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2 Kings 6 :: Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

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The Floating Ax Head
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:1 -

The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Please notice that the place where we live under your supervision[fn] is too small for us.

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:2 -

“Please let us go to the Jordan where we can each get a log and can build ourselves a place to live there.”

“Go,” he said.

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:3 -

Then one said, “Please come with your servants.”

“I’ll come,” he answered.

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:4 -

So he went with them, and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees.

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:5 -

As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water, and he cried out, “Oh, my master, it was borrowed! ”

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:6 -

Then the man of God asked, “Where did it fall? ”

When he showed him the place, the man of God cut a piece of wood, threw it there, and made the iron float.

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:7 -

Then he said, “Pick it up.” So he reached out and took it.

The Aramean War
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:8 -

When the king of Aram was waging war against Israel, he conferred with his servants, “My camp will be at such and such a place.”

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:9 -

But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Be careful passing by this place, for the Arameans are going down there.”

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:10 -

Consequently, the king of Israel sent word to the place the man of God had told him about. The man of God repeatedly[fn] warned the king, so the king would be on his guard.

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:11 -

The king of Aram was enraged because of this matter, and he called his servants and demanded of them, “Tell me, which one of us is for the king of Israel? ”

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:12 -

One of his servants said, “No one, my lord the king. Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in your bedroom.”

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:13 -

So the king said, “Go and see where he is, so I can send men to capture him.”

When he was told, “Elisha is in Dothan,”

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:14 -

he sent horses, chariots, and a massive army there. They went by night and surrounded the city.

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:15 -

When the servant of the man of God got up early and went out, he discovered an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. So he asked Elisha, “Oh, my master, what are we to do? ”

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:16 -

Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them.”

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:17 -

Then Elisha prayed, “LORD, please open his eyes and let him see.” So the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:18 -

When the Arameans came against him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, “Please strike this nation with blindness.”[fn] So he struck them with blindness, according to Elisha’s word.

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:19 -

Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will take you to the man you’re looking for.” And he led them to Samaria.

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:20 -

When they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “LORD, open these men’s eyes and let them see.” So the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw that they were in the middle of Samaria.

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:21 -

When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “Should I kill them, should I kill them, my father? ”

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:22 -

Elisha replied, “Don’t kill them. Do you kill those you have captured with your sword or your bow? Set food and water in front of them so they can eat and drink and go to their master.”

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:23 -

So he prepared a big feast for them. When they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. The Aramean raiders did not come into Israel’s land again.

The Siege of Samaria
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:24 -

Some time later, King Ben-hadad of Aram brought all his military units together and marched up and laid siege to Samaria.

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:25 -

So there was a severe famine in Samaria, and they continued the siege against it until a donkey’s head sold for thirty-four ounces[fn] of silver, and a cup[fn] of dove’s dung[fn] sold for two ounces[fn] of silver.

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:26 -

As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, “My lord the king, help! ”

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:27 -

He answered, “If the LORD doesn’t help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor or the winepress? ”

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:28 -

Then the king asked her, “What’s the matter? ”

She said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, and we will eat him today. Then we will eat my son tomorrow.’

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:29 -

“So we boiled my son and ate him, and I said to her the next day, ‘Give up your son, and we will eat him,’ but she has hidden her son.”

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:30 -

When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes. Then, as he was passing by on the wall, the people saw that there was sackcloth under his clothes next to his skin.

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:31 -

He announced, “May God punish me and do so severely if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today.”

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:32 -

Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a man ahead of him, but before the messenger got to him, Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent someone to remove my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door to keep him out. Isn’t the sound of his master’s feet behind him? ”

Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 6:33 -

While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger[fn] came down to him. Then he said, “This disaster is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer? ”

CSB Footnotes
Lit we are living before you
Lit not once and not twice
Or a blinding light
Lit for 80 ; “shekels” is assumed
Lit a fourth of a kab
Or seedpods, or wild onions
Lit for five ; “shekels” is assumed
Some emend to king
CSB

Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017, 2020 by Holman Bible Publishers.

Additional information is provided here.

For more information on this translation, see the CSB Preface.

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