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Naaman princeps militiae regis Syriae erat vir magnus apud dominum suum, et honoratus: per illum enim dedit Dominus salutem Syriae: erat autem vir fortis et dives, sed leprosus.

Porro de Syria egressi fuerant latrunculi, et captivam duxerant de terra Israel puellam parvulam, quae erat in obsequio uxoris Naaman:

quae ait ad dominam suam: Utinam fuisset dominus meus ad prophetam qui est in Samaria, profecto curasset eum a lepra quam habet.

Ingressus est itaque Naaman ad dominum suum, et nuntiavit ei, dicens: Sic et sic locuta est puella de terra Israel.

Dixitque ei rex Syriae: Vade, et mittam litteras ad regem Israel. Qui cum profectus esset, et tulisset secum decem talenta argenti, et sex millia aureos, et decem mutatoria vestimentorum,

detulit litteras ad regem Israel in haec verba: Cum acceperis epistolam hanc, scito quod miserim ad te Naaman servum meum, ut cures eum a lepra sua.

Cumque legisset rex Israel litteras, scidit vestimenta sua, et ait: Numquid deus ego sum, ut occidere possim et vivificare, quia iste misit ad me ut curem hominem a lepra sua? animadvertite, et videte quod occasiones quaerat adversum me.

Quod cum audisset Eliseus vir Dei, scidisse videlicet regem Israel vestimenta sua, misit ad eum, dicens: Quare scidisti vestimenta tua? veniat ad me, et sciat esse prophetam in Israel.

Venit ergo Naaman cum equis et curribus, et stetit ad ostium domus Elisei:

10 misitque ad eum Eliseus nuntium, dicens: Vade, et lavare septies in Jordane, et recipiet sanitatem caro tua, atque mundaberis.

11 Iratus Naaman recedebat, dicens: Putabam quod egrederetur ad me, et stans invocaret nomen Domini Dei sui, et tangeret manu sua locum leprae, et curaret me.

12 Numquid non meliores sunt Abana et Pharphar fluvii Damasci, omnibus aquis Israel, ut laver in eis, et munder? Cum ergo vertisset se, et abiret indignans,

13 accesserunt ad eum servi sui, et locuti sunt ei: Pater, etsi rem grandem dixisset tibi propheta, certe facere debueras: quanto magis quia nunc dixit tibi: Lavare, et mundaberis?

14 Descendit, et lavit in Jordane septies juxta sermonem viri Dei: et restituta est caro ejus sicut caro pueri parvuli, et mundatus est.

15 Reversusque ad virum Dei cum universo comitatu suo, venit, et stetit coram eo, et ait: Vere scio quod non sit alius deus in universa terra, nisi tantum in Israel. Obsecro itaque ut accipias benedictionem a servo tuo.

16 At ille respondit: Vivit Dominus, ante quem sto, quia non accipiam. Cumque vim faceret, penitus non acquievit.

17 Dixitque Naaman: Ut vis: sed, obsecro, concede mihi servo tuo ut tollam onus duorum burdonum de terra: non enim faciet ultra servus tuus holocaustum aut victimam diis alienis, nisi Domino.

18 Hoc autem solum est, de quo depreceris Dominum pro servo tuo, quando ingredietur dominus meus templum Remmon ut adoret: et illo innitente super manum meam, si adoravero in templo Remmon, adorante eo in eodem loco, ut ignoscat mihi Dominus servo tuo pro hac re.

19 Qui dixit ei: Vade in pace. Abiit ergo ab eo electo terrae tempore.

20 Dixitque Giezi puer viri Dei: Pepercit dominus meus Naaman Syro isti, ut non acciperet ab eo quae attulit: vivit Dominus, quia curram post eum, et accipiam ab eo aliquid.

21 Et secutus est Giezi post tergum Naaman: quem cum vidisset ille currentem ad se, desiliit de curru in occursum ejus, et ait: Rectene sunt omnia?

22 Et ille ait: Recte. Dominus meus misit me ad te dicens: Modo venerunt ad me duo adolescentes de monte Ephraim, ex filiis prophetarum: da eis talentum argenti, et vestes mutatorias duplices.

23 Dixitque Naaman: Melius est ut accipias duo talenta. Et coegit eum, ligavitque duo talenta argenti in duobus saccis, et duplicia vestimenta, et imposuit duobus pueris suis, qui et portaverunt coram eo.

24 Cumque venisset jam vesperi, tulit de manu eorum, et reposuit in domo, dimisitque viros, et abierunt.

25 Ipse autem ingressus, stetit coram domino suo. Et dixit Eliseus: Unde venis, Giezi? Qui respondit: Non ivit servus tuus quoquam.

26 At ille ait: Nonne cor meum in praesenti erat, quando reversus est homo de curru suo in occursum tui? nunc igitur accepisti argentum, et accepisti vestes ut emas oliveta, et vineas, et oves, et boves, et servos, et ancillas.

