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Then Elishah said, Hear ye the Devar Hashem; Thus saith Hashem, Machar (tomorrow) about this time shall a se’ah of solet (fine flour) be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of se’orim for a shekel, at the Sha’ar Shomron.

Then an officer on whose arm HaMelech leaned answered the Ish HaElohim, and said, Hinei, even if Hashem would make windows in Shomayim, could this thing happen? And he said, Thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

And there were arba’ah anashim that were metzora’im at the petach haSha’ar (city gate); and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?

If we say, We will enter into the Ir, then the ra’av (famine) is in the Ir, and we shall die there; and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us throw ourselves unto the Machaneh Aram (Syrian Camp); if they spare us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall die.

And they rose up at neshef (twilight, dusk) to go unto the Machaneh Aram; and when they were come to the edge of the Machaneh Aram, hinei, there was no ish there.

For Adonoi had made the Machaneh Aram to hear a noise of chariots and a noise of susim, even the noise of a chayil gadol (a great army); and they said one to another, Hinei, the Melech Yisroel hath hired against us the Melachim of the Chittim, and the Melachim of the Mitzrayim, to come upon us.

Therefore they arose and fled in the neshef (twilight), and left their ohalim, and their susim, and their chamorim, even the Machaneh just as it was, and fled for their nefesh.

And when these metzora’im came to the edge of the Machaneh, they went into one ohel, and did eat and drink, and carried from there kesef, and zahav, and begadim, and went off and hid it; and came back, and entered into another ohel, and carried from there also, and went and hid it.

Then they said one to another, We do not right; this day is a Yom Besorah, and we hold our peace; if we tarry till ohr haboker, some avon (punishment for being sinful) will overtake us; now therefore come, that we may go and tell the Bais HaMelech.

10 So they came and called unto the Sho’er HaIr (Gatekeeper of the City); and they told them, saying, We came to the Machaneh Aram, and, hinei, there was no ish there, neither voice of adam, but susim tied, and chamor tied, and the ohalim just as they were.

11 And he called the sho’arim (gatekeepers); and they told it to the Bais HaMelech within.

12 And HaMelech arose in the lailah, and said unto his avadim, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are starved by famine; therefore are they gone out of the Machaneh to hide themselves in the sadeh, saying, When they come out of the Ir, we shall catch them chayyim (alive), and get into the Ir.

13 And one of his avadim answered and said, Let some of the men take, now, five of the remaining susim left; behold, they will be like kol hamon Yisroel (the whole multitude of Yisroel) that still survives; they are like the kol hamon Yisroel that has perished already. Let us send and find out.

14 They took therefore two chariots of susim; and HaMelech sent after the Machaneh Aram, saying, Go and find out.

15 And they went after them as far as Yarden; and, hinei, all the derech was full of begadim and kelim, which the Syrians had cast off in their haste. And the malachim returned, and told the Melech.

16 And the people went out, and plundered the Machaneh Aram. So a se’ah of solet (fine flour) was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of se’orim for a shekel, according to the Devar Hashem.

17 And HaMelech appointed the officer on whose arm he leaned to have the charge of the Sha’ar; and the people trampled upon him in the Sha’ar, and he died, just as the Ish HaElohim had said, who spoke when HaMelech came down to him.

18 And it came to pass as the Ish HaElohim had spoken to HaMelech, saying, Two seahs of se’orim for a shekel, and a seah of solet for a shekel, shall be about this time machar (tomorrow) in the Sha’ar Shomron;

19 And that officer answered the Ish HaElohim, and said, Now, hinei, even if Hashem would make windows in Shomayim, could such a thing happen? And he said, Thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

20 And so it happened unto him; for the people trampled upon him in the Sha’ar, and he died. T.N. The Scriptures say “Woe to me if I preach not the Besuras HaGeulah” as it says here in the Yom Besorah (7:9) for this is our day and we are the unclean saved by grace.

Elisha replied, “Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah[a] of the finest flour will sell for a shekel[b] and two seahs[c] of barley for a shekel(A) at the gate of Samaria.”

The officer on whose arm the king was leaning(B) said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates(C) of the heavens, could this happen?”

“You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha, “but you will not eat(D) any of it!”

The Siege Lifted

Now there were four men with leprosy[d](E) at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die? If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.”

At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there, for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound(F) of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired(G) the Hittite(H) and Egyptian kings to attack us!” So they got up and fled(I) in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.

The men who had leprosy(J) reached the edge of the camp, entered one of the tents and ate and drank. Then they took silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.

Then they said to each other, “What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.”

10 So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, “We went into the Aramean camp and no one was there—not a sound of anyone—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were.” 11 The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.

12 The king got up in the night and said to his officers, “I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving; so they have left the camp to hide(K) in the countryside, thinking, ‘They will surely come out, and then we will take them alive and get into the city.’”

13 One of his officers answered, “Have some men take five of the horses that are left in the city. Their plight will be like that of all the Israelites left here—yes, they will only be like all these Israelites who are doomed. So let us send them to find out what happened.”

14 So they selected two chariots with their horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, “Go and find out what has happened.” 15 They followed them as far as the Jordan, and they found the whole road strewn with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight.(L) So the messengers returned and reported to the king. 16 Then the people went out and plundered(M) the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of the finest flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel,(N) as the Lord had said.

17 Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died,(O) just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house. 18 It happened as the man of God had said to the king: “About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.”

19 The officer had said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates(P) of the heavens, could this happen?” The man of God had replied, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!” 20 And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 7:1 That is, probably about 12 pounds or about 5.5 kilograms of flour; also in verses 16 and 18
  2. 2 Kings 7:1 That is, about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams; also in verses 16 and 18
  3. 2 Kings 7:1 That is, probably about 20 pounds or about 9 kilograms of barley; also in verses 16 and 18
  4. 2 Kings 7:3 The Hebrew for leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin; also in verse 8.