Elisha’s Prophecy of Plenty

1And Elisha said, “Hear the word of YHWH! Thus says YHWH: ‘About this time tomorrow a seah of fine flour† will be for a shekel,† and two seahs† of barley for a shekel in the gate of Samaria.”

2And the officer, whom the king on his hand leaned, answered the man of God and said, “Behold, if YHWH would make windows in the heavens, could this thing come to pass?”

And he said, “Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, and from there you shall not eat.”

The Syrians Flee

3And four leprous† men were at the entrance of the gate, and they said one to another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? 4If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ and the famine is in the city, we shall die there. And if we sit we shall die, we die. And now, come and let us surrender to the camp of Aram. If they keep us alive, we shall live. And if they put us to death, we shall die.”

5And they arose in the twilight to go in to the camp of Aram, and they came in to the outskirts of the camp of Aram. And behold, not a man was there. 6For the Lord had caused the army of Aram to hear the noise of chariot and the noise of horse, the noise of a great force. And they said one to another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us.”

7And they arose and fled in the twilight, and they abandoned their tents and their horses and their donkeys—the camp as it was—and they fled for their life.

8And these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, and they went into one tent and ate, and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them. And they turned back and entered into another tent and lifted up from there, and went and hid it.

9And they said one to another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. And if we wait until the light of the morning, then punishment will find us. And now come and let us go and declare it to the house of the king.”

10And they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city and declared to them, saying, “We went to the camp of Aram, and behold, there was not a man or the sound of man, but only the tied horse and tied donkey and the tents as they were.”

11And the gatekeepers called out, and they told it to the house of the king within.

12And the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “Let me declare, please, to you⁺ what Aram has done to us. They know that we are hungry; and they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive and enter into the city.’”

13And one of his servants answered and said, “Then let them take, please, five of the remaining horses, which are left in the city. Behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel who are left in it—indeed, like all the multitude of Israel left from those who are consumed. And let us send them and see.”

14And they took two chariot horses, and the king sent them in the direction of the camp of Aram, saying, “Go and see.” 15And they went after them to the Jordan, and behold, all the way was full of garments and vessels that Aram had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king.

Elisha’s Prophecy Fulfilled

16And the people went out and plundered the tents of Aram. And there was a seah of fine flour for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of YHWH.

17And the king had appointed the officer on whom his hand leaned to be over the gate, and the people trampled him in the gate and he died, as the man of God had said who spoke when the king came down to him. 18And it came to pass according to the speaking of the man of God to the king, saying, “Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, will be about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria.”

19And that officer had answered the man of God and said, “And behold, if YHWH should make windows in the heavens, could this word come to pass?”

And he had said, “Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, and from there you shall not eat.”

20And so it came to pass to him thus, and the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.

Footnotes:

1 A seah is approximately 6.6 dry quarts or 7.3 liters (probably about 8.2 pounds or 3.7 kilograms of flour); here and in verses 16 and 18.
1 A shekel is approximately 0.4 ounces or 11.4 grams, probably of silver; here and in verses 16 and 18.
1 2 seahs is approximately 13.2 dry quarts or 14.6 liters (probably about 19.3 pounds or 8.8 kilograms of barley); here and in verses 16 and 18.
3 Leprosy was a term used for various skin diseases; here and in verse 8; see Leviticus 13.