And Elisha said, Hear ye the word of Jehovah: thus saith Jehovah, To-morrow about this time shall a {Hebrew: seah.}measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.
Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if Jehovah should make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?
If we say, We will enter 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 fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.
And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians; and when they were come to the outermost part of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no man there.
For the Lord 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 Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.
Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.
And when these lepers came to the outermost 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 it; and they came back, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.
Then they said one to another, We do not well; this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, {Or, our iniquity will find us out}punishment will overtake us; now therefore come, let us go and tell the king's household.
So they came and called unto the {Or, porters}porter of the city; and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but the horses tied, and the asses tied, and the tents as they were.
And {Or, the porters called}he called the porters; and they told it to the king's household within.
And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are 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 take them alive, and get into the city.
And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left {Hebrew: in it.}in the city (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are consumed); and let us send and see.
They took therefore two chariots with horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.
And they went after them unto the Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.
And the people went out, and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of Jehovah.
And the king appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trod upon him in the gate, and he died as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.
And it came to pass, as the man 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;
and that captain answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if Jehovah 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:
it came to pass even so unto him; for the people trod upon him in the gate, and he died.
Querverweise zu 2. Könige 7,4 2Kön 7,4
If I go forth into the field, then, behold, the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then, behold, {Hebrew: the sickness of famine.}they that are sick with famine! for both the prophet and the priest {Or, traffic}go about {Or, into a land that they know not}in the land, and have no knowledge.
Of Manasseh also there fell away some to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle: but they helped them not; for the lords of the Philistines upon advisement sent him away, saying, He will fall away to his master Saul to the jeopardy of our heads.
Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast in like manner; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God take away life, but deviseth means, that he that is banished be not an outcast from him.
And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he laid hold on Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou art falling away to the Chaldeans.
Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities, and let us {Or, perish}be silent there; for Jehovah our God hath {Or, caused us to perish}put us to silence, and given us water of {Or, poison See Deuteronomy 29:18.}gall to drink, because we have sinned against Jehovah.
And inasmuch as it is {Greek: laid up for. Colossians 1:5; 2 Timothy 4:8}appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment;
Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I am not falling away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him; so Irijah laid hold on Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.
Who knoweth whether God will not turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
But when he came to himself he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish here with hunger!
I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight:
I am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.