2 Kings 5-8

II Kings 5

¹And Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man before his master, and honourable, for by him Jehovah had given deliverance to Syria; and he was a mighty man of valour, but a leper.

²And the Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.

³And she said to her mistress, Oh, would that my lord were before the prophet that is in Samaria! then he would cure him of his leprosy.

⁴And he went and told his lord saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.

⁵And the king of Syria said, Well! go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

⁶And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, And now, when this letter comes to thee, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest cure him of his leprosy.

⁷And it came to pass when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his garments, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeks an occasion against me.

⁸And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his garments, that he sent to the king, saying, Why hast thou rent thy garments? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.

⁹And Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha.

¹⁰And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.

¹¹And Naaman was wroth, and went away and said, Behold, I thought, He will certainly come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Jehovah his God, and wave his hand over the place, and cure the leper.

¹²Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them and be clean? And he turned and went away in a rage.

¹³And his servants drew near, and spoke to him and said, My father, if the prophet had bidden thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he says to thee, Wash and be clean?

¹⁴Then he went down, and plunged himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God. And his flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

¹⁵And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came and stood before him; and he said, Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; and now, I pray thee, take a present of thy servant.

¹⁶But he said, As Jehovah liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none! And he urged him to take it; but he refused.

¹⁷And Naaman said, If not, then let there, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of this earth; for thy servant will no more offer burnt-offering and sacrifice to other gods, but to Jehovah.

¹⁸In this thing Jehovah pardon thy servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to bow down there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon -- when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, Jehovah pardon thy servant, I pray thee, in this thing.

¹⁹And he said to him, Go in peace. And he departed from him a little way.

²⁰And Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master has spared Naaman, this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought; but as Jehovah liveth, I will run after him and take somewhat of him.

²¹And Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he sprang down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well?

²²And he said, All is well. My master has sent me saying, Behold, even now there are come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets; give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of raiment.

²³And Naaman said, Consent to take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of raiment, and laid them upon two of his young men; and they bore them before him.

²⁴And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand, and stowed them in the house; and he let the men go, and they departed.

²⁵And he entered in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither.

²⁶And he said to him, Did not my heart go, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and bondmen, and bondwomen?

²⁷But the leprosy of Naaman shall fasten upon thee, and upon thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence leprous, as snow.

II Kings 6

¹And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell before thee is too strait for us.

²Let us go, we pray thee, to the Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he said, Go.

³And one said, Consent, I pray thee, to go with thy servants. And he said, I will go.

⁴And he went with them. And they came to the Jordan and cut down the trees.

⁵And it came to pass as one was felling a beam, that the iron fell into the water; and he cried and said, Alas, master, and it was borrowed!

⁶And the man of God said, Where did it fall? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither, and made the iron to swim.

⁷And he said, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand and took it.

⁸And the king of Syria warred against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.

⁹And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place, for thither the Syrians are come down.

¹⁰And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and he was on his guard there. That took place not once, nor twice.

¹¹And the heart of the king of Syria was troubled because of this thing; and he called his servants, and said to them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?

¹²And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.

¹³And he said, Go and see where he is, and I will send and fetch him. And it was told him saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.

¹⁴And he sent thither horses and chariots, and a great host, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

¹⁵And when the attendant of the man of God rose early and went forth, behold, an army surrounded the city, with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

¹⁶And he said, Fear not, for they that are with us are more than they that are with them.

¹⁷And Elisha prayed and said, Jehovah, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. And Jehovah opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

¹⁸And they came down to him; and Elisha prayed to Jehovah and said, Smite this nation, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

¹⁹And Elisha said to them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. And he led them to Samaria.

²⁰And it came to pass when they entered into Samaria, that Elisha said, Jehovah, open the eyes of these men that they may see. And Jehovah opened their eyes, and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.

²¹And the king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite? shall I smite them?

²²And he said, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.

²³And he prepared a great repast for them, and they ate and drank; and he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

²⁴And it came to pass after this that Ben-Hadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.

²⁵And there was a great famine in Samaria; and behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was worth eighty silver-pieces, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung five silver-pieces.

²⁶And it came to pass as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman to him saying, Help, my lord O king!

²⁷And he said, If Jehovah do not help thee, whence should I help thee? Out of the threshing-floor, or out of the winepress?

²⁸And the king said to her, What aileth thee? And she said, This woman said to me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow.

²⁹And we boiled my son, and ate him: and I said to her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him; and she has hidden her son.

³⁰And it came to pass when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his garments; and he was passing by upon the wall, and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.

³¹And he said, God do so, and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall remain on him this day!

