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?] [Elisha] said, [Look,] you shall see it with your [own] eyes, but shall not eat [of it]. |
There were 4 [lepers] at the [gate's] entrance. The [men] 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, come & let us fall [surrender to] the [Syrian's army]. |
If they save us & [keep] us alive, we shall live & if they kill us, we shall [still] die. They rose up at twilight, to go into the [Syrian's] camp & when they came to [furthest] part of the [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]. They said to one another, [Look,] the king has hired the kings of the Hittites & the Egyptians against us, [to attack] us. |
[Therefore,] they arose & fled at twilight & left their tents, horses, [mules] & the camp as it was & fled for their [lives]. When these lepers came to the [furthest] part of the camp, they went into 1 tent & [ate & drank] & carried [away] silver, gold & [clothing] & went I hid it. |
They came again & entered another tent & carried [out] & hid [that] also. The lepers] said one to another, We aren't [doing] well to [stay quiet] about this good [news]. If we [wait until sunrise,] some [harm] may come to us. |
Therefore, let's [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, but the horses & [mules] are tied [up] & the tents [just] as they were. The [gate keepers] told the king's household [inside]. |
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 to [ambush] us, saying, When they come out of the city, we will catch them alive & [go] into the city. |
One of his servants answered, I pray [that] you let [someone] take 5 of the horses that remain left in the city. [Maybe,] they are [like] all the multitude of Israelites [who are destroyed]. Let us send [someone] & see. |
Therefore, they took 2 chariots & horses. The king sent [them] after the Syrian [army] saying, Go & see. They went after them to [the] Jordan [River] & [saw] all the [road] was full of [clothing] & [mugs] they had [thrown down] in their [rush]. |
The messengers returned & told the king. The people went out & [took the plunder from] the Syrian 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. |
The king appointed the lord he [depended on,] to be in charge of the gate & the people [trampled] him in the gate & he died, [like Elisha,] the man of God, had said, when the king had [sent] him down to [speak with Elisha]. |
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. |
That lord [had] 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 it [happened] to him [just like that,] for the people [trampled] him & he died. |