The Famine and the 4 Lepers |
2 Kings 7:1-20 2 Kings [in Smaller Chunks] |
Then, Elisha said, Hear the Word of the Lord. The Lord says [this,] Tomorrow about this time, a measure of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel & 2 measures of barley for a shekel, in [Samaria's] gate. |
Then, a lord, the king [depended on,] answered the man of God & said, [Look,] if the Lord [God] would make windows in heaven, [will this really happen?] And [Elisha] said, [Look,] you shall see it with your [own] eyes, but shall not eat [of it.] |
And there were 4 [lepers] at the [gate's] entrance & they said to [each other,] Why [do] we sit here until we die? If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city & we shall die there. And if we [continue to] sit here, we [shall] also die. Therefore, now come & let us [surrender to] the [Syrian's army.] |
If they save us & [keep] us alive, we shall live & if they kill us, we shall [still] die. And they rose up in the twilight, to go into the [Syrian's] camp & when they came to [furthest] part of [Syria's] camp, [they saw] there wasn't [anyone] there. |
For the Lord had made the Syrian [army] hear a noise of chariots & horses & a [large army.] And they said to one another, [Look,] the king has hired the kings of the Hittites & the Egyptians against us, [to attack] us. |
[For this reason,] they arose & fled in the twilight & left their tents, horses, [mules] & even the camp as it was & fled for their [lives.] And when these lepers came to the [furthest] part of the camp, they went into 1 tent & [ate & drank] & carried [away from there] silver, gold & [clothing] & went & hid it. |
And [they] came again & entered into another tent & carried [out from there] also & hid it. Then, [the lepers] said one to another, We [aren't doing] well to [stay quiet] about this good [news] this day. If we [wait until sunrise,] some [harm] will come upon us. |
Therefore, come, [so] we may go now & tell the king's household. So, they came & called the [gate keepers] of the city, saying, We came to the [Syrian's] camp & [saw] there [wasn't anyone] there, neither the voice of man, but [only the] horses & [mules] tied [up] & the tents [just] as they were. The [gate keepers] told the king's [household inside.] |
And the king arose in the night & said to his servants, I will now [show] you what the Syrians have done to us. They know we are hungry & [they've] gone out of the camp [& have hidden] themselves in the field, [to ambush us,] saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive & [go] into the city. |
And one of his servants answered, I pray [that] you let [someone] take 5 of the horses that remain left in the city. [Watch if,] they are [like] all the multitude of Israel, who are left in it & I say, [that we see if,] they are even [like] all the multitude of Israelites [that died of starvation.] [So,] let us send [someone] & see. |
Therefore, they took 2 chariot horses. And the king sent after [them] the Syrian [army] saying, Go & see. And they went after them to [the] Jordan [River] & [saw] all the [road] was full of [clothing] & [containers that] the Syrians had [thrown down] in their [rush.] |
And the messengers returned & told the king. And the people went out & [plundered] the [Syrian’s] tents. So, a measure of fine flour sold for a shekel & 2 measures of barley for a shekel, according to the Word of the Lord. |
Ad the king appointed the lord he [depended on,] to [be in] charge of the gate & the people [trampled] upon him in the gate & he died, [like Elisha,] the man of God, had said, who [spoke] when the king [had] him [come] down to [speak with Elisha.] |
And it [happened just like] the man of God had [said] to the king, saying, Two measures of barley [shall sell] for a shekel & a measure of fine flour for a shekel, tomorrow about this time in [Samaria's] gate. |
And that lord [had] answered the man of God & said, [Look,] if the Lord [God] should make windows in heaven, [will this really happen?] And [Elisha] said, [Look,] you shall see it with your [own] eyes, but shall not eat [of it.] And it [happened] to him: for the people [trampled] upon him in the gate & he died. |