2 Kings 7

1 Then Elisha [the prophet of God] said, “Hear [listen and obey] the word [message, declaration] of the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God]! This is what the LORD [Yehovah, the sovereign God] says: ‘About this time [at this moment, now] tomorrow [in the future, soon] at the gate [entrance, city door] of Samaria [the capital city, watch mountain], a seah [a measure, about 1/3 of an ephah] of fine flour [high-quality wheat, choice grain] will sell for a shekel [a unit of weight, a coin], and two seahs [double measure, abundant supply] of barley [a type of grain, staple food] will sell for a shekel [a fair price, reasonable cost].’” word study 2 But the officer [a high-ranking captain, third in command] on whose arm [support, strength] the king leaned answered the man of God [Elisha, a prophet], “Look [behold, take notice], even if the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] were to make [create, bring into existence] windows [openings, lattice] in heaven [the sky, the spiritual realm], could this [such a miraculous event] really happen [come to pass, be possible]?” “You will see [perceive, behold] it with your own eyes [directly, personally],” replied Elisha, “but you will not eat [partake, enjoy] any of it [the blessings, the provision].” word study 3 Now there were four [a small group of] men [individuals, people] with leprosy [a dreaded skin disease] at the entrance [doorway, opening] of the city gate [the main entry point], and they said to one another, “Why just sit [remain, dwell] here [in this place] until [as far as, till] we die [cease to exist, to perish]? word study 4 If we say, ‘Let us go into the city [to enter the town, to go inside],’ we will die there from the famine [hunger, lack of food] in the city; but if we sit here [remain, stay in this place], we will also die. So come now [at this time, presently], let us go over to the camp [army, group of people] of the Arameans [Syrians, people of Aram]. If they let us live [keep us alive, spare our lives], we will live; if they kill us [put us to death, destroy us], we will die [meet our end, perish].” word study 5 So they arose [at dusk, in the twilight] at twilight [the time of dawn or dusk] and went [proceeded, traveled] to the camp [army, encampment] of the Arameans [Syrians, people of Aram]. But when they came [arrived, entered] to the outskirts [outermost part, edge] of the camp [army, group of people], there was [existed, could be found] not a man [male person, individual] to be found [present, seen]. word study 6 For the Lord [Adonay, the sovereign Master] had caused the Arameans [Syrians, a powerful neighboring nation] to hear the sound [noise, voice] of chariots [vehicles, cavalry], horses [steeds, cavalry], and a great [mighty, powerful] army [host, force], so that they said to one another, “Look [behold, see], the king of Israel [the ruler of God’s people] must have hired [employed, enlisted] the kings of the Hittites [an ancient people group] and Egyptians [a powerful nation] to attack [come against, invade] us.” word study 7 Thus the Arameans had arisen [to stand up, to take action] and fled [in great haste, to escape] at twilight [the time of dawn or dusk], abandoning [forsaking, leaving behind] their tents [nomadic homes, temporary dwellings] and horses [chariot horses, swift steeds] and donkeys [male donkeys, beasts of burden]. The camp [military encampment, army] was intact [undisturbed, unchanged], and they had run [to flee, to escape] for their lives [their very existence, their souls]. word study 8 When the lepers [those afflicted with a skin disease] reached the edge [extremity, border] of the camp [army, group of people], they went into a tent [ohel, a nomad’s home] to eat [consume food] and drink [consume liquids]. Then they carried off [lifted, raised] the silver [money, valuable metal], gold [a valuable metal], and clothing [garments, covering], and went and hid [concealed] them. On returning [turning back], they entered another [a different] tent, carried off [lifted] some items from there [that place], and hid [concealed] them. word study 9 Finally, they said to one another, “We [as a community, collectively] are not doing what is right [acting justly, morally upright]. Today [this present moment, a day of opportunity] is a day of good news [glad tidings, joyful announcement]. If we are silent [hold our peace, remain quiet] and wait until morning light [the break of day, dawn], our sin [iniquity, moral evil] will overtake us [find us, catch up to us]. Now, therefore [at this time, consequently], let us go [walk, proceed] and tell [declare, announce] the king’s household [the royal family, the palace].” word study 10 So they went [to approach, to draw near] and called out [to cry aloud, to proclaim] to the gatekeepers [porters, watchmen] of the city, saying, “We went [to come, to arrive] to the Aramean [Syrian, from Aram] camp [army, military encampment] and no one was there [no sign of life]—not a trace—only [except for] tethered [bound, tied up] horses [swallows, swift creatures] and donkeys [asses, beasts of burden], and the tents [nomadic dwellings, tabernacles] were intact [standing, untouched].” word study 11 The gatekeepers [porters, door-keepers] shouted [cried out, called out] the news, and it was reported [told, declared] to the king’s [royal, sovereign] household [house, palace]. word study 12 So the king [the ruler, monarch] got up in the night [a time of darkness and rest] and said to his servants [attendants, those who serve], “Let me tell you what the Arameans [the Syrians, inhabitants of Aram] have done to us [acted against, treated]. They know [are aware, have knowledge] we are starving [hungry, famished], so they have left the camp [military encampment, army] to hide [conceal, secretly wait] in the field [open land, countryside], thinking [believing, supposing], ‘When they come out of the city [urban area, town], we will take them alive [capture, seize] and enter the city [occupy, take possession].’” word study 13 But one [a single, unique] of his servants [attendants, those who serve] replied, “Please [I pray, if you will], have scouts [messengers, those sent to gather information] take five [a small, select number] of the horses [chariot horses] that remain [are left, spared] in the city. Their plight [situation, circumstance] will be no worse [not more severe] than all [the entire multitude] the Israelites [God’s chosen people, descendants of Jacob] who are left [remaining, spared] here. You can see [behold, observe] that all [every one] the Israelites [God’s people] here are doomed [consumed, perishing]. So let us send [dispatch, commission] them and find out [discover, learn].” word study 14 Then the scouts took [seized, got hold of] two chariots [vehicles, teams of horses] with horses [swallow, cavalry], and the king [royal person, ruler] sent [dispatched, commissioned] them after [behind, in pursuit of] the Aramean [Syrian, from the region of Aram] army [camp, host], saying [commanding, instructing], “Go [walk, proceed] and see [look, observe].” word study 15 And they tracked them [pursued, followed closely] as far as [till, up to] the Jordan [the river, a key location], and indeed [behold, look], the whole way [road, path] was littered with [full of, filled with] the clothing [garments, attire] and equipment [articles, utensils] the Arameans [Syrians, people of Aram] had thrown off [cast away, discarded] in haste [hurry, fear]. So the scouts [messengers, representatives] returned [turned back, came back] and told [declared, reported] the king [ruler, sovereign]. word study 16 Then the people [a nation, a group of individuals] went out and plundered [spoil, violently took] the camp [army, encampment] of the Arameans [Syrians, a neighboring nation]. It was then that a seah [a measure of grain, about 1/3 of an ephah] of fine flour [high-quality wheat, used for baking] sold for a shekel [a unit of weight or money], and two seahs of barley [a type of grain, commonly eaten] sold for a shekel, according to the word [a matter, an affair, a decree] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God]. word study 17 Now the king [ruler, monarch] had appointed the officer [captain, high-ranking official] on whose arm [support, strength] he leaned [trusted, relied] to be in charge of the gate [entrance, doorway], but the people [nation, crowd] trampled [trod, crushed] him in the gateway [entry, passage], and he died [passed away, perished], just as the man [prophet, messenger] of God [Elohim, the supreme Being] had foretold [predicted, proclaimed] when the king [sovereign, ruler] had come [visited, approached] to him. word study 18 It happened just as the man [a prophet, God’s messenger] of God [Elohim, the supreme Creator] had told the king: “About this time [at this very moment, now] tomorrow [in the future, the next day] at the gate [the city entrance, a place of gathering] of Samaria [the capital city, a watch mountain], two seahs [measures, a unit of grain] of barley [a type of grain, food for the people] will sell for a shekel [a unit of weight, a coin], and a seah [a measure, about 1/3 of an ephah] of fine flour [high-quality grain, used for offerings] will sell for a shekel [a standard of value, a means of exchange].” word study 19 And the officer [a high-ranking captain, third in command] had answered the man of God [Elisha, a prophet of the Lord], “Look, even if the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] were to make [create, bring into existence] windows [openings, floodgates] in heaven [the sky, the spiritual realm], could this really happen [come to pass, be fulfilled]?” So Elisha had replied, “You will see [behold, perceive] it with your own eyes [with personal experience, observation], but you will not eat [partake, enjoy] any of it [the blessings, the provision]!” word study 20 And that is just what happened [came to pass, occurred] to him. The people [a nation, a crowd] trampled [trod upon, crushed] him in the gateway [gate, entrance], and he died [perished, met his end]. word study