27 Sed et lepra Naaman adhaerebit tibi, et semini tuo usque in sempiternum. Et egressus est ab eo leprosus quasi nix.

Dixerunt autem filii prophetarum ad Eliseum: Ecce locus in quo habitamus coram te, angustus est nobis.

Eamus usque ad Jordanem, et tollant singuli de silva materias singulas, ut aedificemus nobis ibi locum ad habitandum. Qui dixit: Ite.

Et ait unus ex illis: Veni ergo et tu cum servis tuis. Respondit: Ego veniam.

Et abiit cum eis. Cumque venissent ad Jordanem, caedebant ligna.

Accidit autem ut cum unus materiam succidisset, caderet ferrum securis in aquam: exclamavitque ille, et ait: Heu! heu! heu! domine mi: et hoc ipsum mutuo acceperam.

Dixit autem homo Dei: Ubi cecidit? At ille monstravit ei locum. Praecidit ergo lignum, et misit illuc: natavitque ferrum,

et ait: Tolle. Qui extendit manum, et tulit illud.

Rex autem Syriae pugnabat contra Israel, consiliumque iniit cum servis suis, dicens: In loco illo et illo ponamus insidias.

Misit itaque vir Dei ad regem Israel, dicens: Cave ne transeas in locum illum: quia ibi Syri in insidiis sunt.

10 Misit itaque rex Israel ad locum quem dixerat ei vir Dei, et praeoccupavit eum, et observavit se ibi non semel neque bis.

11 Conturbatumque est cor regis Syriae pro hac re: et convocatis servis suis, ait: Quare non indicatis mihi quis proditor mei sit apud regem Israel?

12 Dixitque unus servorum ejus: Nequaquam, domine mi rex, sed Eliseus propheta qui est in Israel, indicat regi Israel omnia verba quaecumque locutus fueris in conclavi tuo.

13 Dixitque eis: Ite, et videte ubi sit, ut mittam, et capiam eum. Annuntiaveruntque ei, dicentes: Ecce in Dothan.

14 Misit ergo illuc equos et currus, et robur exercitus: qui cum venissent nocte, circumdederunt civitatem.

15 Consurgens autem diluculo minister viri Dei, egressus vidit exercitum in circuitu civitatis, et equos et currus: nuntiavitque ei, dicens: Heu! heu! heu! domine mi: quid faciemus?

16 At ille respondit: Noli timere: plures enim nobiscum sunt, quam cum illis.

17 Cumque orasset Eliseus, ait: Domine, aperi oculos hujus, ut videat. Et aperuit Dominus oculos pueri, et vidit: et ecce mons plenus equorum et curruum igneorum in circuitu Elisei.

18 Hostes vero descenderunt ad eum: porro Eliseus oravit ad Dominum, dicens: Percute, obsecro, gentem hanc caecitate. Percussitque eos Dominus ne viderent, juxta verbum Elisei.

19 Dixit autem ad eos Eliseus: Non est haec via, neque ista est civitas: sequimini me, et ostendam vobis virum quem quaeritis. Duxit ergo eos in Samariam:

20 cumque ingressi fuissent in Samariam, dixit Eliseus: Domine, aperi oculos istorum, ut videant. Aperuitque Dominus oculos eorum, et viderunt se esse in medio Samariae.

21 Dixitque rex Israel ad Eliseum, cum vidisset eos: Numquid percutiam eos, pater mi?

22 At ille ait: Non percuties: neque enim cepisti eos gladio et arcu tuo, ut percutias: sed pone panem et aquam coram eis, ut comedant et bibant, et vadant ad dominum suum.

23 Appositaque est eis ciborum magna praeparatio, et comederunt et biberunt, et dimisit eos, abieruntque ad dominum suum, et ultra non venerunt latrones Syriae in terram Israel.

24 Factum est autem post haec, congregavit Benadad rex Syriae universum exercitum suum, et ascendit, et obsidebat Samariam.

25 Factaque est fames magna in Samaria: et tamdiu obsessa est, donec venundaretur caput asini octoginta argenteis, et quarta pars cabi stercoris columbarum quinque argenteis.

26 Cumque rex Israel transiret per murum, mulier quaedam exclamavit ad eum, dicens: Salva me, domine mi rex.

27 Qui ait: Non te salvat Dominus: unde te possum salvare? de area, vel de torculari? Dixitque ad eam rex: Quid tibi vis? Quae respondit:

28 Mulier ista dixit mihi: Da filium tuum, ut comedamus eum hodie, et filium meum comedemus cras.

29 Coximus ergo filium meum, et comedimus. Dixique ei die altera: Da filium tuum, ut comedamus eum. Quae abscondit filium suum.

30 Quod cum audisset rex, scidit vestimenta sua, et transibat per murum. Viditque omnis populus cilicium quo vestitus erat ad carnem intrinsecus.

