The Axe Head Floats

1And sons of the prophet say unto Elisha, ‘Lo, we pray thee, the place where we are dwelling before thee is too strait for us; 2let us go, we pray thee, unto the Jordan, and we take thence each one beam, and we make for ourselves there a place to dwell there;’ and he saith, ‘Go.’ 3And the one saith, ‘Be pleased, I pray thee, and go with thy servants;’ and he saith, ‘I — I go.’ 4And he goeth with them, and they come in to the Jordan, and cut down the trees, 5and it cometh to pass, the one is felling the beam, and the iron hath fallen into the water, and he crieth and saith, ‘Alas! my lord, and it asked!’ 6And the man of God saith, ‘Whither hath it fallen?’ and he sheweth him the place, and he cutteth a stick, and casteth thither, and causeth the iron to swim, 7and saith, ‘Raise to thee;’ and he putteth forth his hand and taketh it.

Elisha Captures Blinded Syrians

8And the king of Aram hath been fighting against Israel, and taketh counsel with his servants, saying, ‘At such and such a place [is] my encamping.’ 9And the man of God sendeth unto the king of Israel, saying, ‘Take heed of passing by this place, for thither are the Aramaeans coming down; 10and the king of Israel sendeth unto the place of which the man of God spake to him, and warned him, and he is preserved there not once nor twice.

11And the heart of the king of Aram is tossed about concerning this thing, and he calleth unto his servants, and saith unto them, ‘Do ye not declare to me who of us [is] for the king of Israel?’ 12And one of his servants saith, ‘Nay, my lord, O king, for Elisha the prophet, who [is] in Israel, declareth to the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in the inner part of thy bed-chamber.’ 13And he saith, ‘Go ye and see where he [is], and I send and take him;’ and it is declared to him, saying, ‘Lo — in Dothan.’ 14And he sendeth thither horses and chariot, and a heavy force, and they come in by night, and go round against the city.

15And the servant of the man of God riseth early, and goeth out, and lo, a force is surrounding the city, and horse and chariot, and his young man saith unto him, ‘Alas! my lord, how do we do?’ 16And he saith, ‘Fear not, for more [are] they who [are] with us than they who [are] with them.’ 17And Elisha prayeth, and saith, ‘Jehovah, open, I pray Thee, his eyes, and he doth see;’ and Jehovah openeth the eyes of the young man, and he seeth, and lo, the hill is full of horses and chariots of fire, round about Elisha. 18And they come down unto it, and Elisha prayeth unto Jehovah, and saith, ‘Smite, I pray Thee, this nation with blindness;’ and He smiteth them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha. 19And Elisha saith unto them, ‘This [is] not the way, nor [is] this the city; come after me, and I lead you unto the man whom ye seek;’ and he leadeth them to Samaria.

20And it cometh to pass, at their coming in to Samaria, that Elisha saith, ‘Jehovah, open the eyes of these, and they see;’ and Jehovah openeth their eyes, and they see, and lo, in the midst of Samaria! 21And the king of Israel saith unto Elisha, at his seeing them, ‘Do I smite — do I smite — my father?’ 22And he saith, ‘Thou dost not smite; those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow art thou smiting? set bread and water before them, and they eat, and drink, and go unto their lord.’ 23And he prepareth for them great provision, and they eat and drink, and he sendeth them away, and they go unto their lord: and troops of Aram have not added any more to come in to the land of Israel.

The Siege and Famine of Samaria

24And it cometh to pass afterwards, that Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathereth all his camp, and goeth up, and layeth siege to Samaria, 25and there is a great famine in Samaria, and lo, they are laying siege to it, till the head of an ass is at eighty silverlings, and a forth of the cab of dovesdung at five silverlings. 26And it cometh to pass, the king of Israel is passing by on the wall, and a woman hath cried unto him, saying, ‘Save, my lord, O king.’ 27And he saith, ‘Jehovah doth not save thee — whence do I save thee? out of the threshing-floor, or out of the wine-vat?’ 28And the king saith to her, ‘What — to thee?’ and she saith, ‘This woman said unto me, Give thy son, and we eat him to-day, and my son we eat to-morrow; 29and we boil my son and eat him, and I say unto her on the next day, Give thy son, and we eat him; and she hideth her son.’ 30And it cometh to pass, at the king’s hearing the words of the woman, that he rendeth his garments, and he is passing by on the wall, and the people see, and lo, the sackcloth [is] on his flesh within. 31And he saith, ‘Thus doth God do to me, and thus He doth add — if it remain — the head of Elisha son of Shaphat — upon him this day.’

32And Elisha is sitting in his house, and the elders are sitting with him, and [the king] sendeth a man from before him; before the messenger doth come unto him, even he himself said unto the elders, ‘Have ye seen that this son of the murderer hath sent to turn aside my head? see, at the coming in of the messenger, shut the door, and ye have held him fast at the door, is not the sound of the feet of his lord behind him?’ 33He is yet speaking with them, and lo, the messenger is coming down unto him, and he saith, ‘Lo, this [is] the evil from Jehovah: what — do I wait for Jehovah any more?’