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Dixit autem Eliseus: Audite verbum Domini: Haec dicit Dominus: In tempore hoc cras modius similae uno statere erit, et duo modii hordei statere uno, in porta Samariae.

Respondens unus de ducibus, super cujus manum rex incumbebat, homini Dei, ait: Si Dominus fecerit etiam cataractas in caelo, numquid poterit esse quod loqueris? Qui ait: Videbis oculis tuis, et inde non comedes.

Quatuor ergo viri erant leprosi juxta introitum portae: qui dixerunt ad invicem: Quid hic esse volumus donec moriamur?

sive ingredi voluerimus civitatem, fame moriemur: sive manserimus hic, moriendum nobis est: venite ergo, et transfugiamus ad castra Syriae: si pepercerint nobis, vivemus: si autem occidere voluerint, nihilominus moriemur.

Surrexerunt ergo vesperi, ut venirent ad castra Syriae. Cumque venissent ad principium castrorum Syriae, nullum ibidem repererunt.

Siquidem Dominus sonitum audiri fecerat in castris Syriae, curruum, et equorum, et exercitus plurimi: dixeruntque ad invicem: Ecce mercede conduxit adversum nos rex Israel reges Hethaeorum et AEgyptiorum, et venerunt super nos.

Surrexerunt ergo, et fugerunt in tenebris, et dereliquerunt tentoria sua, et equos et asinos, in castris, fugeruntque animas tantum suas salvare cupientes.

Igitur cum venissent leprosi illi ad principium castrorum, ingressi sunt unum tabernaculum, et comederunt et biberunt: tuleruntque inde argentum, et aurum, et vestes, et abierunt, et absconderunt: et rursum reversi sunt ad aliud tabernaculum, et inde similiter auferentes absconderunt.

Dixeruntque ad invicem: Non recte facimus: haec enim dies boni nuntii est. Si tacuerimus et noluerimus nuntiare usque mane, sceleris arguemur: venite, eamus, et nuntiemus in aula regis.

10 Cumque venissent ad portam civitatis, narraverunt eis, dicentes: Ivimus ad castra Syriae, et nullum ibidem reperimus hominem, nisi equos et asinos alligatos, et fixa tentoria.

11 Ierunt ergo portarii, et nuntiaverunt in palatio regis intrinsecus.

12 Qui surrexit nocte, et ait ad servos suos: Dico vobis quid fecerint nobis Syri: sciunt quia fame laboramus, et idcirco egressi sunt de castris, et latitant in agris, dicentes: Cum egressi fuerint de civitate, capiemus eos vivos, et tunc civitatem ingredi poterimus.

13 Respondit autem unus servorum ejus: Tollamus quinque equos qui remanserunt in urbe (quia ipsi tantum sunt in universa multitudine Israel, alii enim consumpti sunt), et mittentes, explorare poterimus.

14 Adduxerunt ergo duos equos, misitque rex in castra Syrorum, dicens: Ite, et videte.

15 Qui abierunt post eos usque ad Jordanem: ecce autem omnis via plena erat vestibus et vasis quae projecerant Syri cum turbarentur: reversique nuntii indicaverunt regi.

16 Et egressus populus diripuit castra Syriae: factusque est modius similae statere uno, et duo modii hordei statere uno, juxta verbum Domini.

17 Porro rex ducem illum, in cujus manu incumbebat, constituit ad portam: quem conculcavit turba in introitu portae, et mortuus est, juxta quod locutus fuerat vir Dei, quando descenderat rex ad eum.

18 Factumque est secundum sermonem viri Dei quem dixerat regi, quando ait: Duo modii hordei statere uno erunt, et modius similae statere uno, hoc eodem tempore cras in porta Samariae:

19 quando responderat dux ille viro Dei, et dixerat: Etiamsi Dominus fecerit cataractas in caelo, numquid poterit fieri quod loqueris? Et dixit ei: Videbis oculis tuis, et inde non comedes.

20 Evenit ergo ei sicut praedictum fuerat, et conculcavit eum populus in porta, et mortuus est.

Eliseus autem locutus est ad mulierem cujus vivere fecerat filium, dicens: Surge, vade tu et domus tua, et peregrinare ubicumque repereris: vocavit enim Dominus famem, et veniet super terram septem annis.

Quae surrexit, et fecit juxta verbum hominis Dei: et vadens cum domo sua, peregrinata est in terra Philisthiim diebus multis.

Cumque finiti essent anni septem, reversa est mulier de terra Philisthiim: et egressa est ut interpellaret regem pro domo sua, et pro agris suis.

Rex autem loquebatur cum Giezi puero viri Dei, dicens: Narra mihi omnia magnalia quae fecit Eliseus.

Cumque ille narraret regi quomodo mortuum suscitasset, apparuit mulier cujus vivificaverat filium, clamans ad regem pro domo sua, et pro agris suis. Dixitque Giezi: Domine mi rex, haec est mulier, et hic est filius ejus quem suscitavit Eliseus.

