Famine Besieges Samaria
2 Kings 6:24-7:2
2 K.6.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אחרי: PREP
- כן: ADV
- ויקבץ: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הדד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ארם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- מחנהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- ויעל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ויצר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- שמרון: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1 Kings 20:1 (verbal): Uses nearly identical diction: Ben‑hadad gathers his host and besieges Samaria. The account in 1 Kings recounts an earlier confrontation with Ben‑hadad and provides a close verbal parallel.
- 2 Kings 6:26 (thematic): Immediate narrative consequence of the siege in 6:24 — describes the severe famine and atrocities (a woman cooking her son), showing the human cost of the siege.
- 2 Kings 7:6 (structural): Provides the resolution to the siege of Samaria: the Syrians are miraculously driven off. Structurally linked as the concluding event to the crisis introduced in 6:24.
- 2 Kings 25:1 (thematic): Another major siege in the Deuteronomistic history (Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar). The passage echoes themes of foreign siege, famine, and national crisis similar to Samaria's plight in 6:24.
Alternative generated candidates
- And it came to pass after these things that Ben‑Hadad king of Aram gathered all his host and went up and laid siege to Samaria.
- After this Ben‑Hadad king of Aram mustered all his host and went up and laid siege to Samaria.
2 K.6.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- רעב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גדול: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- בשמרון: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והנה: ADV
- צרים: ADJ,m,pl
- עליה: PREP,3,f,sg
- עד: PREP
- היות: VERB,qal,inf
- ראש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חמור: PNOUN,m,sg
- בשמנים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כסף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ורבע: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הקב: NOUN,m,sg,def
- דביונים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בחמשה: PREP+NUM,m,pl
- כסף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Kgs 7:1-2 (structural): Immediate narrative continuation: the famine and siege of Samaria described in 6:25 are resolved in 7:1–2 when Elisha prophesies deliverance and the Aramean camp flees.
- Lamentations 4:10 (thematic): Graphic imagery of mothers eating their own children during a siege; thematically parallels the extreme famine and cannibalism recorded later in the Samaria narrative (2 Kgs 6:26–29).
- Ezekiel 5:10 (thematic): A prophetic depiction of siege-induced cannibalism as divine judgment—parallels the motif of parents eating children amid famine in the account surrounding 2 Kgs 6:25–29.
- 2 Kgs 25:3-4 (thematic): Description of Jerusalem under Babylonian siege with acute food shortage—a comparable instance of siege-caused famine in the Deuteronomistic history.
- Jeremiah 52:6-7 (structural): Parallel account to 2 Kgs 25:3–4 (and thematically to 2 Kgs 6:25): Jerusalem besieged until starvation, reinforcing the motif of prolonged sieges producing catastrophic famine.
Alternative generated candidates
- And there 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 kab of dove's dung for five shekels of silver.
- And there was a great famine in Samaria; and behold, they besieged it so that a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a kab of dove‑droppings for five shekels.
2 K.6.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- החמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ואשה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- צעקה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- הושיעה: VERB,hiph,imp,2,ms,sg
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 14:2-3 (structural): A woman of Tekoa is sent to present a forceful, personal plea before the king to obtain justice—parallel in form (a woman addressing the king with a dramatic appeal for intervention).
- 1 Kings 3:16-28 (structural): Two women bring a desperate maternal dispute before Solomon, invoking the king's judgment in a life‑or‑death domestic matter—parallel in the motif of women appealing to royal authority for rescue or resolution.
- 2 Kings 4:25-26 (thematic): A distressed woman runs to Elisha and cries out for help over her dead child; thematically parallel as an anguished female petitioner seeking divine/official intervention for a family crisis.
- Jeremiah 4:31 (thematic): The prophet hears 'a voice as of a woman in travail'—a poetic depiction of women's cries of anguish in national calamity that parallels the Samarian woman's cry amid siege and famine.
Alternative generated candidates
- And as the king of Israel was walking on the wall, a woman cried to him, saying, 'Help, my lord, O king!'
- And it came to pass, as the king of Israel walked on the wall, that a woman cried to him, saying, "Help, my lord, O king!"
2 K.6.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- יושעך: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מאין: ADV,interrog
- אושיעך: VERB,qal,imperfect,1,m,sg
- המן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הגרן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- או: CONJ
- מן: PREP
- היקב: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- 2 Kings 4:18-37 (thematic): Elisha restores a dead child (the Shunammite’s son); parallels the motif of a prophet confronted with a child’s death and a mother’s desperate plea for rescue.
