2 Kings

Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.

1Elisha said, "Listen to what the LORD says. By this time tomorrow, food will be cheap. At the gate of Samaria, a big scoop of good flour will cost only one small silver coin. Two scoops of barley will cost one small silver coin too."

NoteA "measure" is a seah, about the amount of flour that fills a large bucket. A shekel was a small weight of silver used as money. That price was very low, which meant there was suddenly plenty of food.

2Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

2One officer stood beside the king so the king could lean on his arm. He said to Elisha, God's messenger, "Even if the LORD opened windows in the sky, could that happen?" Elisha said, "You will see it with your own eyes. But you will not eat any of it."

NoteThe KJV calls Elisha "the man of God." That means a prophet, someone who told people what God said.

3And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?

3Four men with a bad skin disease sat outside the city gate. They said to each other, "Why should we sit here until we die?"

NoteThe KJV says "leprous." In the Bible this word covers many kinds of skin disease. People with it had to live outside the town.

4If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

4"If we go into the city, we will starve there, because there is no food. If we stay here, we will die too. So let's go over to the camp of the army from Aram. If they let us live, we live. If they kill us, we die anyway."

5And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.

5So they got up in the dim evening light and walked to the camp of Aram. When they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there.

6For the LORD had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.

6The LORD had made the soldiers of Aram hear a loud sound. It sounded like chariots and horses and a huge army coming. They said to each other, "The king of Israel has paid the kings of the Hittites and Egypt to attack us!"

7Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.

7So they had jumped up and run away in the dim light. They left their tents, their horses, and their donkeys. The camp was left just as it was. They ran to save their lives.

8And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.

8The four sick men came to the edge of the camp. They went into one tent and ate and drank. They took silver, gold, and clothes, and went and hid them. Then they came back, went into another tent, took more things, and hid those too.

9Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household.

9Then they said to each other, "We are not doing right. This is a day of good news, and we are keeping quiet. If we wait until morning, we will be punished. Let's go and tell the people in the king's house."

10So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were.

10So they went and called to the guards at the city gate. They said, "We went to the camp of Aram. No one was there. We heard no voices at all. The horses and donkeys were still tied up, and the tents were still standing."

11And he called the porters; and they told it to the king’s house within.

11The gate guards shouted the news. It was passed along to the king's house inside the city.

12And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.

12The king got up in the night and said to his servants, "I will tell you what the soldiers of Aram are doing. They know we are starving. So they left camp to hide in the fields. They think we will come out, and then they will catch us and take the city."

13And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see.

13One of the king's servants said, "Please send some men out with five of the horses we have left. Those men will be no worse off than everyone left in the city. All of us here are going to die anyway. Let's send them out and find out what happened."

14They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.

14So they took two chariots with horses. The king sent them after the army of Aram and said, "Go and see."

15And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.

15The men followed the trail all the way to the Jordan River. The whole road was covered with clothes and gear. The soldiers of Aram had thrown them away as they hurried off. The messengers came back and told the king.

16And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.

16Then the people went out and took everything from the camp of Aram. So a big scoop of good flour cost one small silver coin. Two scoops of barley cost one small silver coin. It happened just as the LORD had said.

17And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.

17The king had put his helper, the officer he leaned on, in charge of the gate. But the crowd rushed out and trampled him there, and he died. It happened just as Elisha had said when the king came to him.

18And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria:

18It all happened just as Elisha had told the king. He had said, "By this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, two scoops of barley will cost one small silver coin. A scoop of good flour will cost one small silver coin."

19And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

19The officer had answered Elisha, "Even if the LORD opened windows in the sky, could that happen?" And Elisha had said, "You will see it with your own eyes. But you will not eat any of it."

20And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.

20That is exactly what happened to him. The crowd trampled him in the gateway, and he died.