1 And Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD {YHWH, Divine Spokesman}: Thus says the LORD {YHWH, Promise Declarer}: About this time tomorrow, a seah of fine flour will be sold for a sheqel {sheqel: ancient silver coin}, and two seahs of barley for a sheqel at the gate of Samaria {Shomron: capital city of the northern kingdom}.”
2 And the officer who was leaning on the king’s hand answered the man of God and said, “Behold, even if the LORD {YHWH, Miracle Worker} opened windows in the heavens, could this happen?” Then Elisha said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes but from there you will not eat {tokhel: partake}.”
3 Now there were four men who were lepers {metsoraim: afflicted requiring isolation} at the entrance {petach: principal city entry} of the gate, and they said, each man to his neighbor, “Why are we sitting here until we die?”
4 If we say, “We will go into the city,” and the famine is in the city and we die there; and if we sit here, then we die; and now, come, let us go over to the camp {machaneh: military encampment} of Aram {’Aram: ancient Syrian kingdom}; if they let us live, we shall live; but if they kill us, we shall die.
5 And they rose at twilight {baneshef: transitional evening period} to go to the camp of Aram, and they came to the edge {ketzeh: boundary zone} of the camp of Aram, and behold, there was no man there.
6 And the Lord {Adonai, Sovereign Actor} caused the camp of Aram to hear the sound of chariots, the sound of horses, the sound of a great army {chayil: military force}. And each man said to his brother, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us.”
7 And they arose and fled at twilight {baneshef: early evening}, abandoning their tents, horses, and donkeys—the camp as it was—and they fled for their lives {nafesh: whole self}.
8 And these lepers {metzora’im: ritually unclean outcasts} came to the edge of the camp {machaneh: military encampment}, and entered a tent, and ate and drank, and carried off silver, gold, and garments, and went and hid them; then they returned, entered another tent, and carried off items, and hid them as well.
9 And each man said to his companion, “We are not doing what is right. This day is a day of good news {besorah: victory announcement}, and we are keeping silent. If we wait until morning light, guilt {avon: moral fault} will overtake us. Now therefore, let us go and let us tell the house of the king.”
10 And they came and called to the city gatekeepers {sho’er: gate sentries}, and they reported to them, saying, “We came to the camp of Aram, and behold, there was no one there, nor any sound of a person; only the horses bound and the donkeys bound, and the tents {ohalim: temporary shelters} just as they were.”
11 The gatekeepers called out, and they reported {higid: delivered information} it inside {penimah: inner palace} the king’s house.
12 And the king arose at night and said to his servants, “Let me now explain what the Arameans {Aram: Syrian forces} have done to us. They know that we are hungry {re‘evim: deprived of food}, so they have gone out of the camp to hide in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we will seize them alive and then enter the city ourselves.’”
13 One of his servants {avadim: subordinate household members} answered and said, “Please let them take five of the horses remaining in the city—they are like the rest of the multitude of Israel who have remained here; they are like the rest of the multitude of Israel who have perished {tammu: completely consumed}. Let us send them and see.”
14 And they took two chariot teams {rechev susim: military units}, and the king sent them after the camp of Aram {Aram: ancient Syrian kingdom}, saying “Go and see.”
15 And they went after them as far as the Jordan, and behold, the entire road was full of garments {begadim: outer garments} and vessels {kelim: abandoned gear} that the Arameans had thrown away in their haste. Then the messengers returned and reported to the king.
16 And the people went out and plundered the camp of Aram, and it came to pass that a seah {seah: dry measure} of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley were sold for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD {YHWH, Word Fulfiller}.
17 And the king appointed the officer {shalish: high-ranking official} who leaned on his arm in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him at the gate, and he died, just as the man of God {Elohim, the God of Israel} had spoken when the king came down to him.
18 And it happened just as the man of God {Elohim, God of Israel} had spoken to the king, saying, “Two seahs of barley for a shekel and a seah of fine flour for a shekel; it will be about this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria {shomron: fortified capital}.”
19 And the officer answered the man of God {Elohim, God of Israel} and said, “Behold, even if the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Worker} should open windows in the heavens, could such a thing happen?” And he said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but from there you will not eat.”
20 And so {ken: thus fulfilled} it was for him; the people trampled {rames: crushed underfoot} him in the gate, and he died.