1 Profetdisiplene sa til Elisa: Det er ikke nok plass for oss her hvor vi bor under ditt tilsyn.

Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, There is not room enough for us in the place where we are living under your care;

2 La oss gå til Jordan. Der kan hver og en hugge planker, så vi kan bygge oss et bosted der. Og han sa til dem: Gå da.

So let us go to Jordan, and let everyone get to work cutting boards, and we will make a living-place for ourselves there. And he said to them, Go, then.

3 Men en av dem sa: Vær så snill å bli med dine tjenere. Og han svarte: Jeg skal gå med dere.

And one of them said, Be pleased to go with your servants. And he said, I will go.

4 Så gikk han med dem. Da de kom til Jordan, begynte de å felle trær.

So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they got to work cutting down trees.

5 Men en av dem mistet øksehode i vannet mens han felte en planke; og han ropte: Min herre, det var lånt!

But one of them, while cutting a board, let the head of his axe go into the water; and he gave a cry, and said, This is a bad business, my master, for it is another's.

6 Guds mann spurte: Hvor falt det ned? Og da han viste ham stedet, kuttet han av en gren og kastet den i vannet, og jernet fløt opp til overflaten.

And the man of God said, Where did it go in? and when he saw the place where it had gone into the water, cutting a stick, he put it into the water, and the iron came up to the top of the water.

7 Da sa han: Ta det opp. Så rakte han ut hånden og tok det.

Then he said, Take it up. So he put out his hand and took it.

8 På den tiden var kongen av Aram i krig med Israel, og han hadde et møte med sine offiserer og sa: Jeg vil vente i hemmelighet på et bestemt sted.

At that time the king of Aram was making war against Israel; and he had a meeting with the chiefs of his army and said, I will be waiting in secret in some named place.

9 Og Guds mann sendte bud til Israels konge og sa: Vokt deg for å gå til det stedet, for arameerne er der i hemmelighet.

And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, Take care to keep away from that place, for the Aramaeans are waiting there in secret.

10 Kongen av Israel sendte folk til stedet som Guds mann hadde advart om, og unngikk det flere ganger.

So the king of Israel sent to the place where the man of God had said there was danger, and kept clear of it more than once.

11 Kongen av Aram ble svært urolig og sa til sine tjenere: Hvem av oss bidrar til Israels konge?

And at this, the mind of the king of Aram was greatly troubled, and he sent for his servants and said to them, Will you not make clear to me which of us is helping the king of Israel?

12 En av dem sa: Ingen, herre konge. Men profeten Elisa i Israel gir Israels konge nyheter om hva du sier selv i ditt soverom.

And one of them said, Not one of us, my lord king; but Elisha, the prophet in Israel, gives the king of Israel news of the words you say even in your bedroom.

13 Så sa han: Gå og finn ut hvor han er, så jeg kan sende noen for å ta ham. Og de fikk høre at han var i Dotan.

Then he said, Go and see where he is, so that I may send and get him. And news came to him that he was in Dothan.

14 Han sendte dit hester, vogner og en stor hær; de kom om natten og omringet byen.

So he sent there horses and carriages and a great army; and they came by night, circling the town.

15 Morgenen etter gikk Guds manns tjener ut, og han så en hær med hester og vogner som omringet byen. Og tjeneren sa: Min herre, hva skal vi gjøre?

Now the servant of the man of God, having got up early and gone out, saw an army with horses and carriages of war all round the town. And the servant said to him, O my master, what are we to do?

16 Han svarte: Frykt ikke, for de som er med oss, er flere enn de som er med dem.

And he said in answer, Have no fear; those who are with us are more than those who are with them.

17 Elisa ba til Herren: Åpne hans øyne, så han kan se. Og Herren åpnet den unges øyne, og han så at fjellet var fullt av hester og vogner av ild rundt Elisa.

Then Elisha made a prayer to the Lord, saying, Lord, let his eyes be open so that he may see. And the Lord made the young man's eyes open; and he saw that all the mountain was full of horses and carriages of fire round Elisha.

18 Da arameerne kom mot ham, ba Elisa til Herren: Gjør dette folket blinde. Og han gjorde dem blinde etter Elisas ord.

Now when the Aramaeans came down to Elisha, he made a prayer to the Lord saying, Lord, make this people blind. And he made them blind at Elisha's request.

