5:1 Now Naaman, the commander of the king of Syria’s army, was esteemed and respected by his master, 1 for through him the Lord had given Syria military victories. But this great warrior had a skin disease. 2 5:2 Raiding parties went out from Syria and took captive from the land of Israel a young girl, who became a servant to Naaman’s wife. 5:3 She told her mistress, “If only my master were in the presence of the prophet who is in Samaria! 3 Then he would cure him of his skin disease.”
5:4 Naaman 4 went and told his master what the girl from the land of Israel had said. 5:5 The king of Syria said, “Go! I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman 5 went, taking with him ten talents 6 of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, 7 and ten suits of clothes. 5:6 He brought the letter to king of Israel. It read: “This is a letter of introduction for my servant Naaman, 8 whom I have sent to be cured of his skin disease.” 5:7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill or restore life? Why does he ask me to cure a man of his skin disease? 9 Certainly you must see that he is looking for an excuse to fight me!” 10
5:8 When Elisha the prophet 11 heard that the king had torn his clothes, he sent this message to the king, “Why did you tear your clothes? Send him 12 to me so he may know there is a prophet in Israel.” 5:9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood in the doorway of Elisha’s house. 5:10 Elisha sent out a messenger who told him, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan; your skin will be restored 13 and you will be healed.” 5:11 Naaman went away angry. He said, “Look, I thought for sure he would come out, stand there, invoke the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the area, and cure the skin disease. 5:12 The rivers of Damascus, the Abana and Pharpar, are better than any of the waters of Israel! 14 Could I not wash in them and be healed?” So he turned around and went away angry. 5:13 His servants approached and said to him, “O master, 15 if the prophet had told you to do some difficult task, 16 you would have been willing to do it. 17 It seems you should be happy that he simply said, “Wash and you will be healed.” 18 5:14 So he went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times, as the prophet had instructed. 19 His skin became as smooth as a young child’s 20 and he was healed.
5:15 He and his entire entourage returned to the prophet. Naaman 21 came and stood before him. He said, “For sure 22 I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel! Now, please accept a gift from your servant.” 5:16 But Elisha 23 replied, “As certainly as the Lord lives (whom I serve), 24 I will take nothing from you.” Naaman 25 insisted that he take it, but he refused. 5:17 Naaman said, “If not, then please give your servant a load of dirt, enough for a pair of mules to carry, 26 for your servant will never again offer a burnt offering or sacrifice to a god other than the Lord. 27 5:18 May the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to worship, and he leans on my arm and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.” 28 5:19 Elisha 29 said to him, “Go in peace.”
When he had gone a short distance, 30 5:20 Gehazi, the prophet Elisha’s servant, thought, 31 “Look, my master did not accept what this Syrian Naaman offered him. 32 As certainly as the Lord lives, I will run after him and accept something from him.” 5:21 So Gehazi ran after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from his chariot to meet him and asked, “Is everything all right?” 33 5:22 He answered, “Everything is fine. 34 My master sent me with this message, ‘Look, two servants of the prophets just arrived from the Ephraimite hill country. 35 Please give them a talent 36 of silver and two suits of clothes.’” 5:23 Naaman said, “Please accept two talents of silver. 37 He insisted, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, along with two suits of clothes. He gave them to two of his servants and they carried them for Gehazi. 38 5:24 When he arrived at the hill, he took them from the servants 39 and put them in the house. Then he sent the men on their way. 40
5:25 When he came and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” He answered, “Your servant hasn’t been anywhere.” 5:26 Elisha 41 replied, “I was there in spirit when a man turned and got down from his chariot to meet you. 42 This is not the proper time to accept silver or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, cattle, and male and female servants. 43 5:27 Therefore Naaman’s skin disease will afflict 44 you and your descendants forever!” When Gehazi 45 went out from his presence, his skin was as white as snow. 46
6:1 Some of the prophets 47 said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you 48 is too cramped 49 for us. 6:2 Let’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.” 6:3 One of them said, “Please come along with your servants.” He replied, “All right, I’ll come.” 6:4 So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they started cutting down trees. 6:5 As one of them was felling a log, the ax head 50 dropped into the water. He shouted, “Oh no, 51 my master! It was borrowed!” 6:6 The prophet 52 asked, “Where did it drop in?” When he showed him the spot, Elisha 53 cut off a branch, threw it in at that spot, and made the ax head float. 6:7 He said, “Lift it out.” So he reached out his hand and grabbed it.
6:8 Now the king of Syria was at war with Israel. He consulted his advisers, who said, “Invade 54 at such and such 55 a place.” 6:9 But the prophet sent this message to the king of Israel, “Make sure you don’t pass through this place because Syria is invading there.” 6:10 So the king of Israel sent a message to the place the prophet had pointed out, warning it 56 to be on its guard. This happened on several occasions. 57 6:11 This made the king of Syria upset. 58 So he summoned his advisers 59 and said to them, “One of us must be helping the king of Israel.” 60 6:12 One 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.” 6:13 The king 61 ordered, “Go, find out where he is, so I can send some men to capture him.” 62 The king was told, “He is in Dothan.” 6:14 So he sent horses and chariots there, along with a good-sized army. 63 They arrived during the night and surrounded the city.
6:15 The prophet’s 64 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, 65 “Oh no, my master! What will we do?” 6:16 He replied, “Don’t be afraid, for our side outnumbers them.” 66 6:17 Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he can see.” The Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw that 67 the hill was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 6:18 As they approached him, 68 Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike these people 69 with blindness.” 70 The Lord 71 struck them with blindness as Elisha requested. 72 6:19 Then 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. 73
6:20 When 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. 74 6:21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Should I strike them down, 75 my master?” 76 6:22 He 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? 77 Give them some food and water, so they can eat and drink and then go back to their master.” 6:23 So he threw a big banquet 78 for them and they ate and drank. Then he sent them back 79 to their master. After that no Syrian raiding parties again invaded the land of Israel.
6:24 Later King Ben Hadad of Syria assembled his entire army and attacked 80 and besieged Samaria. 81 6:25 Samaria’s food supply ran out. 82 They laid siege to it so long that 83 a donkey’s head was selling for eighty shekels of silver 84 and a quarter of a kab 85 of dove’s droppings 86 for five shekels of silver. 87
6:26 While the king of Israel was passing by on the city wall, a woman shouted to him, “Help us, my master, O king!” 6:27 He replied, “No, let the Lord help you. How can I help you? The threshing floor and winepress are empty.” 88 6:28 Then 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.’ 6:29 So 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!” 6:30 When 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. 89 6:31 Then he said, “May God judge me severely 90 if Elisha son of Shaphat still has his head by the end of the day!” 91
6:32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the community leaders. 92 The king 93 sent a messenger on ahead, but before he arrived, 94 Elisha 95 said to the leaders, 96 “Do you realize this assassin intends to cut off my head?” 97 Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and lean against it. His master will certainly be right behind him.” 98 6:33 He was still talking to them when 99 the messenger approached 100 and said, “Look, the Lord is responsible for this disaster! 101 Why should I continue to wait for the Lord to help?” 7:1 Elisha replied, “Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says, ‘About this time tomorrow a seah 102 of finely milled flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.’” 7:2 An officer who was the king’s right-hand man 103 responded to the prophet, 104 “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” 105 Elisha 106 said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” 107
7:3 Now four men with a skin disease 108 were sitting at the entrance of the city gate. They said to one another, “Why are we just sitting here waiting to die? 109 7:4 If we go into the city, we’ll die of starvation, 110 and if we stay here we’ll die! So come on, let’s defect 111 to the Syrian camp! If they spare us, 112 we’ll live; if they kill us – well, we were going to die anyway.” 113 7:5 So they started toward 114 the Syrian camp at dusk. When they reached the edge of the Syrian camp, there was no one there. 7:6 The Lord had caused the Syrian camp to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a large army. Then they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has paid the kings of the Hittites and Egypt to attack us!” 7:7 So they got up and fled at dusk, leaving behind their tents, horses, and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives. 7:8 When the men with a skin disease reached the edge of the camp, they entered a tent and had a meal. 115 They also took some silver, gold, and clothes and went and hid it all. 116 Then they went back and entered another tent. They looted it 117 and went and hid what they had taken. 7:9 Then they said to one another, “It’s not right what we’re doing! This is a day to celebrate, but we haven’t told anyone. 118 If we wait until dawn, 119 we’ll be punished. 120 So come on, let’s go and inform the royal palace.” 7:10 So they went and called out to the gatekeepers 121 of the city. They told them, “We entered the Syrian camp and there was no one there. We didn’t even hear a man’s voice. 122 But the horses and donkeys are still tied up, and the tents remain up.” 123 7:11 The gatekeepers relayed the news to the royal palace. 124
