Lord, and said, Smite, I pray thee, this ⁹people with blindness. And he smote them with blindness, according to the word of Elisaie. ¹⁹ And Elisaie said to them, This is not the city, and this is not the way: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. And he led them away to Samaria. ²⁰ And it came to pass when they entered into Samaria, that Elisaie said, Open, I pray thee, O Lord, their eyes, and let them 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 to Elisaie, when he saw them, Shall I not verily smite them, my father? ²² And he said, Thou shalt not smite them, unless thou ¹⁰wouldest smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow: set bread and water before them, and let them eat and drink, and depart to their master. ²³ And he set before them a great feast, and they ate and drank: and he dismissed them and they departed to their master. And the bands of Syria came no longer into the land of Israel.

²⁴ And it came to pass after this, that the son of Ader king of Syria gathered all his army, 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 valued at fifty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung at five pieces of silver.

²⁶ And the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, and a woman cried to him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. ²⁷ And he said to her, Unless the Lord help thee, whence shall I help thee? from the corn-floor, or from the wine-press? ²⁸ And the king said to her, What is the matter with thee? And the woman said to him, This woman said to

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me, Give thy son, and we will eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow. ²⁹ So we boiled my son, and ate him; and I said to her on the second day, Give thy son, and let us eat him: and she has hidden her son. ³⁰ And it came to pass, when the king of Israel heard the words of the woman, that he rent his garments; and he passed by on the wall, and the people saw sackcloth within upon his flesh. ³¹ And he said, God ¹¹do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisaie shall stand upon him this day.

³² And Elisaie was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him; and the king sent a man before him: before the messenger came to him, he also said to the elders, Do ye see that this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? See, as soon as the messenger shall have come, shut the door, and forcibly detain him at the door: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him? ³³ While he was yet speaking with them, behold, a messenger came to him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the Lord; why should I wait for the Lord any longer?