1 'Listen to the word of Yahweh,' Elisha said. 'Yahweh says this, "By this time tomorrow a measure of finest flour will sell for one shekel, and two measures of barley for one shekel, at the gate of Samaria." '
2 The equerry on whose arm the king was leaning retorted to Elisha, 'Even if Yahweh made windows in the sky, could this word come true?' 'You will see it with your own eyes,' Elisha replied, 'though you will eat none of it.'
3 Now at the entrance to the gate -- for they were afflicted with virulent skin-disease -- there were four men and they debated among themselves, 'Why sit here waiting for death?
4 If we decide to go into the city, what with the famine in it, we shall die there; if we stay where we are, we shall die just the same. Come on, let us go over to the Aramaean camp; if they spare our lives, we live; if they kill us, well, then we die.'
5 So at dusk they set out and made for the Aramaean camp, but when they reached the confines of the camp there was not a soul there.
6 For Yahweh had caused the Aramaeans in their camp to hear a noise of chariots and horses, the noise of a great army; and they had said to one another, 'Listen! The king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings against us, to attack us.'
7 So in the dusk they had made off and fled, abandoning their tents, their horses and their donkeys; leaving the camp just as it was, they had fled for their lives.
8 The men with skin-disease, then, reached the confines of the camp. They went into one of the tents and ate and drank, and from it carried off silver and gold and clothing; these they took and hid. Then they came back and, entering another tent, looted it too, and took and hid their booty.
9 Then they said to one another, 'We are doing wrong. This is a day of good news, yet we are holding our tongues! If we wait till morning, we shall certainly be punished. Come on, let us go and take the news to the palace.'
10 Off they went and shouted out to the guards on the city gate, 'We have been to the Aramaean camp. There was not a soul there, no sound of anyone, only tethered horses and tethered donkeys, and their tents just as they were.'
11 The gatekeepers shouted the news, which was reported inside the palace.
12 The king got up while it was still dark and said to his officers, 'I can tell you what the Aramaeans have done to us. They know we are starving, so they have left the camp to hide in the open country. "They will come out of the city," they think, "we shall catch them alive and get into the city."'
13 One of his officers replied, 'Five of the surviving horses still left us had better be taken -- they would die in any case like all the rest. Let us send them and see.'
14 So they took two chariot teams and the king sent them after the Aramaean army, saying, 'Go and see.'
15 They followed them as far as the Jordan, finding the whole way strewn with clothes and gear which the Aramaeans had thrown away in their panic. The scouts returned and informed the king.
16 Then the people went out and plundered the Aramaean camp: a measure of finest flour sold for one shekel, and two measures of barley for one shekel, as Yahweh had promised they would.
17 The king had detailed the equerry, on whose arm he leaned, as commander of the guard on the gate, but the people trampled on him in the gateway and he died, as the man of God had foretold when the king had come down to him.
18 (What Elisha had said to the king came true, 'Two measures of barley will sell for one shekel, and a measure of finest flour for one shekel, by this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria.'
19 And the equerry in question had replied to the man of God, 'Even if Yahweh made windows in the sky, could this word come true?' 'You will see it with your own eyes,' Elisha had answered, 'though you will eat none of it.'
20 And that was what happened to him: for the people trampled on him in the gateway and he died.)
Versículos relacionados com 2 Kings, 7:
2 Kings 7 deals with Samaria's liberation from hunger imposed by Syrians through divine intervention. The chapter begins with the prophecy of the prophet Elisha that there would be a large supply of food in the city. This happens through the fear that God imposes on the Syrians, who abandon their supplies and flee. Four lepers, excluded from the city, find the treasure left by the Syrians and share the news with the Samaritans, who finally enjoy the abundance. Below are five verses related to the topics covered in 2 Kings 7.
Psalm 33:18: "But the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him, over those who await his mercy." The prophet Elisha trusts God's intervention to save the people of Samaria from hunger, and this confidence is reinforced by the certainty that God is aware of those who fear him and wait for his mercy.
Proverbs 21:1: "The king's heart is like streams of water in the hand of the Lord; he leans him wherever he wants." Divine intervention in Samaria's situation is a demonstration of God's power and sovereignty, which is able to influence even foreign nations rulers to fulfill their purposes.
Isaiah 33:6: "And there will be stability in your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; and the fear of the Lord will be your treasure." The abundance that comes to Samaria after the escape of the Syrians is a sign of God's goodness and care to his people, who can enjoy stability and salvation.
Jeremiah 51:10: "The Lord brought to light our righteousness; come and declare in Zion the work of the Lord, our God." The discovery of the treasure left by the Syrians by the lepers is a testimony of God's work to free his people from hunger and oppression.
John 6:35: "Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life; He who comes to me shall not be hungry, and he who believes in me shall never thirst." Divine intervention in Samaria is a prefiguration of God's love and care for his people at all times, culminating in the person of Jesus, the bread of life that satisfies all spiritual and physical needs.
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