7:12 The king got up in the night and said to his advisers, 125 “I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know we are starving, so they left the camp and hid in the field, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and enter the city.’” 7:13 One of his advisers replied, “Pick some men and have them take five of the horses that are left in the city. (Even if they are killed, their fate will be no different than that of all the Israelite people – we’re all going to die!) 126 Let’s send them out so we can know for sure what’s going on.” 127 7:14 So they picked two horsemen and the king sent them out to track the Syrian army. 128 He ordered them, “Go and find out what’s going on.” 129 7:15 So they tracked them 130 as far as the Jordan. The road was filled with clothes and equipment that the Syrians had discarded in their haste. 131 The scouts 132 went back and told the king. 7:16 Then the people went out and looted the Syrian camp. A seah 133 of finely milled flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, just as the Lord had said they would. 134
7:17 Now the king had placed the officer who was his right-hand man 135 at the city gate. When the people rushed out, they trampled him to death in the gate. 136 This fulfilled the prophet’s word which he had spoken when the king tried to arrest him. 137 7:18 The prophet told the king, “Two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel, and a seah of finely milled flour for a shekel; this will happen about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria.” 7:19 But the officer replied to the prophet, “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” 138 Elisha 139 said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” 140 7:20 This is exactly what happened to him. The people trampled him to death in the city gate.
8:1 Now Elisha advised the woman whose son he had brought back to life, “You and your family should go and live somewhere else for a while, 141 for the Lord has decreed that a famine will overtake the land for seven years.” 8:2 So the woman did as the prophet said. 142 She and her family went and lived in the land of the Philistines for seven years. 8:3 After seven years the woman returned from the land of the Philistines and went to ask the king to give her back her house and field. 143 8:4 Now the king was talking to Gehazi, the prophet’s 144 servant, and said, “Tell me all the great things which Elisha has done.” 8:5 While Gehazi 145 was telling the king how Elisha 146 had brought the dead back to life, the woman whose son he had brought back to life came to ask the king for her house and field. 147 Gehazi said, “My master, O king, this is the very woman and this is her son whom Elisha brought back to life!” 8:6 The king asked the woman about it, and she gave him the details. 148 The king assigned a eunuch to take care of her request and ordered him, 149 “Give her back everything she owns, as well as the amount of crops her field produced from the day she left the land until now.”
8:7 Elisha traveled to Damascus while King Ben Hadad of Syria was sick. The king 150 was told, “The prophet 151 has come here.” 8:8 So the king told Hazael, “Take a gift 152 and go visit the prophet. Request from him an oracle from the Lord. Ask him, 153 ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” 8:9 So Hazael went to visit Elisha. 154 He took along a gift, 155 as well as 156 forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, “Your son, 157 King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question, 158 ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” 8:10 Elisha said to him, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover,’ 159 but the Lord has revealed to me that he will surely die.” 8:11 Elisha 160 just stared at him until Hazael became uncomfortable. 161 Then the prophet started crying. 8:12 Hazael asked, “Why are you crying, my master?” He replied, “Because I know the trouble you will cause the Israelites. You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to bits, and rip open their pregnant women.” 8:13 Hazael said, “How could your servant, who is as insignificant as a dog, accomplish this great military victory?” 162 Elisha answered, “The Lord has revealed to me that you will be the king of Syria.” 163 8:14 He left Elisha and went to his master. Ben Hadad 164 asked him, “What did Elisha tell you?” Hazael 165 replied, “He told me you would surely recover.” 8:15 The next day Hazael 166 took a piece of cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over Ben Hadad’s 167 face until he died. Then Hazael replaced him as king.
1 tn Heb “was a great man before his master and lifted up with respect to the face.”
2 tn For a discussion of מְצֹרָע (mÿtsora’), traditionally translated “leprous,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 63. Naaman probably had a skin disorder of some type, not leprosy/Hansen’s disease.
3 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 750 pounds of silver (cf. NCV, NLT, CEV).
7 tn Heb “six thousand gold […].” The unit of measure is not given in the Hebrew text. A number of English versions supply “pieces” (e.g., KJV, ASV, NAB, TEV) or “shekels” (e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV).
8 tn Heb “and now when this letter comes to you, look, I have sent to you Naaman my servant.”
9 tn Heb “Am I God, killing and restoring life, that this one sends to me to cure a man from his skin disease?” In the Hebrew text this is one lengthy rhetorical question, which has been divided up in the translation for stylistic reasons.
10 tn Heb “Indeed, know and see that he is seeking an occasion with respect to me.”
11 tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 15, 20).
12 tn Heb “Let him come.”
13 tn Heb “will return to you.”
14 tn Heb “Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all of the waters of Israel?” The rhetorical question expects an emphatic “yes” as an answer.
15 tn Heb “my father,” reflecting the perspective of each individual servant. To address their master as “father” would emphasize his authority and express their respect. See BDB 3 s.v. אָב and the similar idiomatic use of “father” in 2 Kgs 2:12.
16 tn Heb “a great thing.”
17 tn Heb “would you not do [it]?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you would.”
18 tn Heb “How much more [when] he said, “Wash and be healed.” The second imperative (“be healed”) states the expected result of obeying the first (‘wash”).
19 tn Heb “according to the word of the man of God.”
20 tn Heb “and his skin was restored, like the skin of a small child.”
21 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
22 tn Heb “look.”
23 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24 tn Heb “before whom I stand.”
25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 tn Heb “and [if] not, may there be given to your servant a load [for] a pair of mules, earth.”
27 tn Heb “for your servant will not again make a burnt offering and sacrifice to other gods, only to the
28 tn Heb “When my master enters the house of Rimmon to bow down there, and he leans on my hand and I bow down [in] the house of Rimmon, when I bow down [in] the house of Rimmon, may the
sn Rimmon was the Syrian storm god. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 65.
29 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
30 tn Heb “and he went from him a distance of land.” The precise meaning of כִּבְרַה (kivrah) “distance,” is uncertain. See BDB 460 s.v. כִּבְרַה, and HALOT 459-60 s.v. II *כְּבָרַה, and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 65.
31 tn Heb “said” (i.e., to himself).
32 tn Heb “Look, my master spared this Syrian Naaman by not taking from his hand what he brought.”
33 tn Heb “Is there peace?”
34 tn Heb “peace.”
35 tn Heb “Look now, here, two servants came to me from the Ephraimite hill country, from the sons of the prophets.”
36 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75 pounds of silver (cf. NCV, NLT, CEV).
37 tn Heb “Be resolved and accept two talents.”
38 tn Heb “before him.”
39 tn Heb “from their hand.”
40 tn Heb “and he sent the men away and they went.”
41 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42 tn Heb “Did not my heart go as a man turned from his chariot to meet you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes that he was indeed present in “heart” (or “spirit”) and was very much aware of what Gehazi had done. In the MT the interrogative particle has been accidentally omitted before the negative particle.
43 tn In the MT the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Is this the time…?” It expects an emphatic negative response.
44 tn Heb “cling to.”
45 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gehazi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
46 tn Traditionally, “he went from before him, leprous like snow.” But see the note at 5:1, as well as M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 66.
47 tn Heb “the sons of the prophets.”
48 tn Heb “sit before you.”
49 tn Heb “narrow, tight.”
50 tn Heb “iron.”
51 tn Or “ah.”
52 tn Heb “man of God” (also in v. 9).
53 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
54 tc The verb form used here is difficult to analyze. On the basis of the form נְחִתִּים (nÿkhitim) in v. 9 from the root נָחַת (nakhat), it is probably best to emend the verb to תִּנְחְתוּ (tinkhÿtu; a Qal imperfect form from the same root). The verb נָחַת in at least two other instances carries the nuance “go down, descend” in a military context. For a defense of this view, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 72.
