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2 Kings 6

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1 καὶ εἶπον οἱ υἱοὶ τῶν προφητῶν πρὸς Ελισαιε ἰδοὺ δὴ ὁ τόπος ἐν ᾧ ἡμεῖς οἰκοῦμεν ἐνώπιόν σου στενὸς ἀ{F'} ἡμῶν 2 πορευθῶμεν δὴ ἕως τοῦ Ιορδάνου καὶ λάβωμεν ἐκεῖθεν ἀνὴρ εἷς δοκὸν μίαν καὶ ποιήσωμεν ἑαυτοῖς ἐκεῖ τοῦ οἰκεῖν ἐκεῖ καὶ εἶπεν δεῦτε 3 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ εἷς ἐπιεικέως δεῦρο μετὰ τῶν δούλων σου καὶ εἶπεν ἐγὼ πορεύσομαι 4 καὶ ἐπορεύθη με{T'} αὐτῶν καὶ ἦλθον εἰς τὸν Ιορδάνην καὶ ἔτεμνον τὰ ξύλα 5 καὶ ἰδοὺ ὁ εἷς καταβάλλων τὴν δοκόν καὶ τὸ σιδήριον ἐξέπεσεν εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ ἐβόησεν ὦ κύριε καὶ αὐτὸ κεχρημένον 6 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος τοῦ θεοῦ ποῦ ἔπεσεν καὶ ἔδειξεν αὐτῷ τὸν τόπον καὶ ἀπέκνισεν ξύλον καὶ ἔρριψεν ἐκεῖ καὶ ἐπεπόλασεν τὸ σιδήριον 7 καὶ εἶπεν ὕψωσον σαυτῷ καὶ ἐξέτεινεν τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔλαβεν αὐτό

1 There was a time when his disciples complained to Eliseus that they had no room to live there in his company; 2 and they asked leave to take the road for Jordan, cut down, each of them, his load of timber from the forest, and build themselves a house there. Then, when he had given them leave, 3 one of them said to him, Master, do thou come with us. Come with you I will said he, 4 and bore them company. So they reached the Jordan, and began felling wood. 5 It chanced that one of them, in felling a beam, let his axe-head fall into the river; and at that he cried aloud, Alas, alas, master! It was a borrowed axe, too! 6 Where fell it? the prophet asked; and when the place was shewn to him, he cut a stick and threw it in there; whereupon the iron floated to the surface. 7 It is there to thy hand, said he, and the disciple put out his hand and took it.

1 Dixerunt autem filii prophetarum ad Eliseum: Ecce locus in quo habitamus coram te, angustus est nobis. 2 Eamus usque ad Jordanem, et tollant singuli de silva materias singulas, ut ædificemus nobis ibi locum ad habitandum. Qui dixit: Ite. 3 Et ait unus ex illis: Veni ergo et tu cum servis tuis. Respondit: Ego veniam. 4 Et abiit cum eis. Cumque venissent ad Jordanem, cædebant ligna. 5 Accidit autem ut cum unus materiam succidisset, caderet ferrum securis in aquam: exclamavitque ille, et ait: Heu! heu! heu! domine mi: et hoc ipsum mutuo acceperam. 6 Dixit autem homo Dei: Ubi cecidit? At ille monstravit ei locum. Præcidit ergo lignum, et misit illuc: natavitque ferrum, 7 et ait: Tolle. Qui extendit manum, et tulit illud.

