| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1One day the group of prophets came to Elisha and told him, “As you can see, this place where we meet with you is too small. | 1Some of the prophets said to Elisha, "Look, the place where we meet with you is too cramped for us. |
| 2Let’s go down to the Jordan River, where there are plenty of logs. There we can build a new place for us to meet.” “All right,” he told them, “go ahead.” | 2Let's go to the Jordan. Each of us will get a log from there and we will build a meeting place for ourselves there." He said, "Go." |
| 3“Please come with us,” someone suggested. “I will,” he said. | 3One of them said, "Please come along with your servants." He replied, "All right, I'll come." |
| 4So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they began cutting down trees. | 4So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they started cutting down trees. |
| 5But as one of them was cutting a tree, his ax head fell into the river. “Oh, sir!” he cried. “It was a borrowed ax!” | 5As one of them was felling a log, the ax head dropped into the water. He shouted, "Oh no, my master! It was borrowed!" |
| 6“Where did it fall?” the man of God asked. When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water at that spot. Then the ax head floated to the surface. | 6The prophet asked, "Where did it drop in?" When he showed him the spot, Elisha cut off a branch, threw it in at that spot, and made the ax head float. |
| 7“Grab it,” Elisha said. And the man reached out and grabbed it. Elisha Traps the Arameans | 7He said, "Lift it out." So he reached out his hand and grabbed it. |
| 8When the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he would confer with his officers and say, “We will mobilize our forces at such and such a place.” | 8Now the king of Syria was at war with Israel. He consulted his advisers, who said, "Invade at such and such a place." |
| 9But immediately Elisha, the man of God, would warn the king of Israel, “Do not go near that place, for the Arameans are planning to mobilize their troops there.” | 9But the prophet sent this message to the king of Israel, "Make sure you don't pass through this place because Syria is invading there." |
| 10So the king of Israel would send word to the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he would be on the alert there. | 10So the king of Israel sent a message to the place the prophet had pointed out, warning it to be on its guard. This happened on several occasions. |
| 11The king of Aram became very upset over this. He called his officers together and demanded, “Which of you is the traitor? Who has been informing the king of Israel of my plans?” | 11This made the king of Syria upset. So he summoned his advisers and said to them, "One of us must be helping the king of Israel." |
| 12“It’s not us, my lord the king,” one of the officers replied. “Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in the privacy of your bedroom!” | 12One of his advisers said, "No, my master, O king. The prophet Elisha who lives in Israel keeps telling the king of Israel the things you say in your bedroom." |
| 13“Go and find out where he is,” the king commanded, “so I can send troops to seize him.” And the report came back: “Elisha is at Dothan.” | 13The king ordered, "Go, find out where he is, so I can send some men to capture him." The king was told, "He is in Dothan." |
| 14So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city. | 14So he sent horses and chariots there, along with a good-sized army. They arrived during the night and surrounded the city. |
| 15When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha. | 15The prophet's attendant got up early in the morning. When he went outside there was an army surrounding the city, along with horses and chariots. He said to Elisha, "Oh no, my master! What will we do?" |
| 16“Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” | 16He replied, "Don't be afraid, for our side outnumbers them." |
| 17Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!” The LORD opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. | 17Then Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he can see." The LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw that the hill was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. |
| 18As the Aramean army advanced toward him, Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please make them blind.” So the LORD struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked. | 18As they approached him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike these people with blindness." The LORD struck them with blindness as Elisha requested. |
| 19Then Elisha went out and told them, “You have come the wrong way! This isn’t the right city! Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to the city of Samaria. | 19Then Elisha said to them, "This is not the right road or city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you're looking for." He led them to Samaria. |
| 20As soon as they had entered Samaria, Elisha prayed, “O LORD, now open their eyes and let them see.” So the LORD opened their eyes, and they discovered that they were in the middle of Samaria. | 20When they had entered Samaria, Elisha said, "O LORD, open their eyes, so they can see." The LORD opened their eyes and they saw that they were in the middle of Samaria. |
| 21When the king of Israel saw them, he shouted to Elisha, “My father, should I kill them? Should I kill them?” | 21When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, "Should I strike them down, my master?" |
| 22“Of course not!” Elisha replied. “Do we kill prisoners of war? Give them food and drink and send them home again to their master.” | 22He replied, "Do not strike them down! You did not capture them with your sword or bow, so what gives you the right to strike them down? Give them some food and water, so they can eat and drink and then go back to their master." |
| 23So the king made a great feast for them and then sent them home to their master. After that, the Aramean raiders stayed away from the land of Israel. Ben-Hadad Besieges Samaria | 23So he threw a big banquet for them and they ate and drank. Then he sent them back to their master. After that no Syrian raiding parties again invaded the land of Israel. |
| 24Some time later, however, King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army and besieged Samaria. | 24Later King Ben Hadad of Syria assembled his entire army and attacked and besieged Samaria. |
| 25As a result, there was a great famine in the city. The siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a cup of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver. | 25Samaria's food supply ran out. They laid siege to it so long that a donkey's head was selling for eighty shekels of silver and a quarter of a kab of dove's droppings for five shekels of silver. |
| 26One day as the king of Israel was walking along the wall of the city, a woman called to him, “Please help me, my lord the king!” | 26While the king of Israel was passing by on the city wall, a woman shouted to him, "Help us, my master, O king!" |
| 27He answered, “If the LORD doesn’t help you, what can I do? I have neither food from the threshing floor nor wine from the press to give you.” | 27He replied, "No, let the LORD help you. How can I help you? The threshing floor and winepress are empty." |
| 28But then the king asked, “What is the matter?” She replied, “This woman said to me: ‘Come on, let’s eat your son today, then we will eat my son tomorrow.’ | 28Then the king asked her, "What's your problem?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Hand over your son; we'll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow.' |
| 29So we cooked my son and ate him. Then the next day I said to her, ‘Kill your son so we can eat him,’ but she has hidden her son.” | 29So we boiled my son and ate him. Then I said to her the next day, 'Hand over your son and we'll eat him.' But she hid her son!" |
| 30When the king heard this, he tore his clothes in despair. And as the king walked along the wall, the people could see that he was wearing burlap under his robe next to his skin. | 30When the king heard what the woman said, he tore his clothes. As he was passing by on the wall, the people could see he was wearing sackcloth under his clothes. |
| 31“May God strike me and even kill me if I don’t separate Elisha’s head from his shoulders this very day,” the king vowed. | 31Then he said, "May God judge me severely if Elisha son of Shaphat still has his head by the end of the day!" |
| 32Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders of Israel when the king sent a messenger to summon him. But before the messenger arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “A murderer has sent a man to cut off my head. When he arrives, shut the door and keep him out. We will soon hear his master’s steps following him.” | 32Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the community leaders. The king sent a messenger on ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the leaders, "Do you realize this assassin intends to cut off my head?" Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and lean against it. His master will certainly be right behind him." |
| 33While Elisha was still saying this, the messenger arrived. And the king said, “All this misery is from the LORD! Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?” | 33He was still talking to them when the messenger approached and said, "Look, the LORD is responsible for this disaster! Why should I continue to wait for the LORD to help?" |
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