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¹ And the sons of the prophets said to Eliseus: Behold, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.² Let us go as far as the Jordan, and take out of the wood every man a piece of timber, that we may build us there a place to dwell in. And he said: Go.³ And one of them said: But come thou also with thy servants. He answered: I will come.⁴ So he went with them. And when they were come to the Jordan, they cut down wood.⁵ And it happened, as one was felling some timber, that the head of the ax fell into the water: and he cried out, and said: Alas, alas, alas, my lord, for this same was borrowed.⁶ And the man of God said: Where did it fall? and he shewed him the place: Then he cut off a piece of wood, and cast it in thither: and the iron swam.⁷ And he said: Take it up. And he put out his hand, and took it.

⁸ And the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying: In such and such a place, let us lay an ambush.⁹ And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying: Beware that thou pass not to such a place: for the Syrians are there in ambush.¹⁰ And the king of Israel, sent to the place which the man of God had told him, and prevented him, and looked well to himself there not once nor twice.¹¹ And the heart of the king of Syria, was troubled for this thing. And calling together his servants, he said: Why do you not tell me who it is that betrays me to the king of Israel?¹² And one of his servants said: No one, my lord, O king: but Eliseus, the prophet, that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel all the words, that thou speakest in thy privy chamber.

¹³ And he said to them: Go, and see where he is: that I may send and take him. And they told him: saying: Behold he is in Dothan.¹⁴ Therefore, he sent thither horses, and chariots, and the strength of an army: and they came by night, and beset the city.¹⁵ And the servant of the man of God, rising early went out, and saw an army round about the city, and horses and chariots: and he told him, saying: Alas, alas, alas, my lord, what shall we do?¹⁶ But he answered: Fear not: for there are more with us than with them.¹⁷ And Eliseus prayed, and said: Lord, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses, and chariots of fire round about Eliseus.¹⁸ And the enemies came down to him: but Eliseus prayed to the Lord, saying: Strike, I beseech thee, this people with blindness: and the Lord struck them with blindness, according to the word of Eliseus.¹⁹ And Eliseus said to them: This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will shew you the man whom you seek. So he led them into Samaria.²⁰ And when they were come into Samaria, Eliseus said: Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw themselves to be in the midst of Samaria.²¹ And the king of Israel said to Eliseus, when he saw them: My father, shall I kill them?²² And he said: Thou shalt not kill them: for thou didst not take them with thy sword, or thy bow, that thou mayst kill them: but set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.²³ And a great provision of meats was set before them, and they ate and drank; and he let them go: and they went away to their master: and the robbers of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

²⁴ And it came to pass, after these things, that Benadad, king of Syria, gathered together all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.²⁵ And there was a great famine in Samaria: and so long did the siege continue, till the head of an ass was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cabe of pigeons’ dung, for five pieces of silver.²⁶ And as the king of Israel was passing by the wall, a certain woman cried out to him, saying: Save me, my lord, O king.²⁷ And he said: If the Lord doth not save thee, how can I save thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress? And the king said to her: What aileth thee? And she answered:²⁸ This woman said to me: Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.²⁹ So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day: Give thy son, that we may eat him. And she hath hid her son.³⁰ When the king heard this, he rent his garments, and passed by upon the wall. And all the people saw the haircloth which he wore within next to his flesh.³¹ And the king said: May God do so and so to me, and may he add more, if the head of Eliseus, the son of Saphat, shall stand on him this day.³² But Eliseus sat in his house, and the ancients sat with him. So he sent a man before: and before that messenger came, he said to the ancients: Do you know that this son of a murderer hath sent to cut off my head? Look then when the messenger shall come, shut the door, and suffer him not to come in: for behold the sound of his master’s feet is behind him.³³ While he was yet speaking to them, the messenger appeared, who was coming to him. And he said: Behold, so great an evil is from the Lord: what shall I look for more from the Lord?