Et interrogavit rex mulierem: quae narravit ei. Deditque ei rex eunuchum unum, dicens: Restitue ei omnia quae sua sunt, et universos reditus agrorum, a die qua reliquit terram usque ad praesens.

Venit quoque Eliseus Damascum, et Benadad rex Syriae aegrotabat: nuntiaveruntque ei, dicentes: Venit vir Dei huc.

Et ait rex ad Hazael: Tolle tecum munera, et vade in occursum viri Dei, et consule Dominum per eum, dicens: Si evadere potero de infirmitate mea hac?

Ivit igitur Hazael in occursum ejus, habens secum munera, et omnia bona Damasci, onera quadraginta camelorum. Cumque stetisset coram eo, ait: Filius tuus Benadad rex Syriae misit me ad te, dicens: Si sanari potero de infirmitate mea hac?

10 Dixitque ei Eliseus: Vade, dic ei: Sanaberis: porro ostendit mihi Dominus quia morte morietur.

11 Stetique cum eo, et conturbatus est usque ad suffusionem vultus: flevitque vir Dei.

12 Cui Hazael ait: Quare dominus meus flet? At ille dixit: Quia scio quae facturus sis filiis Israel mala. Civitates eorum munitas igne succendes, et juvenes eorum interficies gladio, et parvulos eorum elides, et praegnantes divides.

13 Dixitque Hazael: Quid enim sum servus tuus canis, ut faciam rem istam magnam? Et ait Eliseus: Ostendit mihi Dominus te regem Syriae fore.

14 Qui cum recessisset ab Eliseo, venit ad dominum suum. Qui ait ei: Quid dixit tibi Eliseus? At ille respondit: Dixit mihi: Recipies sanitatem.

15 Cumque venisset dies altera, tulit stragulum, et infudit aquam, et expandit super faciem ejus: quo mortuo, regnavit Hazael pro eo.

16 Anno quinto Joram filii Achab regis Israel, et Josaphat regis Juda, regnavit Joram filius Josaphat rex Juda.

17 Triginta duorum annorum erat cum regnare coepisset, et octo annis regnavit in Jerusalem.

18 Ambulavitque in viis regum Israel, sicut ambulaverat domus Achab: filia enim Achab erat uxor ejus: et fecit quod malum est in conspectu Domini.

19 Noluit autem Dominus disperdere Judam, propter David servum suum, sicut promiserat ei, ut daret illi lucernam, et filiis ejus cunctis diebus.

20 In diebus ejus recessit Edom ne esset sub Juda, et constituit sibi regem.

21 Venitque Joram Seira, et omnes currus cum eo: et surrexit nocte, percussitque Idumaeos qui eum circumdederant, et principes curruum: populus autem fugit in tabernacula sua.

22 Recessit ergo Edom ne esset sub Juda, usque ad diem hanc. Tunc recessit et Lobna in tempore illo.

23 Reliqua autem sermonum Joram, et universa quae fecit, nonne haec scripta sunt in libro verborum dierum regum Juda?

24 Et dormivit Joram cum patribus suis, sepultusque est cum eis in civitate David, et regnavit Ochozias filius ejus pro eo.

25 Anno duodecimo Joram filii Achab regis Israel regnavit Ochozias filius Joram regis Judae.

26 Viginti duorum annorum erat Ochozias cum regnare coepisset, et uno anno regnavit in Jerusalem: nomen matris ejus Athalia filia Amri regis Israel.

27 Et ambulavit in viis domus Achab: et fecit quod malum est coram Domino, sicut domus Achab: gener enim domus Achab fuit.

28 Abiit quoque cum Joram filio Achab ad praeliandum contra Hazael regem Syriae in Ramoth Galaad, et vulneraverunt Syri Joram.

29 Qui reversus est ut curaretur in Jezrahel, quia vulneraverant eum Syri in Ramoth praeliantem contra Hazael regem Syriae. Porro Ochozias filius Joram rex Juda descendit invisere Joram filium Achab in Jezrahel, quia aegrotabat ibi.

Elisha replied, “Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah[a] of the finest flour will sell for a shekel[b] and two seahs[c] of barley for a shekel(A) at the gate of Samaria.”

The officer on whose arm the king was leaning(B) said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates(C) of the heavens, could this happen?”

“You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha, “but you will not eat(D) any of it!”

The Siege Lifted

Now there were four men with leprosy[d](E) at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die? If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.”

At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there, for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound(F) of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired(G) the Hittite(H) and Egyptian kings to attack us!” So they got up and fled(I) in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.

The men who had leprosy(J) reached the edge of the camp, entered one of the tents and ate and drank. Then they took silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.

Then they said to each other, “What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.”

10 So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, “We went into the Aramean camp and no one was there—not a sound of anyone—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were.” 11 The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.

