38 Elisha and the Sons of the Prophets at Gilgal. And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the 39 sons of the prophets. And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them 40 not. So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O man of 41 God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof. But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no 1harm 42 in the pot. And there came a man from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of corn in his sack. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may 43 eat. And his servant said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? But he said, Give the people, that they may eat; for thus saith 44 the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof. So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD. 5 3 Elisha and the Healing of Naaman the Syrian. 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 victory unto Syria: he was also a mighty man of valour, but he 2 was a leper. And the Syrians had gone out in bands, 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! then would he recover him 4 of his leprosy. And 'one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and 5 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 6 pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, And now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest 7 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? but consider, I pray you, and see how he 8 seeketh a quarrel against me. And it was so, when Elisha the man of 1 Heb. evil thing. 2 Or, the husk thereof 3 Or, minister 4 Heb. before. 5 Heb. salvation. 6 Heb. was before. 7 Or, he 8 Or, shekels 9 Or, an occasion God 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 9 now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and stood at the Io door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come II again to thee, and 1thou shalt be clean. 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 wave 12 his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not 2Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and 13 went away in a rage. 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 14 saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? 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 15 he was clean. 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 there16 fore, I pray thee, take a 3present of thy servant. But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged 17 him to take it; but he refused. And Naaman said, If not, yet I pray thee let there be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth; for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto 18 other gods, but unto the LORD. In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant; 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 myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD 19 pardon thy servant in this thing. 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 this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: as the LORD liveth, I will run after him, 21 and take somewhat of him. So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw one running after him, he lighted down from the 22 chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets; give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of 23 raiment. 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 raiment, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they 24 bare them before him. And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men 1 Heb. be thou clean. 2 Another reading is, Amanah. 3 Heb. blessing. 4 Or, some way 25 go, and they departed. But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he 26 said, Thy servant went no whither. And he said unto him, 1Went 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 27 and maidservants? 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. 6 Elisha and the borrowed Axe. And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the 2 place where we dwell before 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. 3 And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And 4 he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they came 5 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, my master! 6 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 7 thither, and 2made the iron to swim. And he said, Take it up to thee. So he put out his hand, and took it. 8 Elisha and the Syrian Army. Now the king of Syria warred against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my 3camp. 9 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 coming down. IO And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor II twice. And 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 12 me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, Nay, 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 see where he is, that I may send and fetch him. 14 And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by 15 night, and compassed the city about. And when the 'servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host with horses and chariots was round about the city. And his servant said 16 unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 1 Or, Mine heart went not from me, when &c. 2 Or, the iron did swim 3 Or, encamping 4 Or, minister ness. 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 18 round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this 1people, I pray thee, with blindAnd he smote them with blindness according to the word of 19 Elisha. 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. 20 And he led them to Samaria. 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; 21 and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? 22 shall I smite them? 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 23 may eat and drink, and go to their master. And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. 24 : Siege of Samaria by Ben-hadad. And it came to pass after this, that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered 25 all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore 2pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of 26 dove's dung for five pieces of silver. And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, 27 my lord, O king. And he said, 3If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the threshing-floor, 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, 29 and we will eat my son to-morrow. So we boiled my son, and did eat him and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may 30 eat him and she hath hid her son. : And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; (now he was passing by upon the wall ;) and the people looked, and, behold, he 31 had sackcloth within upon his flesh. Then he said, God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on 32 him this day. 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 the door fast against him: is not the sound of his 33 master's feet behind him? And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is 1 Heb. nation. 2 Or, shekels 3 Or, Nay, let the LORD help thee! 4 Heb. thrust him back with the door. 7 of the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer? And Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD: thus saith the LORD, To-morrow about this time shall a 1measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. 2 Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. 3 : Now there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate and 4 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 5 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 outermost part of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no 6 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 7 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 8 fled for their life. And when these lepers came to the outermost 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 they came back, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and 9 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, punishment will overtake us: now therefore come, let Io us go and tell the king's household. 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 the horses tied, and the asses tied, and the tents as they II were. And he called the porters; and they told it to the king's house12 hold within. 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, 13 we shall take them alive, and get into the city. 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, they are as all the multitude of 14 Israel that are consumed :) and let us send and see. They took therefore two chariots with horses; and the king sent after the host of the 15 Syrians, saying, Go and see. And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians |