1And Elisha said , Hear ye the word of Jehovah : thus saith Jehovah , To-morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel , and two measures of barley for a shekel , in the gate of Samaria . 2Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God , and said , Behold , if Jehovah should make windows in heaven , might this thing be ? And he said , Behold , thou shalt see it with thine eyes , but shalt not eat thereof .
Elisha's Prophecy of Deliverance
3Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate : and they said one to another , Why sit we here until we die ? 4If we say, We will enter into the city , then the famine is in the city , and we shall die there ; and if we sit still here , we die also . Now therefore come , and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive , we shall live ; and if they kill us , we shall but die . 5And they rose up in the twilight , to go unto the camp of the Syrians; and when they were come to the outermost part of the camp of the Syrians, behold , there was no man there . 6For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots , and a noise of horses , even the noise of a great host : and they said one to another, Lo , the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites , and the kings of the Egyptians , to come upon us . 7Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight , and left their tents , and their horses , and their asses , even the camp as it was , and fled for their life .
The Skepticism of the Royal Officer
8And when these lepers came to the outermost part of the camp , they went into one tent, and did eat and drink , and carried thence silver , and gold , and raiment, and went and hid it ; and they came back , and entered into another tent, and carried thence also , and went and hid it . 9Then they said one to another , We do not well ; this day is a day of good tidings , and we hold our peace : if we tarry till the morning light, punishment will overtake us ; now therefore come , let us go and tell the king ’s household . 10So they came and called unto the porter of the city ; and they told them , saying , We came to the camp of the Syrians, and , behold , there was no man there , neither voice of man, but the horses tied, and the asses tied, and the tents as they were . 11And he called the porters ; and they told it to the king ’s household within . 12And the king arose in the night , and said unto his servants , I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us . They know that we are hungry ; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field , saying, When they come out of the city , we shall take them alive , and get into the city . 13And one of his servants answered and said , Let some take , I pray thee , five of the horses that remain , which are left in the city ( behold , they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it ; behold , they are as all the multitude of Israel that are consumed ); and let us send and see . 14They took therefore two chariots with horses ; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see . 15And they went after them unto the Jordan : and , lo , all the way was full of garments and vessels , which the Syrians had cast away in their haste . And the messengers returned , and told the king . 16And the people went out , and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel , and two measures of barley for a shekel , according to the word of Jehovah . 17And the king appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate : and the people trod upon him in the gate , and he died as the man of God had said , who spake when the king came down to him . 18And it came to pass , as the man of God had spoken to the king , saying , Two measures of barley for a shekel , and a measure of fine flour for a shekel , shall be to-morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria ; 19and that captain answered the man of God , and said , Now , behold , if Jehovah should make windows in heaven , might such a thing be ? and he said , Behold , thou shalt see it with thine eyes , but shalt not eat thereof : 20it came to pass even so unto him ; for the people trod upon him in the gate , and he died .