31 Et ait rex: Haec mihi faciat Deus, et haec addat, si steterit caput Elisei filii Saphat super ipsum hodie.

32 Eliseus autem sedebat in domo sua, et senes sedebant cum eo. Praemisit itaque virum: et antequam veniret nuntius ille, dixit ad senes: Numquid scitis quod miserit filius homicidae hic, ut praecidatur caput meum? videte ergo: cum venerit nuntius, claudite ostium, et non sinatis eum introire: ecce enim sonitus pedum domini ejus post eum est.

33 Adhuc illo loquente eis, apparuit nuntius qui veniebat ad eum. Et ait: Ecce, tantum malum a Domino est: quid amplius expectabo a Domino?

Naaman Healed of Leprosy

Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram.(A) He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.[a](B)

Now bands of raiders(C) from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet(D) who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. “By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents[b] of silver, six thousand shekels[c] of gold and ten sets of clothing.(E) The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

As soon as the king of Israel read the letter,(F) he tore his robes and said, “Am I God?(G) Can I kill and bring back to life?(H) Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel(I) with me!”

When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet(J) in Israel.” So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash(K) yourself seven times(L) in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”

11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand(M) over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters(N) of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.(O)

13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father,(P) if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times,(Q) as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored(R) and became clean like that of a young boy.(S)

15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God(T). He stood before him and said, “Now I know(U) that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift(V) from your servant.”

16 The prophet answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.(W)

17 “If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much earth(X) as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord. 18 But may the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning(Y) on my arm and I have to bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.”

19 “Go in peace,”(Z) Elisha said.

After Naaman had traveled some distance, 20 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, “My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the Lord(AA) lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”

21 So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. “Is everything all right?” he asked.

22 “Everything is all right,” Gehazi answered. “My master sent me to say, ‘Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent[d] of silver and two sets of clothing.’”(AB)

23 “By all means, take two talents,” said Naaman. He urged Gehazi to accept them, and then tied up the two talents of silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi. 24 When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the men away and they left.

25 When he went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?”

“Your servant didn’t go anywhere,” Gehazi answered.

26 But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time(AC) to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves?(AD) 27 Naaman’s leprosy(AE) will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi(AF) went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.(AG)

An Axhead Floats

The company(AH) of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.”

And he said, “Go.”

Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?”

“I will,” Elisha replied. And he went with them.

They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!”

The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw(AI) it there, and made the iron float. “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.

Elisha Traps Blinded Arameans

Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.”

The man of God sent word to the king(AJ) of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned(AK) the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.

11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”

12 “None of us, my lord the king(AL),” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”

13 “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.”(AM) 14 Then he sent(AN) horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.

15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

16 “Don’t be afraid,”(AO) the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more(AP) than those who are with them.”

17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots(AQ) of fire all around Elisha.

18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.”(AR) So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.

19 Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria.

20 After they entered the city, Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.

21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father?(AS) Shall I kill them?”

22 “Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill those you have captured(AT) with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” 23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands(AU) from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.

Famine in Besieged Samaria

24 Some time later, Ben-Hadad(AV) king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege(AW) to Samaria. 25 There was a great famine(AX) in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels[e] of silver, and a quarter of a cab[f] of seed pods[g](AY) for five shekels.[h]

26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”

27 The king replied, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?” 28 Then he asked her, “What’s the matter?”

She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ 29 So we cooked my son and ate(AZ) him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she had hidden him.”

30 When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore(BA) his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and they saw that, under his robes, he had sackcloth(BB) on his body. 31 He said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today!”

32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders(BC) were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Don’t you see how this murderer(BD) is sending someone to cut off my head?(BE) Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?” 33 While he was still talking to them, the messenger came down to him.

The king said, “This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait(BF) for the Lord any longer?”

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 5:1 The Hebrew for leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin; also in verses 3, 6, 7, 11 and 27.
  2. 2 Kings 5:5 That is, about 750 pounds or about 340 kilograms
  3. 2 Kings 5:5 That is, about 150 pounds or about 69 kilograms
  4. 2 Kings 5:22 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms
  5. 2 Kings 6:25 That is, about 2 pounds or about 920 grams
  6. 2 Kings 6:25 That is, probably about 1/4 pound or about 100 grams
  7. 2 Kings 6:25 Or of doves’ dung
  8. 2 Kings 6:25 That is, about 2 ounces or about 58 grams

Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.

And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.

And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.

And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.

And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.

And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.

And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.

So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.

10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.

11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.

16 But he said, As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.

17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord.

18 In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing.

19 And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.

20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the Lord liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.

21 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well?

22 And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.

23 And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him.

24 And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed.

25 But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither.

26 And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?

27 The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.

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.

And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.

So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.

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.

And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.

Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.

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.

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 shew 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?