9
And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware to not pass through such
and such a place, for the Syrians are going there.
10
Then the king of Israel sent to the place, which the man of God told him and warned him of and kept himself from there, not once nor twice.
11
Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled over this thing, and he called his slaves and said unto them, Will ye not show me which of us
is for the king of Israel?
12
Then one of his slaves 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.
13
And he said, Go and spy where he
is, that I may send and take him. And it was told him, saying, Behold,
he is in Dothan.
14
So he sent horsemen and chariots there and a great host, who came by night and compassed the city about.
15
And when the servant of the man of God was risen early to go forth, behold, a host compassed the city both with horsemen and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! What shall we do?
16
And he answered, Fear not; for those that
are with us
are more than those that
are with them.
17
And Elisha prayed and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and, behold, the mountain
was full of horsemen and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
18
And when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD and said, Smite these people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
19
And Elisha said unto 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.
20
And when they came into Samaria, Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these
men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold,
they were in the midst of Samaria.
21
And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite
them? Shall I smite
them?
22
And he answered, Thou shalt not smite
them; would 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 return to their master.
23
And he prepared great provision for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
24
And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad, king of Syria, gathered all his host and went up and besieged Samaria.
25
And there was a great famine in Samaria as they besieged it until an ass’s head was
sold for eighty
pieces of silver and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five
pieces of silver.
26
And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, a woman cried unto him, saying, Save me, my lord, O king.
27
And he said, If the LORD does not save thee, from where shall I save thee? Out of the threshingfloor, or out of the winepress?
28
And the king said unto her, What ails thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.
29
So we boiled my son and ate him. And I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son that we may eat him. But she has hid her son.