Previous Chapter Full Page Full Page Next Chapter

2 Kings 6 :: New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB95)

The Axe Head Recovered

2Ki 6:1

2Ki 6:1Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Behold now, the place before you where we are living is too limited for us.

2Ki 6:2

2Ki 6:2“Please let us go to the Jordan and each of us take from there a beam, and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live.” So he said, “Go.”

2Ki 6:3

2Ki 6:3Then one said, “Please be willing to go with your servants.” And he [fn]answered, “I shall go.”

2Ki 6:4

2Ki 6:4So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees.

2Ki 6:5

2Ki 6:5But as one was felling a beam, [fn]the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.”

2Ki 6:6

2Ki 6:6Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float.

2Ki 6:7

2Ki 6:7He said, “Take it up for yourself.” So he put out his hand and took it.

The Arameans Plot to Capture Elisha

2Ki 6:8

2Ki 6:8Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he [fn]counseled with his servants saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.”

2Ki 6:9

2Ki 6:9The man of God sent word to the king of Israel saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there.”

2Ki 6:10

2Ki 6:10The king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him; thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there, [fn]more than once or twice.

2Ki 6:11

2Ki 6:11Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?”

2Ki 6:12

2Ki 6:12One of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”

2Ki 6:13

2Ki 6:13So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him.” And it was told him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.”

2Ki 6:14

2Ki 6:14He sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

2Ki 6:15

2Ki 6:15Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! [fn]What shall we do?”

2Ki 6:16

2Ki 6:16So he [fn]answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

2Ki 6:17

2Ki 6:17Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

2Ki 6:18

2Ki 6:18When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Strike this [fn]people with blindness, I pray.” So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

2Ki 6:19

2Ki 6:19Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he brought them to Samaria.

2Ki 6:20

2Ki 6:20When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the LORD opened their eyes and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.

2Ki 6:21

2Ki 6:21Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “My father, shall I [fn]kill them? Shall I [fn]kill them?”

2Ki 6:22

2Ki 6:22He [fn]answered, “You shall not [fn]kill them. Would you [fn]kill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.”

2Ki 6:23

2Ki 6:23So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.

The Siege of Samaria--Cannibalism

2Ki 6:24

2Ki 6:24Now it came about after this, that Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army and went up and besieged Samaria.

2Ki 6:25

2Ki 6:25There was a great famine in Samaria; and behold, they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a [fn]kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver.

2Ki 6:26

2Ki 6:26As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!”

2Ki 6:27

2Ki 6:27He said, “[fn]If the LORD does not help you, from where shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?”

2Ki 6:28

2Ki 6:28And the king said to her, “What [fn]is the matter with you?” And she [fn]answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’

2Ki 6:29

2Ki 6:29“So we boiled my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.”

2Ki 6:30

2Ki 6:30When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth [fn]beneath on his [fn]body.

2Ki 6:31

2Ki 6:31Then he said, “May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat [fn]remains on him today.”

2Ki 6:32

2Ki 6:32Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man from his presence; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and [fn]hold the door shut against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”

2Ki 6:33

2Ki 6:33While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, “Behold, this evil is from the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”
See the NASB95 Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NASB95 Footnotes
Literally: said
Literally: as for the iron, it fell
Literally: took counsel
Literally: not once or twice
Literally: How
Literally: said
Literally: nation
Literally: smite
Literally: said
Literally: smite
I.e. One kab equals approx 2 qts
Literally: No, let the LORD help you
Literally: to you
Literally: said
Literally: within
Literally: flesh
Literally: stands
Literally: press him with the door
Translation Copyright Logo

New American Standard Bible 1995
Copyright (c) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif.
All rights reserved
https://www.lockman.org/new-american-standard-bible-nasb/

The "NASB," "NAS," "New American Standard Bible," and "New American Standard" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by The Lockman Foundation. Use of these trademarks requires the permission of The Lockman Foundation.

For Permission To Quote visit http://www.lockman.org

For more information on this translation, see the NASB95 Preface.

2 Kings Chapter 6 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras

Did You Know BLB Is User Supported?

Your partnership makes all we do possible. Would you prayerfully consider a gift of support today?

Remind Me
Dismiss