Parallel Bible results for "2 kings 6"

2 Kings 6

Common English Bible CEB

1 The members of the group of prophets said to Elisha, "Look, the place where we now live under your authority is too small for us.

2 Let's go to the Jordan River and each get a log from there. Then we can make a place to live there." Elisha said, "Do it!"

3 One of them said, "Please come with us, your servants." Elisha said, "Okay, I'll go."

4 So he went with them. They came to the Jordan River and began cutting down trees.

5 One of them was cutting down a tree when his ax head fell into the water. He cried out, "Oh, no! Master, it was a borrowed ax!"

6 The man of God said, "Where did it fall?" He showed Elisha the place. Elisha then cut a piece of wood, threw it into the river there, and the ax head floated up.

7 "Lift it out," Elisha said. So the man then reached out and grabbed it.

8 Aram's king was fighting against Israel. He took counsel with his officers, saying, "I'll camp at such-and-such a place."

9 The man of God sent word to Israel's king: "Beware of passing by this place because the Arameans are going down there."

10 Then Israel's king sent word to the place the man of God had mentioned to him. Time after time, Elisha warned the king, and the king stayed on the alert.

11 Aram's king was extremely upset about this. He called his officers and said to them, "Tell me! Who among us is siding with Israel's king?"

12 One of his officers said, "No one, Your Majesty! It's Elisha the Israelite prophet who tells Israel's king the words that you speak in the privacy of your bedroom."

13 He said, "Go and find out where he is. Then I will send men to capture him." They told him, "He is in Dothan."

14 So the king sent horses and chariots there with a strong army. They came at night and surrounded the city.

15 Elisha's servant got up early and went out. He saw an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. His servant said to Elisha, "Oh, no! Master, what will we do?"

16 "Don't be afraid," Elisha said, "because there are more of us than there are of them."

17 Then Elisha prayed, "LORD, please open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he saw that the mountain was full of horses and fiery chariots surrounding Elisha.

18 The Arameans came toward him, so Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike this nation with blindness." And the LORD struck them blind, just as Elisha asked.

19 Elisha said to them, "This isn't the right road or the right city. Follow me, and I'll lead you to the man you are looking for." But he took them to Samaria!

20 When they arrived in Samaria, Elisha said, "LORD, open the eyes of these men so they can see." The LORD opened their eyes, and they saw that they were right in the middle of Samaria!

21 When he saw them, Israel's king said to Elisha, "Should I kill them, my father? Should I?"

22 He said, "No, don't kill them. Did you capture them with your own sword or bow? Do you have the right to kill them? Put food and water in front of them so they can eat and drink and return to their master."

23 So the king gave them a great feast, and they ate and drank. Then the king let them go, and they returned to their master. After that, Aramean raiding parties didn't come into Israel anymore.

24 Now it happened later that Aram's King Ben-hadad gathered all his forces and went up to attack Samaria.

25 The siege lasted so long that there was a great famine in Samaria. A donkey's head sold for eighty shekels of silver and a quarter kab of doves' dung for five shekels.

26 Israel's king was passing by on the city wall when a woman appealed to him, "Help me, Your Majesty!"

27 The king said, "No! May the LORD help you! Where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or the winepress?"

28 But then the king asked her, "What's troubling you?" She answered, "A woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we can eat him today; we'll eat my son tomorrow.'

29 So we cooked and ate my son. The next day I said to her, ‘Hand over your son so we can eat him.' But she had hidden her son."

30 When the king heard the woman's story, he ripped his clothes. And as he passed by along the wall, the people could see that he was wearing mourning clothes underneath.

31 He said, "So may God do to me, and more, if the head of Elisha, Shaphat's son, remains on his shoulders today!"

32 Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger on ahead, but before the man arrived, Elisha said to the elders, "Do you see that this murderer has sent someone to cut off my head? Watch for when the messenger comes, then close the door and hold it shut against him. The sound of his master's feet is right behind him, isn't it?"

33 While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger arrived and said, "Look, this disaster is the LORD's doing. Why should I trust the LORD any longer?"

