(KJV) 2 Kings 71

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⥃Elisha’s Prophecy of Plenty

[1] Then Elisha said2, Hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord, To morrow3 about this time [shall] a measure of fine flour4 [be sold] for a shekel, and two measures of barley5 for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria6. [2] Then a lord7 on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, [if] the Lord8 would make windows9 in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see [it10] with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

⥃The Syrians Flee

[3] And there were four leprous11 men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why12 sit we here until we die? [4] If we say, We will enter13 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 fall14 unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us15 alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die16. [5] And they rose up in the twilight17, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold18, [there was] no man there. [6] For the Lord19 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 Hittites20, and the kings of the Egyptians21, to come upon us. [7] Wherefore they arose22 and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses23, and their asses, even the camp as it [was], and fled for their life24. [8] And when these lepers came to the uttermost 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 [it25]; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence [also], and went and hid [it]. [9] Then they said one26 to another, We do not well: this day27 [is] a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us28: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household. [10] So they came and called unto the porter29 of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, [there was] no man there30, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they [were]. [11] And he called the porters; and they told [it] to the king’s house within.

[12] And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we [be] 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 catch them alive, and get into the city. [13] And one31 of his servants answered and said, Let [some] take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city32, (behold, they [are] as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, [I say], they [are] even33 as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see. [14] They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see. [15] And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way [was] full of garments and vessels34, which the Syrians had cast away35 in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.

⥃Elisha’s Prophecy Fulfilled

[16] And the people went out, and spoiled the tents36 of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was [sold] for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to37 the word of the Lord.

[17] [¶]And the king appointed the lord38 on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him39 in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him. [18] And it came to pass as the man40 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: [19] And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, [if] the Lord 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. [20] And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died. 41

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  1. 2Kgs 7:1, Elisha prophesies incredible plenty in Samaria; 2Kgs 7:3, Four lepers, venturing on the host of the Syrians, bring tidings of their flight; 2Kgs 7:12, The king, finding by spies the news to be true, spoils the tents of the Syrians; 2Kgs 7:17, The lord who would not believe the prophecy of plenty, having the charge of the gate, is trodden to death in the press. ↩

  2. See note on 2Kgs 6:33, and see note on 2Kgs 20:16. 1Kgs 22:19; Isa 1:10; Ezek 37:4 ↩

  3. 2Kgs 7:18-19; Exod 8:23, Exod 9:5-6, Exod 14:13, Exod 16:12; Josh 3:5; 1Sam 11:9; Ps 46:5 ↩

  4. A seah of flour. The seah was about two gallons and a half; the shekel 2s. 4d. at the lowest computation. A wide difference between this and the price of the ass's head. 2Kgs 6:25; Rev 6:6 ↩

  5. 2Kgs 4:42; John 6:9 ↩

  6. From this it appears that the gates were not only used as courts of judicature, but as market-places. So Mr. Morier observes: "In our rides we usually went out of the town at the Derwazeh Shah Abdul Azeem, or the gate leading to the village of Shah Abdul Azeem, where a market was held every morning, particularly of horses, mules, asses, and camels. At about sun-rise, the owners of the animals assemble and exhibit them for sale. But besides, here were sellers of all sorts of goods, in temporary shops and tents, and this, perhaps, will explain the custom alluded to in 2Kgs 7:18." ↩

  7. etc. or, a lord which belonged to the king, leaning on his hand, 2Kgs 5:18 ↩

  8. Gen 18:12-14; Num 11:21-23; Ps 78:19-21, Ps 78:41 ↩

  9. Gen 7:11; Mal 3:10 ↩

  10. 2Kgs 7:17-20; Deut 3:27; 2Chr 20:20; Isa 7:9; Rom 3:3; 2Tim 2:13; Heb 3:17-19 ↩

  11. 2Kgs 5:1, 2Kgs 8:4; Lev 13:46; Num 5:2-4, Num 12:14 ↩

  12. 2Kgs 7:4; Jer 8:14, Jer 27:13 ↩

  13. Jer 14:18 ↩

  14. 1Chr 12:19; Jer 37:13-14 ↩

  15. Esth 4:16; Jer 8:14; Jonah 3:9; Luke 15:17-19 ↩

  16. 2Sam 14:14; Heb 9:27 ↩

  17. 1Sam 30:17; Ezek 12:6-7, Ezek 12:12 ↩

  18. Lev 27:8, Lev 27:26; Deut 28:7, Deut 32:25, Deut 32:30 ↩

  19. 2Kgs 3:22, 2Kgs 3:23-27, 2Kgs 19:7; 2Sam 5:24; Job 15:21; Ps 14:5; Jer 20:3-4; Ezek 10:5; Rev 6:15-16, Rev 9:9 ↩

  20. 1Kgs 10:29 ↩

  21. 2Chr 12:2-3; Isa 31:1, Isa 36:9 ↩

  22. Job 18:11; Ps 48:4-6, Ps 68:12; Prov 21:1, Prov 28:1; Jer 48:8-9 ↩

  23. Ps 20:7-8, Ps 33:17; Amos 2:14-16 ↩

  24. Num 35:11-12; Prov 6:5; Isa 2:20; Matt 24:16-18; Heb 6:18 ↩

  25. 2Kgs 5:24; Josh 7:21; Jer 41:8; Matt 13:44, Matt 25:18 ↩

  26. 2Kgs 7:3; Hag 1:4-5 ↩

  27. 2Kgs 7:6; Isa 41:27, Isa 52:7; Nah 1:15; Luke 2:10; Phil 2:4 ↩

  28. Heb. we shall find punishment, 2Kgs 5:26-27; Num 32:23; Prov 24:16 ↩

  29. 2Kgs 7:11; 2Sam 18:26; Ps 127:1; Mark 13:34-35 ↩

  30. 2Kgs 7:6-7 ↩

  31. 2Kgs 5:13 ↩

  32. Heb. in it ↩

  33. 2Kgs 7:4, 2Kgs 6:33; Jer 14:18; Lam 4:9 ↩

  34. Esth 1:7; Isa 22:24 ↩

  35. Job 2:4; Isa 2:20, Isa 10:3, Isa 31:7; Ezek 18:31; Matt 16:26, Matt 24:16-18; Phil 3:7-8; Heb 12:1 ↩

  36. 1Sam 17:53; 2Chr 14:12-15, 2Chr 20:25; Job 27:16-17; Ps 68:12; Isa 33:1, Isa 33:4, Isa 33:23 ↩

  37. 2Kgs 7:1; Num 23:19; Isa 44:26; Matt 24:35 ↩

  38. 2Kgs 7:2 ↩

  39. 2Kgs 9:33; Judg 20:43; Isa 25:10; Mic 7:10; Heb 10:29 ↩

  40. 2Kgs 7:1-2, 2Kgs 6:32; Gen 18:14 ↩

  41. Num 20:12; 2Chr 20:20; Job 20:23; Isa 7:9; Jer 17:5-6; Heb 3:18-19 ↩