2 Kings 6

An Axhead Floats

1 The company of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us.

2 Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to live.”
And he said, “Go.”

3 Then one of them said, “Won't you please come with your servants?”
“I will,” Elisha replied.

4 And he went with them.
They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees.

5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh, my lord,” he cried out, “it was borrowed!”
6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float.

7 “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.

Elisha Traps Blinded Arameans

8 Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.”
9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.”

10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.

11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Will you not tell me which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”

12 “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”
13 “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.”

14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.

15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked.

16 “Don't be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

17 And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike these people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.

19 Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria.

20 After they entered the city, Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.

21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?”
22 “Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill men you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.”

23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel's territory.

Famine in Besieged Samaria

24 Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria.

25 There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey's head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels.

26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”
27 The king replied, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?”

28 Then he asked her, “What's the matter?”
She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we'll eat my son.’

29 So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she had hidden him.”
30 When the king heard the woman's words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and there, underneath, he had sackcloth on his body.

31 He said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today!”

32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Don't you see how this murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is not the sound of his master's footsteps behind him?”

33 While he was still talking to them, the messenger came down to him. And the king said, “This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”

2 KINGS 6

Elisha Makes //an Ax Head Float

1 One day the prophets said to Elisha, “The place where we meet with you is too small.

2 Why don't we build a new meeting place near the Jordan River? Each of us could get some wood, then we could build it.”
“That's a good idea,” Elisha replied, “get started.”

3 “Aren't you going with us?” one of the prophets asked.
“Yes, I'll go,” Elisha answered,

4 and he left with them.
They went to the Jordan River and began chopping down trees.

5 While one of the prophets was working, his ax head fell off and dropped into the water. “Oh!” he shouted. “Sir, I borrowed this ax.”

6 “Where did it fall in?” Elisha asked. The prophet pointed to the place, and Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water at that spot. The ax head floated to the top of the water.

7 “Now get it,” Elisha told him. And the prophet reached in and grabbed it.

Elisha Stops an Invasion //of the Syrian Army

8 Time after time, when the king of Syria was at war against the Israelites, he met with his officers and announced, “I've decided where we will set up camp.”
9 Each time, Elishat would send this warning to the king of Israel: “Don't go near there. That's where the Syrian troops have set up camp.”t

10 So the king would warn the Israelite troops in that place to be on guard.

11 The king of Syria was furious when he found out what was happening. He called in his officers and asked, “Which one of you has been telling the king of Israel our plans?”

12 “None of us, Your Majesty,” one of them answered. “It's an Israelite named Elisha. He's a prophet, so he can tell his king everything—even what you say in your own room.”

13 “Find out where he is!” the king ordered. “I'll send soldiers to bring him here.”
They learned that Elisha was in the town of Dothant and reported it to the king.

14 He ordered his best troops to go there with horses and chariots. They marched out during the night and surrounded the town.

15 When Elisha's servant got up the next morning, he saw that Syrian troops had the town surrounded. “Sir, what are we going to do?” he asked.
16 “Don't be afraid,” Elisha answered. “There are more troops on our side than on theirs.”

17 Then he prayed, “[Lord], please help him to see.” And the [Lord] let the servant see that the hillt was covered with fiery horses and flaming chariots all around Elisha.

18 As the Syrian army came closer, Elisha prayed, “[Lord], make those soldiers blind!” And the [Lord] blinded them with a bright light.

19 Elisha told the enemy troops, “You've taken the wrong road and are in the wrong town. Follow me. I'll lead you to the man you're looking for.” Elisha led them straight to the capital city of Samaria.

20 When all the soldiers were inside the city, Elisha prayed, “[Lord], now let them see again.” The [Lord] let them see that they were standing in the middle of Samaria.

21 The king of Israel saw them and asked Elisha, “Should I kill them, sir?”

22 “No!” Elisha answered. “You didn't capture these troops in battle, so you have no right to kill them. Instead, give them something to eat and drink and let them return to their leader.”

23 The king ordered a huge meal to be prepared for Syria's army, and when they finished eating, he let them go.
For a while, the Syrian troops stopped invading Israel's territory.

King Benhadad of Syria //Attacks Samaria

25 They kept up the attack until there was nothing to eat in the city. In fact, a donkey's head cost 80 pieces of silver, and a small bowl of pigeon droppingst cost 5 pieces of silver.

26 One day as the king of Israelt was walking along the top of the city wall, a woman shouted to him, “Please, Your Majesty, help me!”
27 “Let the [Lord] help you!” the king said. “Do you think I have grain or wine to give you?”

28 Then he asked, “What's the matter anyway?”
The woman answered, “Another woman and I were so hungry that we agreed to eat our sons. She said if we ate my son one day, we could eat hers the next day.

29 t So yesterday we cooked my son and ate him. But today when I went to her house to eat her son, she had hidden him.”
30 The king tore off his clothes in sorrow, and since he was on top of the city wall, the people saw that he was wearing sackcloth underneath. 31 He said, “I pray that God will punish me terribly, if Elisha's head is still on his shoulders by this time tomorrow.”

32 Then he sent a messenger to Elisha.
Elisha was home at the time, and the important leaders of Israel were meeting with him. Even before the king's messenger arrived, Elisha told the leaders, “That murderert is sending someone to cut off my head. When you see him coming, shut the door and don't let him in. I'm sure the king himself will be right behind him.”
33 Before Elisha finished talking, the messengert came up and said, “The [Lord] has made all these terrible things happen to us. Why should I think he will help us now?”