1 T hen Elisha said, “Listen to the word of the Lord. The Lord says, ‘Tomorrow about this time, a basket of fine flour will be sold for one piece of silver in the gate of Samaria. And two baskets of barley will be sold for a piece of silver.’”

Then Elisha said, Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord: Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour will sell for a shekel and two measures of barley for a shekel in the gate of Samaria!

2 T he captain on whose arm the king rested said to the man of God, “See, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” Elisha said, “You will see it with your own eyes. But you will not eat of it.” The Syrians Leave

Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, If the Lord should make windows in heaven, could this thing be? But Elisha said, You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.

3 N ow there were four men at the city gate with a bad skin disease. They said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die?

Now four men who were lepers were at the entrance of the city’s gate; and they said to one another, Why do we sit here until we die?

4 I f we go into the city, there is no food there and we will die. And if we sit here, we will die also. So now come, let us go over to the tents of the Syrians. If they do not kill us, we will live. And if they kill us, we will die there.”

If we say, We will enter the city—then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit still here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the army of the Syrians. If they spare us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

5 S o they got up in the evening to go to the Syrians. When they came to the tents of the Syrians, there was no one there.

So they arose in the twilight and went to the Syrian camp. But when they came to the edge of the camp, no man was there.

6 F or the Lord had made the Syrian army hear a sound of war-wagons and horses and an army of many soldiers. So they said to one another, “The king of Israel has paid the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to fight against us.”

For the Lord had made the Syrian army hear a noise of chariots and horses, the noise of a great army. They had said to one another, The king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to come upon us.

7 A nd they ran away in the evening. They left their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left everything just as it was, and ran for their lives.

So the Syrians arose and fled in the twilight and left their tents, horses, donkeys, even the camp as it was, and fled for their lives.

8 T hen the men with a bad skin disease came to the tents. They went into one tent and ate and drank. They carried away silver and gold and clothing, and hid them. Then they returned and went into another tent and carried things away from it, and hid them.

And when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold, and clothing, and went and hid them. Then they entered another tent and carried from there also and went and hid it.

9 T hey said to one another, “We are not doing right. This is a day of good news, but we are keeping quiet. We will be punished if we wait until morning. So now let us go and tell those of the king’s house.”

Then they said one to another, We are not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are silent and do not speak up! If we wait until daylight, some punishment will come upon us. So now come, let us go and tell the king’s household.

10 A nd they came and called the men who watched the city gate. They said to them, “We went to the tents of the Syrians. But there was no one to be seen or heard there. Only the horses and donkeys were tied there. The tents were left just as they were.”

So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city. They told them, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was neither sight nor sound of man there—only the horses and donkeys tied, and the tents as they were.

11 S o the men at the gate called out, and the news was heard in the king’s house.

Then the gatekeepers called out, and it was told to the king’s household within.

12 T he king got up in the night and said to his servants, “I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry. So they have left the tents to hide themselves in the field. They are saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and get into the city.’”

And the king rose in the night and said to his servants, I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the open country, thinking, When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive and get into the city.

13 O ne of his servants said, “Let some men take five of the horses that are left. Those who are left in the city are not doing better than all those who have died. So let us send men out to see.”

One of his servants said, Let some men take five of the remaining horses; they will be no worse off than all the multitude of Israel left in the city to be consumed. Let us send and see.

14 S o they took two war-wagons with horses. And the king sent them after the Syrian army, saying, “Go and see.”

So they took two chariot horses, and the king sent them after the Syrian army, saying, Go and see.

15 T hey went after them to the Jordan. All the way was covered with clothes and objects which the Syrians had thrown away in their hurry. Then the men returned and told the king.

They went after them to the Jordan. All the way was strewn with clothing and equipment which the Syrians had cast away in their flight. And the messengers returned and told the king.

16 S o the people went out and took what the Syrians had left. Then a basket of fine flour was sold for a piece of silver. And two baskets of barley sold for a piece of silver, just as the word of the Lord had said.

Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, as the Lord had spoken.

17 N ow the king chose the captain on whose arm he rested to watch the gate. But the people stepped on him at the gate. He died just as the man of God had said when the king came down to him.

The king had appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to him.

18 I t happened just as the man of God had told the king, saying, “About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, two baskets of barley will sell for a piece of silver. And a basket of fine flour will sell for a piece of silver.”

When the man of God had told the king, Two measures of barley shall sell for a shekel and a measure of fine flour for a shekel tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria,

19 T hen the captain had said to the man of God, “See, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And Elisha had said, “You will see it with your own eyes. But you will not eat of it.”

The captain had told the man of God, If the Lord should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be? And he said, You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.

20 S o it happened to him. The people stepped on him at the gate, and he died.

And so it was fulfilled to him, for the people trampled on him in the gate, and he died.