8 καὶ βασιλεὺς Συρίας ἦν πολεμῶν ἐν Ισραηλ καὶ ἐβουλεύσατο πρὸς τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ λέγων εἰς τὸν τόπον τόνδε τινὰ ελμωνι παρεμβαλῶ 9 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ελισαιε πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ισραηλ λέγων φύλαξαι μὴ παρελθεῖν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ ὅτι ἐκεῖ Συρία κέκρυπται 10 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ισραηλ εἰς τὸν τόπον ὃν εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ελισαιε καὶ ἐφυλάξατο ἐκεῖθεν οὐ μίαν οὐδὲ δύο 11 καὶ ἐξεκινήθη ἡ ψυχὴ βασιλέως Συρίας περὶ τοῦ λόγου τούτου καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς οὐκ ἀναγγελεῖτέ μοι τίς προδίδωσίν με βασιλεῖ Ισραηλ 12 καὶ εἶπεν εἷς τῶν παίδων αὐτοῦ οὐχί κύριέ μου βασιλεῦ ὅτι Ελισαιε ὁ προφήτης ὁ ἐν Ισραηλ ἀναγγέλλει τῷ βασιλεῖ Ισραηλ πάντας τοὺς λόγους οὓς ἐὰν λαλήσῃς ἐν τῷ ταμιείῳ τοῦ κοιτῶνός σου 13 καὶ εἶπεν δεῦτε ἴδετε ποῦ οὗτος καὶ ἀποστείλας λήμψομαι αὐτόν καὶ ἀνήγγειλαν αὐτῷ λέγοντες ἰδοὺ ἐν Δωθαϊμ 14 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖ ἵππον καὶ ἅρμα καὶ δύναμιν βαρεῖαν καὶ ἦλθον νυκτὸς καὶ περιεκύκλωσαν τὴν πόλιν

8 When the king of Syria went to battle with Israel, he would hold a council of war, and name some place where he would lay an ambush; 9 and ever word came from Eliseus to the king of Israel, Beware how thou marchest by such and such a place; the Syrians are lying in wait there. 10 Then the king of Israel would send and make sure of the place the prophet had told him of; and so he avoided danger, not once but many times. 11 At this, the king of Syria’s mind much misgave him; and at last he summoned his council and asked, was there no learning the name of this traitor that revealed his plans to the king of Israel? 12 Whereupon one of his courtiers told him, Nay, my lord king, it is the Israelite prophet, Eliseus, that discloses to him the secrets of thy council-chamber. 13 Why then, the king said, go and find out where he is, so that I can send and take him prisoner. And when news came that Eliseus was in Dothain, 14 he sent horses and chariots and the pick of his army there, to surround the city at dead of night.

8 Rex autem Syriæ pugnabat contra Israël, consiliumque iniit cum servis suis, dicens: In loco illo et illo ponamus insidias. 9 Misit itaque vir Dei ad regem Israël, dicens: Cave ne transeas in locum illum: quia ibi Syri in insidiis sunt. 10 Misit itaque rex Israël ad locum quem dixerat ei vir Dei, et præoccupavit eum, et observavit se ibi non semel neque bis. 11 Conturbatumque est cor regis Syriæ pro hac re: et convocatis servis suis, ait: Quare non indicatis mihi quis proditor mei sit apud regem Israël? 12 Dixitque unus servorum ejus: Nequaquam, domine mi rex, sed Eliseus propheta qui est in Israël, indicat regi Israël omnia verba quæcumque locutus fueris in conclavi tuo. 13 Dixitque eis: Ite, et videte ubi sit, ut mittam, et capiam eum. Annuntiaveruntque ei, dicentes: Ecce in Dothan. 14 Misit ergo illuc equos et currus, et robur exercitus: qui cum venissent nocte, circumdederunt civitatem.

