UST 2 KI Chapter 7

◄ 2 KI 7 ► ║ ═ ©

7 Elisha told everyone there, “Listen to what Yahweh says. He says that at this time tomorrow, at the marketplace here in Samaria, you will be able to buy six liters of good flour for about ten grams of silver, and you will be able to buy twelve liters of barley for about ten grams of silver.” 2 The officer accompanying the king told Elijah, “That could not happen even if Yahweh opened the windows of the sky and sent grain down to us!” Elisha responded, “Because you have said that, you will see it happen, but you will not eat any of the food!”

3 Now there were four men who had leprosy who were sitting outside the gate of the city of Samaria. They told each other, “We should not stay here until we starve to death. 4 If we go into the city, we will die there, since there is no food there. If we remain sitting here, we will die here. So let us go and surrender to the army of Aram. If they kill us, we will die. But they might give us food. Then we would live.” 5 So when it started to get dark, those four men went to the place where the Aramean soldiers had set up their tents. But when they arrived at that place, they discovered that no soldiers were there. 6 What had happened was that Yahweh had caused the army of Aram to hear something that sounded like a large army approaching with chariots and horses. The Aramean soldiers told each other, “Listen! The king of Israel has hired the kings of Egypt and the Hittites to come and attack us with their armies!” 7 The Aramean solders were very afraid that enemy soldiers would kill them if they stayed where they were. So they all ran away, even though it was getting dark. They left their tents and their horses and donkeys behind. In fact, they did not take anything with them from the camp. 8 That was why no one was there when those four men who had leprosy arrived at the place where the soldiers of Aram had set up their tents. So they went into one tent and found food and valuable things in it. So they ate and drank what was there, and they took the silver and gold and clothes. They left that tent and hid those things. Then they came back and went into another tent. They took the things from there, and they went away and hid them as well.

9 But then they told each other, “Something very good has happened today, but we are not telling anyone about it. That is the wrong thing to do at a time like this. If we wait until it gets light in the morning, then other people will discover what has happened, and they will punish us for not telling anyone. We should go right now and tell the king’s officials what has happened!” 10 So they went to the guards at the city gates and called out to them, “We went to where the army of Aram had set up their tents, but we did not see or hear anyone there. However, their horses and donkeys were still where they had tied them up, and their tents were still there too.” 11 The guards shouted the news, and some people who heard it went to the palace and reported it to the king’s officials. 12 It was still night, but the king got out of bed and told his officials, “The Arameans are trying to trick us! I will tell you how. They know that we are starving here, so they have left their camp and are hiding in the fields. They think that we will discover that the camp is empty and leave the city to get the food they have left in it. Then they will come out of hiding and capture us and conquer the city!” 13 But one of his officials said, “Please let us send out some men on five of our horses that are still alive. Those men can go and see what has actually happened. If the Arameans are hiding in ambush and kill them, they will be no worse off than the other Israelites who stay here in the city. After all, all of us Israelites here are about to starve to death.” 14 The king agreed to send some men to find out where the army of Aram actually was. There were enough horses alive to pull two chariots. So the men went out on those. 15 All along the road, those men found clothing and weapons that the Arameans had discarded while they were running away. The men went as far as the Jordan River and still saw no enemy soldiers, so they knew they had left Israel and gone back to Aram. So the men returned to the king and reported what they had seen.

16 Then many of the people of Samaria left the city and went to where the army of Aram had set up their tents. They entered all the tents and took everything. The Arameans had left much grain behind, and as a result, people could buy six liters of good flour for about ten grams of silver, and they could buy twelve liters of barley for about ten grams of silver. That was exactly what Yahweh had said would happen. 17 The king appointed the officer who usually accompanied him to control the flow of people through the city gate. But the people who were rushing through the gate knocked him over and trampled on him. As a result, he died. That was just what Elisha had told him would happen when he came to Elisha’s house with the king. 18 Elisha had told the king, “At this time tomorrow at the marketplace here in Samaria, you will be able to buy six liters of good flour for about ten grams of silver. You will be able to buy twelve liters of barley for about ten grams of silver.” 19 The captain had replied, “That could not happen even if Yahweh opened the windows of the sky and sent grain down to us!” Elisha had responded, “Because you have said that, you will see it happen, but you will not eat any of the food!” 20 And that is what happened to him. The people who were rushing through the gate knocked him over and trampled on him. As a result, he died.

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UST 2 KI Chapter 7

UST 2 KI Chapter 7