12 The king got up in the night and said to his officers, “I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving; so they have left the camp to hide(K) in the countryside, thinking, ‘They will surely come out, and then we will take them alive and get into the city.’”

13 One of his officers answered, “Have some men take five of the horses that are left in the city. Their plight will be like that of all the Israelites left here—yes, they will only be like all these Israelites who are doomed. So let us send them to find out what happened.”

14 So they selected two chariots with their horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, “Go and find out what has happened.” 15 They followed them as far as the Jordan, and they found the whole road strewn with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight.(L) So the messengers returned and reported to the king. 16 Then the people went out and plundered(M) the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of the finest flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel,(N) as the Lord had said.

17 Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died,(O) just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house. 18 It happened as the man of God had said to the king: “About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.”

19 The officer had said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates(P) of the heavens, could this happen?” The man of God had replied, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!” 20 And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.

The Shunammite’s Land Restored

Now Elisha had said to the woman(Q) whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine(R) in the land that will last seven years.”(S) The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.

At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land. The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored(T) the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land.

Gehazi said, “This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” The king asked the woman about it, and she told him.

Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.”

Hazael Murders Ben-Hadad

Elisha went to Damascus,(U) and Ben-Hadad(V) king of Aram was ill. When the king was told, “The man of God has come all the way up here,” he said to Hazael,(W) “Take a gift(X) with you and go to meet the man of God. Consult(Y) the Lord through him; ask him, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”

Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him as a gift forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus. He went in and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”

10 Elisha answered, “Go and say to him, ‘You will certainly recover.’(Z) Nevertheless,[e] the Lord has revealed to me that he will in fact die.” 11 He stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael was embarrassed.(AA) Then the man of God began to weep.(AB)

12 “Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael.

“Because I know the harm(AC) you will do to the Israelites,” he answered. “You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash(AD) their little children(AE) to the ground, and rip open(AF) their pregnant women.”

13 Hazael said, “How could your servant, a mere dog,(AG) accomplish such a feat?”

“The Lord has shown me that you will become king(AH) of Aram,” answered Elisha.

14 Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master. When Ben-Hadad asked, “What did Elisha say to you?” Hazael replied, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” 15 But the next day he took a thick cloth, soaked it in water and spread it over the king’s face, so that he died.(AI) Then Hazael succeeded him as king.

Jehoram King of Judah(AJ)

16 In the fifth year of Joram(AK) son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram(AL) son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah. 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. 18 He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter(AM) of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 19 Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the Lord was not willing to destroy(AN) Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp(AO) for David and his descendants forever.

20 In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king.(AP) 21 So Jehoram[f] went to Zair with all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he rose up and broke through by night; his army, however, fled back home. 22 To this day Edom has been in rebellion(AQ) against Judah. Libnah(AR) revolted at the same time.

23 As for the other events of Jehoram’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 24 Jehoram rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. And Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king.

Ahaziah King of Judah(AS)

25 In the twelfth(AT) year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign. 26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah,(AU) a granddaughter of Omri(AV) king of Israel. 27 He followed the ways of the house of Ahab(AW) and did evil(AX) in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was related by marriage to Ahab’s family.

28 Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead.(AY) The Arameans wounded Joram; 29 so King Joram returned to Jezreel(AZ) to recover from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramoth[g] in his battle with Hazael(BA) king of Aram.

Then Ahaziah(BB) son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab, because he had been wounded.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 7:1 That is, probably about 12 pounds or about 5.5 kilograms of flour; also in verses 16 and 18
  2. 2 Kings 7:1 That is, about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams; also in verses 16 and 18
  3. 2 Kings 7:1 That is, probably about 20 pounds or about 9 kilograms of barley; also in verses 16 and 18
  4. 2 Kings 7:3 The Hebrew for leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin; also in verse 8.
  5. 2 Kings 8:10 The Hebrew may also be read Go and say, ‘You will certainly not recover,’ for.
  6. 2 Kings 8:21 Hebrew Joram, a variant of Jehoram; also in verses 23 and 24
  7. 2 Kings 8:29 Hebrew Ramah, a variant of Ramoth

Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.

Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?

If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.

For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.

Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.

And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.

Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household.

10 So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were.

11 And he called the porters; and they told it to the king's house within.

12 And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.

13 And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see.

14 They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.

15 And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.

16 And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord.

17 And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.

18 And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria:

19 And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

20 And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.

Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the Lord hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years.

And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.

And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land.

And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.

And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.

And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.

And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.

And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of the Lord by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

10 And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the Lord hath shewed me that he shall surely die.

11 And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.

12 And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child.

13 And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The Lord hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.

14 So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely recover.

15 And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.

16 And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Je hoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.

17 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.

19 Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give him alway a light, and to his children.

20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.

21 So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents.

22 Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.

23 And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

24 And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.

25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign.

26 Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.

27 And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, as did the house of Ahab: for he was the son in law of the house of Ahab.

28 And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.

29 And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.