15 καὶ ὤρθρισεν ὁ λειτουργὸς Ελισαιε ἀναστῆναι καὶ ἐξῆλθεν καὶ ἰδοὺ δύναμις κυκλοῦσα τὴν πόλιν καὶ ἵππος καὶ ἅρμα καὶ εἶπεν τὸ παιδάριον πρὸς αὐτόν ὦ κύριε πῶς ποιήσωμεν 16 καὶ εἶπεν Ελισαιε μὴ φοβοῦ ὅτι πλείους οἱ με{Q'} ἡμῶν ὑπὲρ τοὺς με{T'} αὐτῶν 17 καὶ προσεύξατο Ελισαιε καὶ εἶπεν κύριε διάνοιξον τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τοῦ παιδαρίου καὶ ἰδέτω καὶ διήνοιξεν κύριος τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶδεν καὶ ἰδοὺ τὸ ὄρος πλῆρες ἵππων καὶ ἅρμα πυρὸς περικύκλῳ Ελισαιε 18 καὶ κατέβησαν πρὸς αὐτόν καὶ προσηύξατο Ελισαιε πρὸς κύριον καὶ εἶπεν πάταξον δὴ τοῦτο τὸ ἔθνος ἀορασίᾳ καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτοὺς ἀορασίᾳ κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμα Ελισαιε 19 καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς Ελισαιε οὐχ αὕτη ἡ πόλις καὶ αὕτη ἡ ὁδός δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου καὶ ἀπάξω ὑμᾶς πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα ὃν ζητεῖτε καὶ ἀπήγαγεν αὐτοὺς εἰς Σαμάρειαν 20 καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς εἰσῆλθον εἰς Σαμάρειαν καὶ εἶπεν Ελισαιε ἄνοιξον δή κύριε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ ἰδέτωσαν καὶ διήνοιξεν κύριος τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ εἶδον καὶ ἰδοὺ ἦσαν ἐν μέσῳ Σαμαρείας 21 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ισραηλ ὡς εἶδεν αὐτούς εἰ πατάξας πατάξω πάτερ 22 καὶ εἶπεν οὐ πατάξεις εἰ μὴ οὓς ᾐχμαλώτευσας ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ σου καὶ τόξῳ σου σὺ τύπτεις παράθες ἄρτους καὶ ὕδωρ ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν καὶ φαγέτωσαν καὶ πιέτωσαν καὶ ἀπελθέτωσαν πρὸς τὸν κύριον αὐτῶν 23 καὶ παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς παράθεσιν μεγάλην καὶ ἔφαγον καὶ ἔπιον καὶ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτούς καὶ ἀπῆλθον πρὸς τὸν κύριον αὐτῶν καὶ οὐ προσέθεντο ἔτι μονόζωνοι Συρίας τοῦ ἐλθεῖν εἰς γῆν Ισραηλ

15 The prophet had a servant that was early abroad next day, and found the whole city beleaguered by armed men and horses and chariots; and as he brought the news, he cried out, Alas, alas, master, what shift will serve us now? 16 Do not be afraid, said he; we have more on our side than they on theirs. 17 Open his eyes, Lord, Eliseus prayed; give him clear sight. Thereupon the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and clear sight came to him; all at once he saw the whole mountain-side beset with flaming horses and chariots, there about Eliseus. 18 Then, as the enemy closed in upon him, Eliseus prayed to the Lord anew, asking that this whole multitude might be smitten with blindness; and sightless the Lord smote them, at Eliseus’ prayer. 19 Eliseus would have it that they had taken the wrong road and reached the wrong city; Come with me, he said, and I will shew you the man you are looking for. So he led them to Samaria; 20 and once they were there, he prayed anew, that their eyes might be opened, and clear sight given them. In Samaria, then, they found themselves, once their eyes were opened; 21 and the king of Israel, upon sight of them, asked Eliseus, My father, shall I strike them down? 22 Strike them down (said he) thou shalt not; they were not captured by sword or bow of thine, and wouldst thou slay them?[1] Set food and drink before them, and let them go home to their master. 23 So a great banquet was made for them, and when they had eaten and drunk their fill, back to their master he sent them. And Israel was rid, for a while, of freebooters from Syria.