- 1 Kings 17:17-24 (thematic): Elijah raises the widow of Zarephath’s son; another narrative of a prophet’s intervention to revive a dead child, thematically echoing the helpless parent in 2 Kgs 6:27.
- Lamentations 4:4-5 (thematic): Graphic descriptions of famine and children suffering (tongues cleaving to the palate); parallels the famine-induced desperation and the scene of mothers unable to save their children in Samaria’s siege.
- Isaiah 63:2-3 (verbal): Uses winepress imagery (‘I have trodden the winepress alone’)—the winepress/threshing-floor language in 2 Kgs 6:27 evokes similar images of crushing/judgment and places associated with death or devastation.
Alternative generated candidates
- And he said, 'If the LORD does not save you, where shall I save you from? From the threshing‑floor or from the winepress?'
- And he said, "If the LORD do not help you, where then shall I help you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?"
2 K.6.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- מה: PRON,int
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ותאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- האשה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הזאת: DEM,f,sg,def
- אמרה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- תני: VERB,qal,imperative,2,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- בנך: NOUN,m,sg,cstr+poss,2,m,sg
- ונאכלנו: VERB,qal,impf,1,pl
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואת: CONJ
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- נאכל: VERB,qal,impf,1,pl
- מחר: ADV
Parallels
- 2 Kings 6:25 (structural): Immediate narrative context in the same chapter describing the siege of Samaria and the onset of famine that produces the cannibalism episode.
- Deuteronomy 28:53-57 (thematic): Part of the covenant curses predicting that under siege people will eat the flesh of their children—provides legal/theological background for siege cannibalism imagery.
- Lamentations 4:10 (verbal): Speaks of women cooking/eating their own children during Jerusalem’s destruction; uses language and imagery closely parallel to the Samaria account.
- Jeremiah 19:9 (allusion): Prophetic denunciation that God will make people eat their sons and daughters — similar prophetic wording about the horrors of siege and famine.
Alternative generated candidates
- And he said, 'What is your matter?' And she answered, 'This woman said to me, "Give your son, and we will eat him today; and we will eat my son tomorrow."'
- And the woman said, "This woman said to me, 'Give up your son, that we may eat him today; and tomorrow we will eat my son.'"
2 K.6.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונבשל: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ונאכלהו: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,pl,suff:3,m,sg
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אליה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- ביום: PREP
- האחר: ADJ,m,sg,def
- תני: VERB,qal,imperative,2,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- בנך: NOUN,m,sg,cstr+poss,2,m,sg
- ונאכלנו: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,pl
- ותחבא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- בנה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+SUFF,3,f,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kings 6:28 (structural): Immediate preceding verse in the same narrative; describes the woman who boiled her son and the agreement that leads into v.29.
- 2 Kings 6:25 (thematic): Same episode of the siege of Samaria — details the extreme famine (market prices, scarcity) that sets the context for the cannibalism described in v.29.
- Lamentations 4:10 (verbal): Lamentations directly laments that women 'cooked their children,' using language and imagery closely parallel to the account of cannibalism in Samaria.
- Deuteronomy 28:53 (allusion): Part of the Mosaic curse on disobedience predicting that in a siege people would eat the offspring of their own bodies — a legal/prophetic background for the occurrence in 2 Kings.
- Ezekiel 5:10 (allusion): Ezekiel's pronouncement that fathers and children will eat one another under judgment echoes the same motif of siege-induced cannibalism found in 2 Kings 6:29.
Alternative generated candidates
- So we cooked my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, 'Give your son, that we may eat him'; but she had hidden her son.
- So we cooked my son and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, 'Give your son that we may eat him,' and she hid her son.
2 K.6.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כשמע: CONJ
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- האשה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ויקרע: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- בגדיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- והוא: CONJ+PRON,3,m,sg
- עבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- החמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- וירא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והנה: ADV
- השק: NOUN,m,sg,def
- על: PREP
- בשרו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- מבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1 Kings 21:27 (verbal): Ahab 'when he heard the words' tears his clothes in reaction to a prophetic word (similar verb formula and royal display of distress/repentance).
- 2 Kings 19:1-2 (verbal): Hezekiah hears the Assyrian threat and tears his clothes — nearly the same narrative formula ('when the king heard... he tore his clothes') linking royal hearing and mourning.
- 2 Samuel 1:11-12 (thematic): David tears his garments and publicly mourns on receiving news of Saul and Jonathan's deaths — parallels in spontaneous tearing, public display of grief, and response to tragic news.
