2 Kings 6
Elisha Makes an Ax Head Float
6:1 Some of the prophets1 said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you2 is too cramped3 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 head4 dropped into the water. He shouted, “Oh no,5 my master! It was borrowed!” 6:6 The prophet6 asked, “Where did it drop in?” When he showed him the spot, Elisha7 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.
Elisha Defeats an Army
6:8 Now the king of Syria was at war with Israel. He consulted his advisers, who said, “Invade8 at such and such9 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 it10 to be on its guard. This happened on several occasions.11 6:11 This made the king of Syria upset.12 So he summoned his advisers13 and said to them, “One of us must be helping the king of Israel.”14 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 king15 ordered, “Go, find out where he is, so I can send some men to capture him.”16 The king was told, “He is in Dothan.” 6:14 So he sent horses and chariots there, along with a good-sized army.17 They arrived during the night and surrounded the city.
6:15 The prophet’s18 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,19 “Oh no, my master! What will we do?”
6:16 He replied, “Don’t be afraid, for our side outnumbers them.”20
6:17 Then Elisha prayed, “O
6:20 When they had entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O
The Lord Saves Samaria
6:24 Later King Ben Hadad of Syria assembled his entire army and attacked34 and besieged Samaria.35 6:25 Samaria’s food supply ran out.36 They laid siege to it so long that37 a donkey’s head was selling for eighty shekels of silver38 and a quarter of a kab39 of dove’s droppings40 for five shekels of silver.41
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