2 Kings 6
Iron That Floated, and an Army Led In Blind
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The Floating Axe Head
6:1The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, ‘Look, the place where we dwell before you is too narrow for us.’
6:2‘Please let us go as far as the Jordan, and let each man take one beam from there. Let us build for ourselves there, to dwell there.’ He said, ‘Go on.’
6:3One of them said, ‘Kindly come with your slaves.’ He said, ‘I will go.’
6:4He went with them. They came to the Jordan and cut the timber.
6:5Look, as one of them was bringing down a beam, the iron fell out into the water. He cried, ‘Alas, lord! It was borrowed!’
6:6The man of God said, ‘Where did it fall?’ He showed him the place. He chipped off a piece of wood and threw it there, and the iron floated.
6:7He said, ‘Lift it up for yourself.’ He stretched out his hand and took it.
The Syrian Ambushes Revealed
6:8The king of Syria was at war in Israel. He consulted with his attendants, saying, ‘I will camp at this particular place, Elmoni.’
6:9Elisha sent word to the king of Israel, saying, ‘Take care not to pass through this place, for Syria is concealed there.’
6:10The king of Israel sent to the place of which Elisha had told him, and guarded himself from there—not once or twice.
6:11The soul of the king of Syria was shaken over this matter. He called his attendants and said to them, ‘Will you not tell me who is betraying me to the king of Israel?’
6:12One of his attendants said, ‘No, my lord king. Elisha, the prophet in Israel, reports to the king of Israel all the words you speak in the chamber of your bedroom.’
6:13He said, ‘Go and see where he is, and I will send and take him.’ They reported to him, saying, ‘Look, he is in Dothaim.’
6:14He sent horse and chariot forces and a large army there. They came by night and encircled the city.
The Chariots of Fire at Dothan
6:15Elisha’s minister rose early and went out, and there was an army encircling the city, with horse and chariot forces. The attendant said to him, ‘Alas, lord! What shall we do?’
6:16Elisha said, ‘Do not be afraid, for those with us are more numerous than those with them.’
6:17Elisha prayed and said, ‘Lord, open the attendant’s eyes so that he may see.’ The Lord opened his eyes, and he saw: look, the mountain was full of horses, and a chariot of fire was all around Elisha.
6:18They came down to him, and Elisha prayed to the Lord, saying, ‘Please strike this nation with blindness.’ He struck them with blindness according to Elisha’s word.
6:19Elisha said to them, ‘This is not the city or the road. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you seek.’ He led them to Samaria.
6:20When they entered Samaria, Elisha said, ‘Please, Lord, open their eyes so they may see.’ The Lord opened their eyes, and they saw: look, they were in the middle of Samaria.
6:21When the king of Israel saw them, he said, ‘Shall I indeed strike them, father?’
6:22He said, ‘You shall not strike them, except those whom you have captured with your sword and your bow—you strike those. Set loaves and water before them, and let them eat and drink and go to their master.’
6:23He set a great spread before them. They ate and drank, and he sent them away. They went to their master, and Syria’s lightly equipped troops no longer came into the land of Israel.
The Siege and Famine in Samaria
6:24After this, the son of Ader, king of Syria, gathered his whole army, went up, and laid siege to Samaria.
6:25There was a great famine in Samaria. They besieged it until a donkey’s head cost fifty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a kab of pigeons’ dung cost five shekels of silver.
6:26As the king of Israel was passing along the wall, a woman cried to him, saying, ‘Save me, lord king!’
6:27He said to her, ‘May the Lord not save you! From where could I save you—from the threshing floor or from the winepress?’
6:28The king said to her, ‘What is the matter with you?’ She said, ‘This woman said to me: Give your son, and we will eat him today; and my son, we will eat him tomorrow.’
6:29‘We boiled my son and ate him. On the second day I said to her, Give your son, and let us eat him. But she hid her son.’
The King Swears Against Elisha
6:30When the king of Israel heard the woman’s words, he tore his garments. He was passing along the wall, and the people saw sackcloth on his flesh underneath.
6:31He said, ‘May God do thus to me, and add thus, if Elisha’s head remains on him today.’
6:32Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a man ahead of him. Before the messenger reached him, Elisha said to the elders, ‘Do you know that this son of a murderer has sent to remove my head? Watch: when the messenger comes, shut the door and press him at the door. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?’
6:33While he was still speaking with them, look, a messenger came down to him and said, ‘Look, this calamity is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?’
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.