- Jonah 3:5-10 (thematic): The king and people put on sackcloth and repent in response to crisis — parallels the sackcloth/ash motif and communal mourning/penitent reaction to calamity.
- 2 Samuel 13:19 (thematic): Tamar tears her garments and puts ashes on her head after her assault — another use of tearing garments as an expressive sign of mourning, shame, and distress.
Alternative generated candidates
- When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes; and as he walked on the wall the people watched, and behold, sackcloth was upon his flesh within.
- When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall. The people saw, and behold, he wore sackcloth against his skin.
2 K.6.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כה: ADV
- יעשה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וכה: CONJ+ADV
- יוסף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אם: CONJ
- יעמד: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- ראש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אלישע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שפט: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- 1 Kgs.19:2 (verbal): Jezebel issues a direct death-threat against Elijah using a very similar oath formula ('so let the gods do to me, and more also')—a verbal parallel in threatened violence against a prophet.
- 2 Kgs.6:25-33 (structural): Immediate narrative context: the fuller scene in which Samaritans suffer famine and the king orders Elisha's execution; v.31 fits as a climactic threat within this unit.
- 2 Sam.4:8-12 (thematic): Account of Ish‑bosheth's beheading and the presentation of his head—shares the motif of beheading/display of an enemy's head as proof of death and political retribution.
- 2 Kgs.9:30-37 (thematic): Jezebel's violent death and the treatment of her corpse (thrown down, trampled, dogs) echo themes of public humiliation and removal of an enemy's head/authority in royal prophetic conflicts.
Alternative generated candidates
- And he said, 'As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will do so to you, and more also, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains upon him today.'
- And he said, "May God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day."
2 K.6.32 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואלישע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בביתו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- והזקנים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,def
- ישבים: VERB,qal,part,3,m,pl
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- וישלח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלפניו: PREP+NOUN,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- בטרם: PREP
- יבא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- המלאך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- והוא: CONJ+PRON,3,m,sg
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- הזקנים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- הראיתם: VERB,hifil,perf,2,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- שלח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המרצח: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- להסיר: VERB,hiph,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- ראשי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- ראו: VERB,qal,impv,2,pl
- כבא: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- המלאך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- סגרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- הדלת: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ולחצתם: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- בדלת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הלוא: PART
- קול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רגלי: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- אדניו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+POSS,3,m,sg
- אחריו: PREP,3,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kings 6:17 (thematic): Elisha prays and the servant's eyes are opened to see the LORD's host of angels — both verses emphasize Elisha's awareness of heavenly agents and divine protection/intervention.
- 2 Kings 7:6–7 (structural): Direct narrative follow-up in the same siege: an angelic striking of the Aramean camp brings deliverance, which is the outcome alluded to by the 'angel' and the expectation of the lord's approach in 6:32.
- Isaiah 37:36 (thematic): God dispatches an angel to strike an enemy army at night (the Assyrians) — a parallel motif of nocturnal angelic intervention saving Israel from besieging forces.
- 2 Kings 6:30–33 (structural): Immediate literary context: the king on the wall, the threatened execution ('remove my head'), and the sending of a man — 6:32 is embedded in and clarifies this sequence of events.
- Psalm 34:7 (thematic): 'The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him' — a theological parallel emphasizing angelic guardianship and deliverance consistent with the angelic activity implied in 6:32.
Alternative generated candidates
- Elisha sat in his house; and the elders sat with him. A man went out from before him; and while he yet talked with them, behold, a messenger came to him, and he said to the elders, 'Have you seen that this son of the murderer has sent to take away your master's head? See, while the messenger yet talketh, another messenger cometh.'
- Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and a man was sent from before him. Before the messenger came in, he said to the elders, "Have you seen how this son of the destroyer has sent to take away my head? Behold, as the messenger came, they shut the door and pressed him to it— is not the sound of the feet of my lord behind him?"
2 K.6.33 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עודנו: ADV
- מדבר: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- עמם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- והנה: ADV
- המלאך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ירד: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- הנה: PART
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- הרעה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- מאת: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מה: PRON,int
- אוחיל: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- עוד: ADV
Parallels
- Genesis 22:11 (structural): The angel of the LORD suddenly appears to a figure in a critical moment to deliver a divine word — parallels the motif of an angelic messenger descending to announce God’s will.