15 Consurgens autem diluculo minister viri Dei, egressus vidit exercitum in circuitu civitatis, et equos et currus: nuntiavitque ei, dicens: Heu! heu! heu! domine mi: quid faciemus? 16 At ille respondit: Noli timere: plures enim nobiscum sunt, quam cum illis. 17 Cumque orasset Eliseus, ait: Domine, aperi oculos hujus, ut videat. Et aperuit Dominus oculos pueri, et vidit: et ecce mons plenus equorum et curruum igneorum in circuitu Elisei. 18 Hostes vero descenderunt ad eum: porro Eliseus oravit ad Dominum, dicens: Percute, obsecro, gentem hanc cæcitate. Percussitque eos Dominus ne viderent, juxta verbum Elisei. 19 Dixit autem ad eos Eliseus: Non est hæc via, neque ista est civitas: sequimini me, et ostendam vobis virum quem quæritis. Duxit ergo eos in Samariam: 20 cumque ingressi fuissent in Samariam, dixit Eliseus: Domine, aperi oculos istorum, ut videant. Aperuitque Dominus oculos eorum, et viderunt se esse in medio Samariæ. 21 Dixitque rex Israël ad Eliseum, cum vidisset eos: Numquid percutiam eos, pater mi? 22 At ille ait: Non percuties: neque enim cepisti eos gladio et arcu tuo, ut percutias: sed pone panem et aquam coram eis, ut comedant et bibant, et vadant ad dominum suum. 23 Appositaque est eis ciborum magna præparatio, et comederunt et biberunt, et dimisit eos, abieruntque ad dominum suum, et ultra non venerunt latrones Syriæ in terram Israël.

24 καὶ ἐγένετο μετὰ ταῦτα καὶ ἤθροισεν υἱὸς Αδερ βασιλεὺς Συρίας πᾶσαν τὴν παρεμβολὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνέβη καὶ περιεκάθισεν Σαμάρειαν 25 καὶ ἐγένετο λιμὸς μέγας ἐν Σαμαρείᾳ καὶ ἰδοὺ περιεκάθηντο ἐ{P'} αὐτήν ἕως οὗ ἐγενήθη κεφαλὴ ὄνου πεντήκοντα σίκλων ἀργυρίου καὶ τέταρτον τοῦ κάβου κόπρου περιστερῶν πέντε σίκλων ἀργυρίου 26 καὶ ἦν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ισραηλ διαπορευόμενος ἐπὶ τοῦ τείχους καὶ γυνὴ ἐβόησεν πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγουσα σῶσον κύριε βασιλεῦ 27 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ μή σε σώσαι κύριος πόθεν σώσω σε μὴ ἀπὸ τῆς ἅλωνος ἢ ἀπὸ τῆς ληνοῦ 28 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ ὁ βασιλεύς τί ἐστίν σοι καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνὴ αὕτη εἶπεν πρός με δὸς τὸν υἱόν σου καὶ φαγόμεθα αὐτὸν σήμερον καὶ τὸν υἱόν μου καὶ φαγόμεθα αὐτὸν αὔριον 29 καὶ ἡψήσαμεν τὸν υἱόν μου καὶ ἐφάγομεν αὐτόν καὶ εἶπον πρὸς αὐτὴν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ δευτέρᾳ δὸς τὸν υἱόν σου καὶ φάγωμεν αὐτόν καὶ ἔκρυψεν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς 30 καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἤκουσεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ισραηλ τοὺς λόγους τῆς γυναικός διέρρηξεν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς διεπορεύετο ἐπὶ τοῦ τείχους καὶ εἶδεν ὁ λαὸς τὸν σάκκον ἐπὶ τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ ἔσωθεν 31 καὶ εἶπεν τάδε ποιήσαι μοι ὁ θεὸς καὶ τάδε προσθείη εἰ στήσεται ἡ κεφαλὴ Ελισαιε ἐ{P'} αὐτῷ σήμερον

24 Some time after this, Benadad, king of Syria, mustered all his forces, and went to the siege of Samaria. 25 And Samaria was famine-stricken; so long beleaguered, that men would pay eighty pieces of silver for an ass’s head, or five for a pint of dove’s droppings. 26 And one day, as the king was making the round of the battlements, a woman cried out to him, Help me, my lord king! 27 Help from the Lord is none, said he, and what means of help have I, in threshing-floor or wine-press? What wouldst thou have of me? And she told him, 28 This woman who is with me bade me kill my son, to be food for us that day; hers should be our food the next. 29 And then, my son’s flesh already cooked and eaten, when I bade her kill hers next day, she kept him in hiding. 30 Upon hearing this tale, the king tore his garments across; and as he made his way along the battlements the people, one and all, could see how his shirt underneath was of sackcloth. 31 May the Lord punish me as I deserve, said he, and more than I deserve, if I leave Eliseus the son of Saphat a head on his body by nightfall!

