| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New International Version |
| 1Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "Behold now, the place before you where we are living is too limited for us. | 1The company of the prophets said to Elisha, "Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. |
| 2"Please let us go to the Jordan and each of us take from there a beam, and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live." So he said, "Go." | 2Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet." And he said, "Go." |
| 3Then one said, "Please be willing to go with your servants." And he answered, "I shall go." | 3Then one of them said, "Won't you please come with your servants?" "I will," Elisha replied. |
| 4So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. | 4And he went with them. They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. |
| 5But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, "Alas, my master! For it was borrowed." | 5As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. "Oh no, my lord!" he cried out. "It was borrowed!" |
| 6Then the man of God said, "Where did it fall?" And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float. | 6The 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. |
| 7He said, "Take it up for yourself." So he put out his hand and took it. | 7"Lift it out," he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it. |
| 8Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he counseled with his servants saying, "In such and such a place shall be my camp." | 8Now 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." |
| 9The man of God sent word to the king of Israel saying, "Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there." | 9The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: "Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there." |
| 10The king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him; thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there, more than once or twice. | 10So 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. |
| 11Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, "Will you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?" | 11This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, "Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?" |
| 12One of his servants said, "No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom." | 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." |
| 13So he said, "Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him." And it was told him, saying, "Behold, he is in Dothan." | 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." |
| 14He sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. | 14Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city. |
| 15Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" | 15When 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 no, my lord! What shall we do?" the servant asked. |
| 16So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." | 16"Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." |
| 17Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. | 17And Elisha prayed, "Open his eyes, LORD, so that 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. |
| 18When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, "Strike this people with blindness, I pray." So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. | 18As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike this army with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. |
| 19Then Elisha said to them, "This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek." And he brought them to Samaria. | 19Elisha 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. |
| 20When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, "O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see." So the LORD opened their eyes and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. | 20After 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. |
| 21Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, "My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?" | 21When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, "Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?" |
| 22He answered, "You shall not kill them. Would you kill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master." | 22"Do not kill them," he answered. "Would you kill those 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." |
| 23So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel. | 23So 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. |
| 24Now it came about after this, that Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army and went up and besieged Samaria. | 24Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria. |
| 25There was a great famine in Samaria; and behold, they besieged it, until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a kab of dove's dung for five shekels of silver. | 25There 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. |
| 26As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall a woman cried out to him, saying, "Help, my lord, O king!" | 26As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, "Help me, my lord the king!" |
| 27He said, "If the LORD does not help you, from where shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?" | 27The king replied, "If the LORD does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?" |
| 28And the king said to her, "What is the matter with you?" And she answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.' | 28Then 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 boiled my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, 'Give your son, that we may eat him'; but she has hidden her son." | 29So 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." |
| 30When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes-- now he was passing by on the wall-- and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body. | 30When the king heard the woman's words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and they saw that, under his robes, he had sackcloth on his body. |
| 31Then he said, "May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today." | 31He said, "May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today!" |
| 32Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man from his presence; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, "Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold the door shut against him. Is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?" | 32Now 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?" |
| 33While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, "Behold, this evil is from the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer?" | 33While he was still talking to them, the messenger came down to him. The king said, "This disaster is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?" |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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