1Then Elisha said, “Listen to the word of Yahweh; thus says Yahweh, ‘About this time tomorrow a [†]seah of fine flour will be sold for a [†]shekel, and two [†]seahs of barley for a [†]shekel, in the gate of Samaria.’” 2And the royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of God and said, “Behold, if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” Then he said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat [†]of it.”

Lepers Report the Arameans’ Flight

3Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die? 4If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ then the famine is in the city and we will die there; and if we sit here, we die also. So now come, and let us [†]go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we will live; and if they put us to death, we will die.” 5So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Arameans. Then they came to the outskirts of the camp of the Arameans, but behold, there was no one there. 6Now the Lord had caused the camp of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses, even the sound of a great military force, so that they said to one 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.” 7Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and forsook their tents and their horses and their donkeys, even the camp just as it was, and fled for their life. 8So these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp and entered one tent and ate and drank. Then they carried from there silver and gold and clothes, and they went and hid them; and they returned and entered another tent and carried from there also and went and hid them.

9Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent; if we wait until morning light, punishment will [†]overtake us. So now, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.” 10So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and they told them, saying, “We came to the camp of the Arameans, and behold, there was no one there, nor the voice of man, only the horses tied and the donkeys tied, and the tents just as they were.” 11And the gatekeepers called and told it within the king’s household. 12Then the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “I will now tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone from the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and get into the city.’” 13And one of his servants answered and said, “Please, let some men take five of the remaining horses, which remain [†]in the city. Behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who remain in it; behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who have already come to an end, so let us send and see.” 14They took therefore two chariots with horses, and the king sent after the camp of the Arameans, saying, “Go and see.”

Plundering the Arameans

15Then they went after them to the Jordan, and behold, all the way was full of clothes and equipment which the Arameans had thrown away in their haste. Then the messengers returned and told the king.

16So the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. Then a [†]seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel and two [†]seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of Yahweh. 17Now the king appointed the royal officer on whose hand he leaned [†]to have charge of the gate; but the people trampled on him at the gate, and he died just as the man of God had spoken, who spoke when the king came down to him. 18So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, “Two [†]seahs of barley for a shekel and a [†]seah of fine flour for a shekel will be sold tomorrow about this time at the gate of Samaria.” 19And the royal officer had answered the man of God and said, “Now behold, if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat [†]of it.” 20And so it happened to him, for the people trampled on him at the gate and he died.

1 A seah was approx. 7 qt. or 7.7 l
1 A shekel was approx. 0.4 oz. or 11 gm
1 A seah was approx. 7 qt. or 7.7 l
1 A shekel was approx. 0.4 oz. or 11 gm
2 Lit from there
4 Lit fall
9 Lit find
13 Lit in it
16 A seah was approx. 7 qt. or 7.7 l
16 A seah was approx. 7 qt. or 7.7 l
17 Lit over the gate
18 A seah was approx. 7 qt. or 7.7 l
18 A seah was approx. 7 qt. or 7.7 l
19 Lit from there