- Judges 6:11-12 (structural): An angel of the LORD appears to Gideon and brings a decisive message from Yahweh — similar appearance and delivery of divine judgment or instruction.
- Judges 13:3-5 (structural): An angel of the LORD announces forthcoming events (Samson’s birth) and communicates God’s purpose — echoes theophanic messenger bringing a divinely caused outcome.
- Amos 3:6 (thematic): Affirms the theological principle that calamity/terror can originate with the LORD (‘Is there evil in a city, and the LORD has not done it?’), paralleling the verse’s identification of the disaster as from Yahweh.
Alternative generated candidates
- While he was yet speaking with them, there came the messenger down to him and said, 'Behold, this is the LORD's doing; what shall I wait for the LORD any more?'
- While he was yet speaking to them, the messenger came down to him. He said, "Behold, this is a great calamity from the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?"
2 K.7.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אלישע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שמעו: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כעת: ADV
- מחר: ADV
- סאה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- סלת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בשקל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וסאתים: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- שערים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בשקל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בשער: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שמרון: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Kings 6:25 (structural): Immediate narrative context: earlier verse establishing the severe famine in Samaria that Elisha's prophecy addresses.
- 2 Kings 7:16 (structural): Narrative fulfillment within the same chapter: the predicted cheap grain and abundant food occur after the Syrians flee, demonstrating the prophecy's realization.
- 1 Kings 17:8-16 (thematic): Elijah's provision for the widow during famine—another instance of a prophet bringing miraculous sustenance in a time of scarcity.
- John 6:1-14 (thematic): Jesus' feeding of the 5,000: a New Testament example of miraculous multiplication/provision converting scarcity into abundant food for many.
- Joel 2:19-26 (thematic): Prophetic promise of restoration and overflowing provision after judgment—similar theological motif of sudden reversal from famine to abundance.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then Elisha said, 'Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD: Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.'
- Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD: About this time tomorrow a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."
2 K.7.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויען: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- השליש: NOUN,m,sg,det
- אשר: PRON,rel
- למלך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נשען: VERB,niphal,ptcp,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- ידו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- הנה: PART
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- עשה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ארבות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- בשמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- היהיה: VERB,qal,yiqtol,3,m,sg
- הדבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- הנכה: NOUN,m,sg,det
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- בעיניך: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,const,2,ms
- ומשם: CONJ+PREP+ADV
- לא: PART_NEG
- תאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Genesis 7:11 (verbal): Uses the same imagery of the 'windows of heaven' being opened (the flood narrative); verbal parallel to the phrase questioning whether God would 'make windows in heaven.'
- Genesis 8:2 (verbal): Counterpoint language about the 'windows of heaven' being stopped—provides a close verbal and thematic echo about control of the heavens and divine acts concerning rain/abundance.
- Malachi 3:10 (allusion): Invokes the 'open the windows of heaven' motif for divine blessing and abundant provision—parallels the expectation of sudden, heavenly-sent supply in 2 Kings 7.
- Deuteronomy 28:12 (thematic): Promises that the LORD will 'open the heavens' and send abundant provision as a blessing; thematically parallels Elisha's promise of sudden plenty as an act of divine provision from above.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, 'Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?' And he said, 'Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.'
- Then the officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, "Look, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?" And he said, "Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it."
After this Ben‑Hadad king of Aram gathered all his host, went up, and laid siege to Samaria.
There was a great famine in Samaria; and behold, the siege was so severe that a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a seah of dove dung for five shekels of silver.
As the king of Israel was passing along the wall, a woman cried to him, saying, “Help, my lord the king!”
He answered, “May the LORD not save you—whether from the threshing floor or from the winepress!”
The woman said to the king, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, and we will eat him today; and tomorrow we will eat my son.’”
“So we cooked my son and ate him. And on the next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son that we may eat him,’ but she had hidden her son.”
When the king heard the woman’s words he tore his garments; and as he passed along the wall the people saw—and behold, the sackcloth clung to his flesh—and he cried out.
He said, “Thus may God do to me and more also, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat shall remain on him today.”
Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. Then a man came running and told them before the messenger reached him, saying to the elders, “Have you seen? The envoy of the man bent on murder has come to take my head. As the messenger was coming, shut the door and bar yourselves in, for behold, the sound of my lord’s men’s feet is behind him.”
While he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him. He said, “Behold, this is the calamity from the LORD; what shall I wait for the LORD any longer?”
Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD: Thus says the LORD, ‘Tomorrow at this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’”
Then the officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, “If the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” He replied, “You shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”