The Message Bible MSG

1 One day the guild of prophets came to Elisha and said, "You can see that this place where we're living under your leadership is getting cramped - we have no elbow room.

2 Give us permission to go down to the Jordan where each of us will get a log. We'll build a roomier place." Elisha said, "Go ahead."

3 One of them then said, "Please! Come along with us!" He said, "Certainly."

4 He went with them. They came to the Jordan and started chopping down trees.

5 As one of them was felling a timber, his axhead flew off and sank in the river. "Oh no, master!" he cried out. "And it was borrowed!"

6 The Holy Man said, "Where did it sink?" The man showed him the place. He cut off a branch and tossed it at the spot. The axhead floated up.

7 "Grab it," he said. The man reached out and took it.

8 One time when the king of Aram was at war with Israel, after consulting with his officers, he said, "At such and such a place I want an ambush set."

9 The Holy Man sent a message to the king of Israel: "Watch out when you're passing this place, because Aram has set an ambush there."

10 So the king of Israel sent word concerning the place of which the Holy Man had warned him. This kind of thing happened all the time.

11 The king of Aram was furious over all this. He called his officers together and said, "Tell me, who is leaking information to the king of Israel? Who is the spy in our ranks?"

12 But one of his men said, "No, my master, dear king. It's not any of us. It's Elisha the prophet in Israel. He tells the king of Israel everything you say, even what you whisper in your bedroom."

13 The king said, "Go and find out where he is. I'll send someone and capture him." The report came back, "He's in Dothan."

14 Then he dispatched horses and chariots, an impressive fighting force. They came by night and surrounded the city.

15 Early in the morning a servant of the Holy Man got up and went out. Surprise! Horses and chariots surrounding the city! The young man exclaimed, "Oh, master! What shall we do?"

16 He said, "Don't worry about it - there are more on our side than on their side."

17 Then Elisha prayed, "O God, open his eyes and let him see." The eyes of the young man were opened and he saw. A wonder! The whole mountainside full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha!

18 When the Arameans attacked, Elisha prayed to God, "Strike these people blind!" And God struck them blind, just as Elisha said.

19 Then Elisha called out to them, "Not that way! Not this city! Follow me and I'll lead you to the man you're looking for." And he led them into Samaria.

20 As they entered the city, Elisha prayed, "O God, open their eyes so they can see where they are." God opened their eyes. They looked around - they were trapped in Samaria!

21 When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, "Father, shall I massacre the lot?"

22 "Not on your life!" said Elisha. "You didn't lift a hand to capture them, and now you're going to kill them? No sir, make a feast for them and send them back to their master."

23 So he prepared a huge feast for them. After they ate and drank their fill he dismissed them. Then they returned home to their master. The raiding bands of Aram didn't bother Israel anymore.

24 At a later time, this: Ben-Hadad king of Aram pulled together his troops and launched a siege on Samaria.

25 This brought on a terrible famine, so bad that food prices soared astronomically. Eighty shekels for a donkey's head! Five shekels for a bowl of field greens!

26 One day the king of Israel was walking along the city wall. A woman cried out, "Help! Your majesty!"

27 He answered, "If God won't help you, where on earth can I go for help? To the granary? To the dairy?"

28 The king continued, "Tell me your story."

29 So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I told her, 'Your turn - bring your son so we can have him for supper.' But she had hidden her son away."

30 When the king heard the woman's story he ripped apart his robe. Since he was walking on the city wall, everyone saw that next to his skin he was wearing coarse burlap.

31 And he called out, "God do his worst to me - and more - if Elisha son of Shaphat still has a head on his shoulders at this day's end."

32 Elisha was sitting at home, the elders sitting with him. The king had already dispatched an executioner, but before the man arrived Elisha spoke to the elders: "Do you know that this murderer has just now sent a man to take off my head? Look, when the executioner arrives, shut the door and lock it. Don't I even now hear the footsteps of his master behind him?"

33 While he was giving his instructions, the king showed up, accusing, "This trouble is directly from God! And what's next? I'm fed up with God!"