Translation, 2 Kings 7

And said 'Eliysha',
"Hear the word of Yahweh,
Thus says Yahweh,
'According to the time tomorrow a seah of fine-flour by a sheqel
And a double-seah of barley by a sheqel in the gate of Shomron.”
And answered the officer who was to the king - he leaned himself on his hand -
[to] the man of the Elohim, and he said,
"Look! Yahweh making windows in the heavens
Would this thing/word be?"
And he said,
"Look you! Seeing with your eyes
And from there you shall not eat."

Now four men were struck-with-skin-disease [at] the opening of the gate.
And they said, each to his friend,
"Why are we ourselves sitting thus until we die?
If we say 'We shall enter the city,'
then the famine/hunger [is] in the city and we die there.
But if we sit thus, then we shall die.
But now, let us walk/go and fall to the camp of 'Aram.
If they restore-to-life, we live.
And if they cause-us-to-die, we die."
And they arose in twilight to enter to the camp of 'Aram.
And they entered until the outskirts of the famp of 'Aram
Now look! There is not there a man.

Now the master caused-to-hear the camp of 'Aram
the voice of chariot and the voice of horse and the voice of a strong-army, a great one.
And they said each to his brother
"Look! Hired against us the king of Yisrael
the kings of the Chittiym and the kings of Mitzraim to enter against us."
And they arose and they fled in the twilight
And they forsook their tents
and their horses
And their he-donkeys
And the camp just as it [was].
And they fled to their souls.

And entered these skin-struck until the outskirts of the camp
And they entered to the one tent
And they ate and they drank
And they carried from there silver and gold and garments.
And they walked/went and hid them.
And they returned and went to one tent,
And they carried from there
And they walked/went and hid them.

And they said each to his neighbor,
"Not right we ourselves [are] doing.
This day a day of news [is] it.
But we ourselves cause silence.
And we lie-in-wait until the light of morning
And guilt discovers us.
But now walk/go and enter and report the house of the king."
And they entered and called to the gatekeeper of the city
And they reported to them, saying,
"We entered to the camp of 'Aram.
Now look! There is not there a man,
And [not] the voice of an Adam,
except the horse bound
And the he-donkey bound
And the tents just as they [were]."

And the gatekeepers called and reported inside the house of the king.
And arose the king at night and said to his servant,
"I will report, please, to you what 'Aran has done to us.
They know that we ourselves [are] hungering
And they went out from the camp
to hide themselves in the field, saying,
'For they shall come out from the city,
And we shall capture them alive
And to the city we shall enter.'"
And answered one from his servants and he said,
"Let us take, please, five from the remaining horses which remain in her.
Behold, according to all the abundance of Yisrael which remain in her
Behold, according to all the abundance of Yisrael which died.
And let us send and let us see."
And they took two chariots and horses
And send the king after the camp of 'Aram, saying,
"Go/walk and see."

And they went after them until the Yarden
Now look! All the way filled [with] garments and vessels
Which 'Aram threw in their alarm.
And returned the messengers and reported to the king.

And went out the people and plundered the camp of 'Aram.
And it was a seah of fine-flour at a sheqel
And a double-seah of barley at a sheqel,
According to the word of Yahweh.
Now the king appointed the officer which he leaned on his hand over the gate.
And the people trampled him in the gate
And he died according to the word of the man of the 'Elohim
which he spoke in the coming-down of the king to him.

And it was according to the word of the man of the 'Elohim to the king, saying,
"A double-seah of barley at a sheqel
And a seah of fine-flour at a sheqel will be according to the time tomorrow in the gate of Shomron."
And answered the officer [to] the man of the Elohim, saying,
"Now look! Yahweh making windows in the heavens
Would it be according to this word/thing?"
And he said,
"Look-you! Seeing with your eyes but from there you shall not eat."
And it was to him thus.
And they trampled him, the people, in the gate
And he died.

posted by Peter J. Leithart on Tuesday, June 14, 2005 at 11:38 PM

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