55 sn The advisers would have mentioned a specific location, but the details are not significant to the narrator’s purpose, so he simply paraphrases here.
56 tn The vav + perfect here indicates action contemporary with the preceding main verb (“sent”). See IBHS 533-34 §32.2.3e.
57 tn Heb “and the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God spoke to him, and he warned it and he guarded himself there, not once and not twice.”
58 tn Heb “and the heart of the king of Syria was stirred up over this thing.”
59 tn Heb “servants.”
60 tn Heb “Will you not tell me who among us [is] for the king of Israel?” The sarcastic rhetorical question expresses the king’s suspicion.
61 tn Heb “he” (also a second time in this verse); the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
62 tn Heb “Go and see where he [is] so I can send and take him.”
63 tn Heb “heavy force.”
64 tn Heb “man of God’s.”
65 tn Heb “his young servant said to him.”
66 tn Heb “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
67 tn Heb “and he saw, and look.”
68 tn Heb “and they came down to him.”
69 tn Or “this nation,” perhaps emphasizing the strength of the Syrian army.
70 tn On the basis of the Akkadian etymology of the word, M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 74) translate “blinding light.” HALOT 761 s.v. סַנְוֵרִים suggests the glosses “dazzling, deception.”
71 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
72 tn Heb “according to the word of Elisha.”
73 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
74 tn Heb “and they saw, and look, [they were] in the middle of Samaria.”
75 tn Heb “Should I strike them down? I will strike them down.” In the Hebrew text the first person imperfect form is repeated; the first form has the interrogative he prefixed to it; the second does not. It is likely that the second form should be omitted as dittographic or that the first should be emended to an infinitive absolute.
76 tn Heb “my father.” The king addresses the prophet in this way to indicate his respect. See 2 Kgs 2:12.
77 tn Heb “Are [they] ones you captured with your sword or your bow (that) you can strike (them) down?”
78 tn Or “held a great feast.”
79 tn Heb “they went back.”
80 tn Heb “went up.”
81 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
82 tn Heb “and there was a great famine in Samaria.”
83 tn Heb “and look, [they] were besieging it until.”
84 tn Heb “eighty, silver.” The unit of measurement is omitted.
85 sn A kab was a unit of dry measure, equivalent to approximately one quart.
86 tn The consonantal text (Kethib) reads, “dove dung” (חֲרֵייוֹנִים, khareyonim), while the marginal reading (Qere) has “discharge” (דִּבְיוֹנִים, divyonim). Based on evidence from Akkadian, M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 79) suggest that “dove’s dung” was a popular name for the inedible husks of seeds.
87 tn Heb “five, silver.” The unit of measurement is omitted.
88 tn Heb “From where can I help you, from the threshing floor or the winepress?” The rhetorical question expresses the king’s frustration. He has no grain or wine to give to the masses.
89 tn Heb “the people saw, and look, [there was] sackcloth against his skin underneath.”
90 tn Heb “So may God do to me, and so may he add.”
91 tn Heb “if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat stays on him today.”
92 tn Heb “and the elders were sitting with him.”
93 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
94 tn Heb “sent a man from before him, before the messenger came to him.”
95 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
96 tn Heb “elders.”
97 tn Heb “Do you see that this son of an assassin has sent to remove my head?”
98 tn Heb “Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”
99 tn The Hebrew text also has “look” here.
100 tn Heb “came down to him.”
101 tn Heb “Look, this is a disaster from the
102 sn A seah was a dry measure equivalent to about 7 quarts.
103 tn Heb “the officer on whose hand the king leans.”
104 tn Heb “man of God.”
105 tn Heb “the
106 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
107 tn Heb “you will not eat from there.”
108 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 5:1.
109 tn Heb “until we die.”
110 tn Heb “If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city and we will die there.”
111 tn Heb “fall.”
112 tn Heb “keep us alive.”
113 tn Heb “we will die.” The paraphrastic translation attempts to bring out the logical force of their reasoning.
114 tn Heb “they arose to go to.”
115 tn Heb “they ate and drank.”
116 tn Heb “and they hid [it].”