24 Factum est autem post hæc, congregavit Benadad rex Syriæ universum exercitum suum, et ascendit, et obsidebat Samariam. 25 Factaque est fames magna in Samaria: et tamdiu obsessa est, donec venundaretur caput asini octoginta argenteis, et quarta pars cabi stercoris columbarum quinque argenteis. 26 Cumque rex Israël transiret per murum, mulier quædam exclamavit ad eum, dicens: Salva me, domine mi rex. 27 Qui ait: Non te salvat Dominus: unde te possum salvare? de area, vel de torculari? Dixitque ad eam rex: Quid tibi vis? Quæ respondit: 28 Mulier ista dixit mihi: Da filium tuum, ut comedamus eum hodie, et filium meum comedemus cras. 29 Coximus ergo filium meum, et comedimus. Dixique ei die altera: Da filium tuum, ut comedamus eum. Quæ abscondit filium suum. 30 Quod cum audisset rex, scidit vestimenta sua, et transibat per murum. Viditque omnis populus cilicium quo vestitus erat ad carnem intrinsecus. 31 Et ait rex: Hæc mihi faciat Deus, et hæc addat, si steterit caput Elisei filii Saphat super ipsum hodie.

32 καὶ Ελισαιε ἐκάθητο ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ἐκάθηντο με{T'} αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἄνδρα πρὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ πρὶν ἐλθεῖν τὸν ἄγγελον πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ αὐτὸς εἶπεν πρὸς τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους εἰ οἴδατε ὅτι ἀπέστειλεν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ φονευτοῦ οὗτος ἀφελεῖν τὴν κεφαλήν μου ἴδετε ὡς ἂν ἔλθῃ ὁ ἄγγελος ἀποκλείσατε τὴν θύραν καὶ παραθλίψατε αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ θύρᾳ οὐχὶ φωνὴ τῶν ποδῶν τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ κατόπισθεν αὐτοῦ 33 ἔτι αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος με{T'} αὐτῶν καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος κατέβη πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ εἶπεν ἰδοὺ αὕτη ἡ κακία παρὰ κυρίου τί ὑπομείνω τῷ κυρίῳ ἔτι

32 So he sent a man on before him, to find Eliseus where he sat at home, in conclave with the elders of the people. To these, before ever the messenger reached him, Eliseus said, You must know that my head is in danger. The murderer is on his way, sent by the murderer’s son. When he comes in, look to it that you keep the doorway barred; I hear his master’s tread not far behind him. 33 Even as he spoke to them thus, in came the messenger that had set out to find him. And this was the king’s word, See what ruin the Lord has brought on me! Folly it were to expect relief from the Lord any longer.[2]

32 Eliseus autem sedebat in domo sua, et senes sedebant cum eo. Præmisit itaque virum: et antequam veniret nuntius ille, dixit ad senes: Numquid scitis quod miserit filius homicidæ hic, ut præcidatur caput meum? videte ergo: cum venerit nuntius, claudite ostium, et non sinatis eum introire: ecce enim sonitus pedum domini ejus post eum est. 33 Adhuc illo loquente eis, apparuit nuntius qui veniebat ad eum. Et ait: Ecce, tantum malum a Domino est: quid amplius expectabo a Domino?

[1] ‘They were not captured by sword or bow of thine’; in the Hebrew text, ‘Thy own sword and bow has captured them’.

[2] The situation is not altogether clear; it is generally supposed that Joram had repented of his oath, and came to recall the messenger from his purpose of murdering Eliseus. Some think that we should read ‘king’ instead of ‘messenger’ in verse 33, the two words being much alike in Hebrew.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd