2 Kings 7
Elisha’s Prophecy of Plenty
1Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the LORD says: ‘About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, a seah of fine floura will sell for a shekel,b and two seahs of barleyc will sell for a shekel.’”
1And Elisha said, “Hear the word of YHWH! Thus says YHWH: ‘About this time tomorrow a seah of fine flour will be for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel in the gate of Samaria.”
2But the officer on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?”
“You will see it with your own eyes,” replied Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it.”
2And the officer, whom the king on his hand leaned, answered the man of God and said, “Behold, if YHWH would make windows in the heavens, could this thing come to pass?” And he said, “Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, and from there you shall not eat.”
The Arameans Flee
4If we say, ‘Let us go into the city,’ we will die there from the famine in the city; but if we sit here, we will also die. So come now, let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they let us live, we will live; if they kill us, we will die.”
4If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ and the famine is in the city, we shall die there. And if we sit we shall die, we die. And now, come and let us surrender to the camp of Aram. If they keep us alive, we shall live. And if they put us to death, we shall die.”
6For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”
6For the Lord had caused the army of Aram to hear the noise of chariot and the noise of horse, the noise of a great force. And they said one to another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us.”
7Thus the Arameans had arisen and fled at twilight, abandoning their tents and horses and donkeys. The camp was intact, and they had run for their lives.
7And they arose and fled in the twilight, and they abandoned their tents and their horses and their donkeys—the camp as it was—and they fled for their life.
8When the lepers reached the edge of the camp, they went into a tent to eat and drink. Then they carried off the silver, gold, and clothing, and went and hid them. On returning, they entered another tent, carried off some items from there, and hid them.
8And these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, and they went into one tent and ate, and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them. And they turned back and entered into another tent and lifted up from there, and went and hid it.
9Finally, they said to one another, “We are not doing what is right. Today is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until morning light, our sin will overtake us. Now, therefore, let us go and tell the king’s household.”
9And they said one to another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. And if we wait until the light of the morning, then punishment will find us. And now come and let us go and declare it to the house of the king.”
10So they went and called out to the gatekeepers of the city, saying, “We went to the Aramean camp and no one was there—not a trace—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents were intact.”
10And they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city and declared to them, saying, “We went to the camp of Aram, and behold, there was not a man or the sound of man, but only the tied horse and tied donkey and the tents as they were.”
12So the king got up in the night and said to his servants, “Let me tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving, so they have left the camp to hide in the field, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and enter the city.’”
12And the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “Let me declare, please, to you what Aram has done to us. They know that we are hungry; and they have 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 enter into the city.’”
13But one of his servants replied, “Please, have scouts take five of the horses that remain in the city. Their plight will be no worse than all the Israelites who are left here. You can see that all the Israelites here are doomed. So let us send them and find out.”
13And one of his servants answered and said, “Then let them take, please, five of the remaining horses, which are left in the city. Behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel who are left in it—indeed, like all the multitude of Israel left from those who are consumed. And let us send them and see.”
15And they tracked them as far as the Jordan, and indeed, the whole way was littered with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown off in haste. So the scouts returned and told the king.
15And they went after them to the Jordan, and behold, all the way was full of garments and vessels that Aram had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king.
Elisha’s Prophecy Fulfilled
16Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. It was then that a seah of fine flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
16And the people went out and plundered the tents of Aram. And there was a seah of fine flour for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of YHWH.
17Now the king had appointed the officer on whose arm he leaned to be in charge of the gate, but the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king had come to him.
17And the king had appointed the officer on whom his hand leaned to be over the gate, and the people trampled him in the gate and he died, as the man of God had said who spoke when the king came down to him.
18It happened just as the man of God had told the king: “About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel.”
18And it came to pass according to the speaking of the man of God to the king, saying, “Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, will be about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria.”
19And the officer had answered the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?”
So Elisha had replied, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!”
19And that officer had answered the man of God and said, “And behold, if YHWH should make windows in the heavens, could this word come to pass?” And he had said, “Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, and from there you shall not eat.”