CHAPTER 6
1 Forsooth the sons of prophets said to Elisha, Lo! the place in which we dwell before thee, is strait to us;
2 go we therefore to Jordan, and each man take a portion of wood for himself, that we build to us there a place to dwell therein. And Elisha said, Go ye.
3 And one of them said, Therefore and thou come with thy servants. He answered, I shall come.
4 And he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they hewed trees.
5 And it befelled, that when a man of them had cut down [a] matter, or a piece of wood, the iron of the ax felled [or fell] into the water; and he cried [out], and said, Alas! alas! alas! my lord, and I had taken this same thing by borrowing.
6 Soothly the man of God said, Where felled [or fell] it? And he showed to him the place. Therefore he cutted down a tree, and sent it thither where the iron was; and the iron floated.
7 And Elisha said, Take thou. Which held forth the hand, and took it.
8 Forsooth the king of Syria fought against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, and said, Set we ambushments in this place, and in that.
9 And therefore the man of God sent to the king of Israel, and said, Beware, lest thou pass to that place, for men of Syria be there in ambushments.
10 Therefore the king of Israel sent to the place, which the man of God had said to him, and before-occupied it, and kept himself there, not once, neither twice.
11 And the heart of the king of Syria was troubled for this thing; and when his servants were called together, he said, Why show ye not to me, who is my traitor with the king of Israel?
12 And one of his servants said, Nay, my lord the king, but Elisha, the prophet, that is in Israel, showeth to the king of Israel all things, whatever things thou speakest in thy bed-closet.
13 And the king said to them, Go ye, and see, where he is, that I send, and take him. And they told to him, and said, Lo! he dwelleth in Dothan.
14 And the king sent thither horses, and chariots, and the strength of his host; which, when they had come by night, encompassed the city.
15 Soothly the minister [or servant] of the man of God rose early, and went out, and he saw an host in the compass of the city, and horses, and chariots. And he told to the man of God, and said, Alas! alas! alas! my lord, what shall we do?
16 And he answered, Do not thou dread; for more be with us than with them.
17 And when Elisha had prayed, he said, Lord, open thou the eyes of this child, that he see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the child, and he saw. And, lo! the hill was full of horses, and of chariots of fire, in the compass of Elisha.
18 And the enemies came down to him; but Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, I beseech thee, smite this folk with blindness. And the Lord smote them, that they saw not, by the word of Elisha.
19 Forsooth Elisha said to them, This is not the way, neither this is the city; pursue ye [or followeth] me, and I shall show you the man, whom ye seek. And he led them into Samaria.
20 And when they had entered into Samaria, Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they see now. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw, that they were in the midst of Samaria.
21 And the king of Israel, when he had seen them, said to Elisha, My father, whether I shall smite them?
22 And he said, Thou shalt not smite them, for thou hast not taken them by thy sword and bow, that thou smite them; but set [or put] thou bread and water before them, that they eat and drink, and go to their lord again.
23 And much preparing of meats was set [or put] forth to them; and they ate, and drank. And the king let them go, and they went to their lord; and [the] thieves of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
24 Forsooth it was done after these things, Benhadad, king of Syria, gather-ed all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
25 And great hunger was made in Samaria; and so long it was besieged, till [that] the head of an ass were sold for fourscore plates of silver, and the fourth part of a measure called [a] cab, out of the craw of culvers*, was sold for five plates of silver.
26 And when the king of Israel passed by the wall of the city, a woman cried to him, and said, My lord the king, save thou me.
27 Which said, Nay, the Lord save thee; whereof may I save thee? out of [the] cornfloor, either out of [the] presser [or wine press]?
28 And the king said to her, What wilt thou that I do to thee? And she answered, This woman said to me, Give thy son, that we eat him today, and we shall eat my son tomorrow.
29 Therefore we seethed my son, and ate him. And I said to her in the tother day, Give thy son, that we eat him; and she hid her son.
30 And when the king had heard this, he rent his clothes, and passed by the wall; and all the people saw the hair-shirt, with which the king was clothed at the flesh within;
31 And the king said, God do to me these things, and add these things too, if the head of Elisha, the son of Shaphat, shall stand on him today.
32 Soothly Elisha sat in his house, and eld [or old] men sat with him; then the king before-sent a man to Elisha, and before that that messenger came, Elisha said to the eld [or old] men, Whether ye know, that Benhadad the son of a man-queller [hath] sent hither, that mine head be girded off? Therefore see ye, when the messenger cometh, shut ye the door, and suffer ye not him to enter; for lo! the sound of the feet of his lord is behind him.
33 And yet while he spake to them, the messenger that came to him appear-ed; and then also the king who said, Lo! so great evil is of the Lord; sooth-ly what more shall I abide of the Lord?
* CHAPTER 6:25 In Latin it is said, ‘of the drit of culvers’; but ‘drit’ is not taken here properly, but unproperly, for ‘the throat’, where corns, eaten of culvers, be gathered, and cooks of rich men sold these corns to the people, for hunger.