8 In those days, the king of Aram was fighting against Yisrael, and he’d instruct his servants, “Set up our camp in such and such a place.” 9 However, the man of God sent to Yisrael’s king to warn him, “Beware of passing by such and such a place, because the Aramean army will be attacking there.” 10 So the king would send messengers to the people at that place to warn them to watch and be prepared.

That happened several times 11 and the Aramean king got very upset about it. He called in his servants and demanded, “Which one of you is a traitor—passing military intelligence to the king of Yisrael?”

12 “No, my master the king,” a servant answered. “It’s the prophet Elisha in Yisrael who tells their king the things that you say even in your bedroom.”

13 “Go and find out where he is,” he instructed, “and I’ll send some men there to capture him.”

“He’s in Dothan,” he was told later. 14 So he sent chariots and horses and a large contingent, and they arrived there at night and surrounded the town.

15 Early the next morning, the man of God’s servant got up, and going outside he was shocked to see chariots and horses and an army surrounding the town, so he called Elisha, “Oh, my master! What will we do?”

16 “Don’t be afraid,” he said, “because we have many more than that on our side.” 17 Then Elisha prayed, “Yahweh, please enable his sight so he can see.” Then Yahweh enabled the eyes of the young man, and he was stunned to see that the hill was covered with chariots of fire and horses all around Elisha.

18 When the Arameans approached to swoop in, Elisha prayed to Yahweh, “Please, strike those warriors with blinding light.” So Yahweh struck them with blinding light just as Elisha had requested, 19 and Elisha told them, “This isn’t the right way, and this isn’t the town. Follow me, and let me lead you to the man you’re looking for.”

Then he led them to Shomron (Samaria), 20 and when they’d entered the city, Elisha said, “Yahweh, open the eyes of these people so they can see.” So Yahweh opened their eyes, and then they were stunned to see that they were in the middle of Shomron.

21 When he saw them, the king of Yisrael asked Elisha, “Should I kill them? Should I kill them, my father?” 22 “No, don’t kill them,” he replied. “Would you cold-bloodedly kill your prisoners of war? No, give them bread and water and let them eat and drink, and then they can return to their master.” 23 So the king prepared a large meal for them, and they ate and drank, and he sent them off to return to their master. After that, the Aramean troops didn’t continue their ventures into Yisrael.