117 tn Heb “and they took from there.”
118 tn Heb “this day is a day of good news and we are keeping silent.”
119 tn Heb “the light of the morning.”
120 tn Heb “punishment will find us.”
121 tn The MT has a singular form (“gatekeeper”), but the context suggests a plural. The pronoun that follows (“them”) is plural and a plural noun appears in v. 11. The Syriac Peshitta and the Targum have the plural here.
122 tn Heb “and, look, there was no man or voice of a man there.”
123 tn Heb “but the horses are tied up and the donkeys are tied up and the tents are as they were.”
124 tn Heb “and the gatekeepers called out and they told [it] to the house of the king.”
125 tn Heb “servants” (also in v. 13).
126 tn Heb “Let them take five of the remaining horses that remain in it. Look, they are like all the people of Israel that remain in it. Look, they are like all the people of Israel that have come to an end.” The MT is dittographic here; the words “that remain in it. Look they are like all the people of Israel” have been accidentally repeated. The original text read, “Let them take five of the remaining horses that remain in it. Look, they are like all the people of Israel that have come to an end.”
127 tn Heb “and let us send so we might see.”
128 tn Heb “and the king sent [them] after the Syrian camp.”
129 tn Heb “Go and see.”
130 tn Heb “went after.”
131 tn Heb “and look, all the road was full of clothes and equipment that Syria had thrown away in their haste.”
132 tn Or “messengers.”
133 sn A seah was a dry measure equivalent to about 7 quarts.
134 tn Heb “according to the word of the
135 tn Heb “the officer on whose hand he leans.”
136 tn Heb “and the people trampled him in the gate and he died.”
137 tn Heb “just as the man of God had spoken, [the word] which he spoke when the king came down to him.”
138 tn Heb “the
139 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
140 tn Heb “you will not eat from there.”
tn In the Hebrew text vv. 18-19a are one lengthy sentence, “When the man of God spoke to the king…, the officer replied to the man of God, ‘Look…so soon?’” The translation divides this sentence up for stylistic reasons.
141 tn Heb “Get up and go, you and your house, and live temporarily where you can live temporarily.”
142 tn Heb “and the woman got up and did according to the word of the man of God.”
143 tn Heb “and went out to cry out to the king for her house and her field.”
144 tn Heb “man of God’s.”
145 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gehazi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
146 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
147 tn Heb “and look, the woman whose son he had brought back to life was crying out to the king for her house and her field.”
sn The legal background of the situation is uncertain. For a discussion of possibilities, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 87-88.
148 tn Heb “and the king asked the woman and she told him.”
149 tn Heb “and he assigned to her an official, saying.”
150 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
151 tn Heb “man of God” (also a second time in this verse and in v. 11).
152 tn The Hebrew text also has “in your hand.”
153 tn Heb “Inquire of the
154 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
155 tn The Hebrew text also has “in his hand.”
156 tn Heb “and.” It is possible that the conjunction is here explanatory, equivalent to English “that is.” In this case the forty camel loads constitute the “gift” and one should translate, “He took along a gift, consisting of forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus.”
157 sn The words “your son” emphasize the king’s respect for the prophet.
158 tn Heb “saying.”
159 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) reads, “Go, say, ‘Surely you will not (לֹא, lo’) recover” In this case the vav beginning the next clause should be translated, “for, because.” The marginal reading (Qere) has, “Go, say to him (לוֹ, lo), ‘You will surely recover.” In this case the vav (ו) beginning the next clause should be translated, “although, but.” The Qere has the support of some medieval Hebrew
160 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
161 tn Heb “and he made his face stand [i.e., be motionless] and set [his face?] until embarrassment.”
162 tn Heb “Indeed, what is your servant, a dog, that he could do this great thing?” With his reference to a dog, Hazael is not denying that he is a “dog” and protesting that he would never commit such a dastardly “dog-like” deed. Rather, as Elisha’s response indicates, Hazael is suggesting that he, like a dog, is too insignificant to ever be in a position to lead such conquests.
163 tn Heb “The
164 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ben Hadad) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
165 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Hazael) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
166 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Hazael) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
167 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Ben Hadad) has been specified in the translation for clarity.