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| 1 And sons of the prophet say unto Elisha, 'Lo, we pray thee, the place where we are dwelling before thee is too strait for us; |
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| 2 let us go, we pray thee, unto the Jordan, and we take thence each one beam, and we make for ourselves there a place to dwell there;' and he saith, 'Go.' |
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| 3 And the one saith, 'Be pleased, I pray thee, and go with thy servants;' and he saith, 'I I go.' |
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| 4 And he goeth with them, and they come in to the Jordan, and cut down the trees, |
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| 5 and it cometh to pass, the one is felling the beam, and the iron hath fallen into the water, and he crieth and saith, 'Alas! my lord, and it asked!' |
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| 6 And the man of God saith, 'Whither hath it fallen ' and he sheweth him the place, and he cutteth a stick, and casteth thither, and causeth the iron to swim, |
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| 7 and saith, 'Raise to thee;' and he putteth forth his hand and taketh it. |
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| 8 And the king of Aram hath been fighting against Israel, and taketh counsel with his servants, saying, 'At such and such a place [is] my encamping.' |
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| 9 And the man of God sendeth unto the king of Israel, saying, 'Take heed of passing by this place, for thither are the Aramaeans coming down; |
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| 10 and the king of Israel sendeth unto the place of which the man of God spake to him, and warned him, and he is preserved there not once nor twice. |
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| 11 And the heart of the king of Aram is tossed about concerning this thing, and he calleth unto his servants, and saith unto them, 'Do ye not declare to me who of us [is] for the king of Israel ' |
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| 12 And one of his servants saith, 'Nay, my lord, O king, for Elisha the prophet, who [is] in Israel, declareth to the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in the inner part of thy bed-chamber.' |
But Elisha, the prophet – Apparently the knowledge of Jehovah and Elisha had spread from General Naaman to some of the household of the king. R5781:4
Telleth the king – Probably angels were the divine instrumentality in informing Elisha of the things proper to be told the king of Israel for his protection. R2349:3
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| 13 And he saith, 'Go ye and see where he [is], and I send and take him;' and it is declared to him, saying, 'Lo in Dothan.' |
Go and spy where he is – The king was not wise in his determination, not realizing that the prophet would be informed by the wisdom of God. R3440:6
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| 14 And he sendeth thither horses and chariot, and a heavy force, and they come in by night, and go round against the city. |
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| 15 And the servant of the man of God riseth early, and goeth out, and lo, a force is surrounding the city, and horse and chariot, and his young man saith unto him, 'Alas! my lord, how do we do ' |
The servant – Not Gehazi, but another more worthy. R2349:6
Was risen early – Elisha doubtless understood in advance, but did not flee. R3441:1
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| 16 And he saith, 'Fear not, for more [are] they who [are] with us than they who [are] with them.' |
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| 17 And Elisha prayeth, and saith, 'Jehovah, open, I pray Thee, his eyes, and he doth see;' and Jehovah openeth the eyes of the young man, and he seeth, and lo, the hill is full of horses and chariots of fire, round about Elisha. |
Open his eyes – The spiritual body, though shining "above the brightness of the firmament," cannot be seen by mortals without a special revelation. HG28:6
That he may see – Angels can be, and frequently are, present, yet invisible. A182
Giving to his eyes of understanding a proper conception of the divine power present with the prophet. R3441:2, R5781:5
A prayer doubtless intended of the Lord as a lesson for his people down through the ages. R3441:1
And he saw – A vision, an active parable, a picture similar to the symbolic pictures of Revelation. R3441:2, R5781:5
Horses and chariots – Illustrative of the divine power and protection. R3441:2
Of fire – Like fire, as all spirit beings are described in Scripture. R2350:1
Round about Elisha – The Father has numberless messengers to care for the interests of his cause on earth, ministering especially unto the very elect. (Psa. 34:7; Matt. 18:10) R3441:3, R5781:5, R4769:3, R2350:1
God's omnipotent power, like a mighty army, completely surrounds those who are his. R5781:5, R4769:3
The Christian is enabled, through faith, to see the armies of the Lord encamped about him without a miracle being performed on his natural sight. R2350:1
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| 18 And they come down unto it, and Elisha prayeth unto Jehovah, and saith, 'Smite, I pray Thee, this nation with blindness;' and He smiteth them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha. |
With blindness – Not total blindness, but bewilderment or hallucination similar to that produced by hypnotism; the eyes of their understanding being closed. R5781:6, R4769:6, R3441:5, R2350:4
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| 19 And Elisha saith unto them, 'This [is] not the way, nor [is] this the city; come after me, and I lead you unto the man whom ye seek;' and he leadeth them to Samaria. |
Neither Is this the city – True, for Dothan was not Elisha's city; his house was in Samaria, where he took them and brought them to the man they sought--himself. R2350:5
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| 20 And it cometh to pass, at their coming in to Samaria, that Elisha saith, 'Jehovah, open the eyes of these, and they see;' and Jehovah openeth their eyes, and they see, and lo, in the midst of Samaria! |
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| 21 And the king of Israel saith unto Elisha, at his seeing them, 'Do I smite do I smite my father ' |
Shall I smite them? – Israel's kings were learning gradually that the will of the Lord was to be considered. R2350:5
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| 22 And he saith, 'Thou dost not smite; those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow art thou smiting set bread and water before them, and they eat, and drink, and go unto their lord.' |
Set bread and water – "If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." (Rom. 12:20) R3441:6
How many enemies could be won by kind treatment, who would be made bitter by even just treatment. R4770:1
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| 23 And he prepareth for them great provision, and they eat and drink, and he sendeth them away, and they go unto their lord: and troops of Aram have not added any more to come in to the land of Israel. |
Came no more – The best victories are the bloodless ones; where the spirit of righteousness, mercy and benevolence are victorious over the spirit of rivalry, ambition and selfishness. R2350:6
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| 24 And it cometh to pass afterwards, that Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathereth all his camp, and goeth up, and layeth siege to Samaria, |
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| 25 and there is a great famine in Samaria, and lo, they are laying siege to it, till the head of an ass is at eighty silverlings, and a forth of the cab of dovesdung at five silverlings. |
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| 26 And it cometh to pass, the king of Israel is passing by on the wall, and a woman hath cried unto him, saying, 'Save, my lord, O king.' |
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| 27 And he saith, 'Jehovah doth not save thee whence do I save thee out of the threshing-floor, or out of the wine-vat ' |
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| 28 And the king saith to her, 'What to thee ' and she saith, 'This woman said unto me, Give thy son, and we eat him to-day, and my son we eat to-morrow; |
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| 29 and we boil my son and eat him, and I say unto her on the next day, Give thy son, and we eat him; and she hideth her son.' |
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| 30 And it cometh to pass, at the king's hearing the words of the woman, that he rendeth his garments, and he is passing by on the wall, and the people see, and lo, the sackcloth [is] on his flesh within. |
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| 31 And he saith, 'Thus doth God do to me, and thus He doth add if it remain the head of Elisha son of Shaphat upon him this day.' |
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| 32 And Elisha is sitting in his house, and the elders are sitting with him, and [the king] sendeth a man from before him; before the messenger doth come unto him, even he himself said unto the elders, 'Have ye seen that this son of the murderer hath sent to turn aside my head see, at the coming in of the messenger, shut the door, and ye have held him fast at the door, is not the sound of the feet of his lord behind him ' |
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| 33 He is yet speaking with them, and lo, the messenger is coming down unto him, and he saith, 'Lo, this [is] the evil from Jehovah: what do I wait for Jehovah any more ' |
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