³²And Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him. And the king sent a man before him. Before the messenger came to him, he himself said to the elders, Do ye see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? See, when the messenger comes; shut the door, and keep him off with the door: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?

³³And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down to him. And the king said, Behold, this evil is of Jehovah: why should I wait for Jehovah any longer?

II Kings 7

¹And Elisha said, Hear the word of Jehovah. Thus saith Jehovah: To-morrow about this time shall the measure of fine flour be at a shekel, and two measures of barley at a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.

²And the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, Behold, if Jehovah should make windows in the heavens, would this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

³And there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate, and they said one to another, Why do we abide here until we die?

⁴If we say, Let us enter into the city, the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we abide here, we shall die. And now come, let us fall away to the camp of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they put us to death, we shall but die.

⁵And they rose up in the dusk to go to the camp of the Syrians; and they came to the extremity of the camp of the Syrians; and behold, there was no man there.

⁶For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, a noise of a great host; and they said one to another, Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.

⁷And they rose up and fled in the dusk, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, the camp as it was, and fled for their life.

⁸And those lepers came to the extremity of the camp; and they went into one tent, and ate and drank, and carried thence silver and gold, and garments, and went and hid it; and they came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence, and went and hid it.

⁹And they said one to another, We are not doing right; this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, the iniquity will find us out; and now come, let us go and tell the king's household.

¹⁰And they came and called to the porters of the city, and told them saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no one there, no sound of man, but the horses tied, and the asses tied, and the tents as they were.

¹¹And the porters cried it and told it to the king's house within.

¹²And the king rose up in the night and said to his servants, Let me tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry, and they have 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.

¹³And one of his servants answered and said, Let some one 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, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that have perished), and let us send and see.

¹⁴And they took two chariots with their horses; and the king sent after the army of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.

¹⁵And they went after them to the Jordan; and behold, all the way was full of garments and materials, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king.

¹⁶And the people went out and plundered the camp of the Syrians; and the measure of fine flour was at a shekel, and two measures of barley at a shekel, according to the word of Jehovah.

¹⁷And the king had appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate; and the people trampled upon him in the gate, and he died, according to what the man of God had said, -- what he had said when the king came down to him.

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

¹⁹And the captain answered the man of God and said, Behold, if Jehovah should make windows in the heavens, would such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

²⁰And so it happened to him; and the people trampled upon him in the gate, and he died.

II Kings 8

¹And Elisha had spoken to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, Rise up and go, thou and thy household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn; for Jehovah has called for a famine, and it shall also come upon the land for seven years.

²And the woman rose up, and did according to the saying of the man of God, and went, she and her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.

³And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines; and she went forth to cry to the king for her house and for her land.

⁴And the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha has done.

⁵And it came to pass as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.

⁶And the king asked the woman, and she told him. And the king appointed a certain chamberlain, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the revenue of the land since the day that she left the country even until now.

⁷And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-Hadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him saying, The man of God is come hither.

⁸And the king said to Hazael, Take a present in thy hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of Jehovah by him, saying, Shall I recover from this disease?

⁹And Hazael went to meet him, and took with him a present, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden; and he came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben-Hadad king of Syria has sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover from this disease?

¹⁰And Elisha said to him, Go, say to him, Thou wilt certainly recover. But Jehovah has shewn me that he shall certainly die.

¹¹And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed; and the man of God wept.

¹²And Hazael said, Why does my lord weep? And he said, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do to the children of Israel: their strongholds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou kill with the sword, and wilt dash in pieces their children, and rip up their women with child.

¹³And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha said, Jehovah has shewn me that thou wilt be king over Syria.

¹⁴And he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, What did Elisha say to thee? And he said, He told me that thou wouldest certainly recover.

¹⁵And it came to pass the next day, that he took the coverlet and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face, so that he died; and Hazael reigned in his stead.

¹⁶And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign.

¹⁷He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

¹⁸And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the sight of Jehovah.

¹⁹But Jehovah would not destroy Judah, for David his servant's sake, as he had promised him to give him always a lamp for his sons.

²⁰In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and they set a king over themselves.

²¹And Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him; and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites who had surrounded him, and the captains of the chariots; and the people fled into their tents.

²²But the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.

²³And the rest of the acts of Joram and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

²⁴And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.

²⁵In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign.

²⁶Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.

²⁷And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of Jehovah, like the house of Ahab; for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

²⁸And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael the king of Syria at Ramoth-Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.

²⁹And king Joram returned to be healed in Jizreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab at Jizreel, for he was sick.