7.
Causing the ax head to float by means of a wooden stick
6:1-7
2 Kings 6
:1
6:1
Then the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, The place here where we dwell before you is
too narrow for us.
2 Kings 6
:2
6:2
Let us go to the Jordan and each take a beam from there, and let us make for ourselves a place there, where we may dwell. And he said, Go.
2 Kings 6
:3
6:3
And someone said, Please go with your servants. And he said, I will go.
2 Kings 6
:4
6:4
And he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down the trees.
2 Kings 6
:5
6:5
But as one was felling a beam, the ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, Alas, my master! It was borrowed.
2 Kings 6
:6
6:6
And the man of God said, Where did it fall? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick and threw
it there and made the iron
1float.
2 Kings 6
:7
6:7
And he said, Take it up for yourself. And he stretched out his hand and took it.
2.
Ben-hadab the king of Syria waging war against Israel
6:8-23
2 Kings 6
:8
6:8
Now the king of Syria waged war against Israel. And he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall my camp be.
2 Kings 6
:9
6:9
And the man of God sent
word to the king of Israel, saying, Beware that you do not pass such a place, for the Syrians are going down there.
2 Kings 6
:10
6:10
And the king of Israel sent
word to the place that the man of God told him about.
1So the king alerted
2the place and put it on guard not
merely once or twice.
2 Kings 6
:11
6:11
And the heart of the king of Syria was enraged over this matter. And he called his servants and said to them, Tell me, which of us sides with the king of Israel?
2 Kings 6
:12
6:12
And one of his servants said, None, O my lord the king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel,
atells the king of Israel the words which you speak in your bedroom.
2 Kings 6
:13
6:13
And he said, Go and see where he is, that I may send for
him and seize him. And it was told him, saying, He is in Dothan.
2 Kings 6
:14
6:14
And he sent horses and chariots and a massive army there. And they came by night and surrounded the city.
2 Kings 6
:15
6:15
And the servant of the man of God rose early and went out, and there it was: an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. And his attendant said to him, Alas, my master! What shall we do?
2 Kings 6
:16
6:16
And he said, Do not fear, for they who are with us are
amore than they who are with them.
2 Kings 6
:17
6:17
And Elisha prayed and said, O Jehovah, open his eyes that he may see. And Jehovah opened the eyes of the attendant, and he saw: The mountain was full of
ahorses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
2 Kings 6
:18
6:18
And when the
1Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to Jehovah and said, Strike this nation with blindness. And He struck them with blindness according to Elisha’s word.
2 Kings 6
:19
6:19
Then Elisha said to them, This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. And he brought them to Samaria.
2 Kings 6
:20
6:20
And when they came to Samaria, Elisha said, O Jehovah, open the eyes of these men that they may see. And Jehovah opened their eyes and they saw that they were in the midst of Samaria.
2 Kings 6
:21
6:21
And when he saw them, the king of Israel said to Elisha, Shall I strike
them? Shall I strike
them, my father?
2 Kings 6
:22
6:22
And he said, You shall not strike
them. Would you strike those whom you have taken captive by your sword and your bow? Set bread and water before them, and let them
aeat and drink and go
back to their master.
2 Kings 6
:23
6:23
Then he prepared a great
1feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands of Syria no longer came into the land of Israel.
3.
Ben-hadab the king of Syria besieging Samaria
6:24—7:20
2 Kings 6
:24
6:24
And after this Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army and went up and
abesieged Samaria.
2 Kings 6
:25
6:25
And there was a great famine in Samaria; and they besieged it until the head of a donkey
was sold for eighty
pieces of silver and a fourth part of a
1kab of doves’ dung was sold for five pieces of silver.
2 Kings 6
:26
6:26
And once, as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, Help
me, O my lord the king.
2 Kings 6
:27
6:27
And he said, If Jehovah does not help you, from where shall I help you? From the threshing floor or the winepress?
2 Kings 6
:28
6:28
And the king said to her, What is your trouble? And she said, This woman said to me, Give up your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.
2 Kings 6
:29
6:29
So we boiled my
ason and ate him. And on the next day I said to her, Give up your son that we may eat him; but she hid her son.
2 Kings 6
:30
6:30
And when the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes. And as he passed by upon the wall, the people could see that he had sackcloth upon his flesh underneath.
2 Kings 6
:31
6:31
And he said, God
ado so to me, and even more, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today.
2 Kings 6
:32
6:32
Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the
aelders were sitting with him. And
the king had sent a man from before him. Before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, Do you see that this son of a murderer has sent
someone to take away my head? When the messenger comes, see that you shut the door and hold the door closed against him. Surely the sound of his master’s feet is behind him.
2 Kings 6
:33
6:33
While he was still talking with them, the
1king came down to him and said, This evil is from Jehovah; why should I wait for Jehovah any longer?