19 Elisa sa til dem: Dette er ikke veien, og dette er ikke byen. Følg meg, så skal jeg føre dere til mannen dere leter etter. Og han ledet dem til Samaria.

And Elisha said to them, This is not the way, and this is not the town: come after me so that I may take you to the man you are searching for. And he took them to Samaria.

20 Da de kom til Samaria, sa Elisa: Herre, åpne disse menns øyne, så de kan se. Og Herren åpnet deres øyne, og de så at de var midt i Samaria.

And when they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, Lord, let the eyes of these men be open so that they may see. And the Lord made their eyes open, and they saw that they were in the middle of Samaria.

21 Da Israels konge så dem, sa han til Elisa: Min far, skal jeg drepe dem?

And the king of Israel, when he saw them, said to Elisha, My father, am I to put them to the sword?

22 Men han svarte: Du skal ikke drepe dem. Har du rett til å drepe dem du ikke har tatt til fange med ditt sverd og din bue? Sett mat og drikke foran dem, så de kan spise og drikke og gå tilbake til sin herre.

But he said in answer, You are not to put them to death; have you any right to put to death those whom you have not taken prisoner with your sword and your bow? put bread and water before them, so that they may have food and drink and go to their master.

23 Så stelte han i stand et stort måltid for dem, og da de hadde spist og drukket, sendte han dem bort, og de dro tilbake til sin herre. Og arameiske band kom ikke mer inn i Israels land.

So he made ready a great feast for them, and when they had had food and drink, he sent them away and they went back to their master. And no more bands of Aramaeans came into the land of Israel.

24 Etter dette samlet Ben-Hadad, kongen av Aram, hele sin hær og dro opp for å angripe Samaria, og de omringet byen fra alle kanter.

Now after this, Ben-hadad, king of Aram, got together all his army and went up to make an attack on Samaria, shutting the town in on all sides with his forces.

25 Det ble stor hungersnød i Samaria, for de holdt byen innesperret helt til hodet av et esel kostet åtti sekel sølv, og en fjerdedel pint med dueskitt kostet fem sekel sølv.

And they became very short of food in Samaria; for they kept it shut in till the price of an ass's head was eighty shekels of silver, and a small measure of doves' droppings was five shekels of silver.

26 Da kongen av Israel gikk langs muren, ropte en kvinne til ham: Hjelp, min herre konge!

And when the king of Israel was going by on the wall, a woman came crying out to him, and said, Help! my lord king.

27 Han svarte: Om ikke Herren hjelper deg, hvor skal jeg da hente hjelp fra? Fra treskegulvet eller vinpressen?

And he said, If the Lord does not give you help, where am I to get help for you? from the grain-floor or the grape-crusher?

28 Kongen spurte hennes: Hva er galt? Og hun svarte: Denne kvinnen sa til meg: Gi din sønn, så vi kan spise ham i dag, og i morgen skal vi spise min sønn.

And the king said to her, What is troubling you? And she said in answer, This woman said to me, Give your son to be our food today, and we will have my son tomorrow.

29 Så kokte vi min sønn, og vi spiste. Neste dag sa jeg til henne: Nå skal du gi din sønn, så vi kan spise ham. Men hun hadde gjemt ham bort.

So, boiling my son, we had a meal of him; and on the day after I said to her, Now give your son for our food; but she has put her son in a secret place.

30 Da kongen hørte hva kvinnen sa, rev han sine klær i sinnets vold. Mens han gikk på muren, så folket at han hadde sekkestrie på kroppen under klærne.

Then the king, hearing what the woman said, took his robes in his hands, violently parting them; and, while he was walking on the wall, the people, looking, saw that under his robe he had haircloth on his flesh.

31 Han sa: Måtte Gud straffe meg hardt om Elisas hode forblir på hans skuldre i dag.

Then he said, May God's punishment come on me if Elisha, the son of Shaphat, keeps his head on his body after this day.

32 Elisa satt i sitt hus, og de eldste satt sammen med ham. Og før kongen nådde frem, sa han til dem: Ser dere hvordan denne morderiske mannen har sendt noen for å ta mitt liv?

But Elisha was in his house, and the responsible men were seated there with him; and before the king got there, Elisha said to those who were with him, Do you see how this cruel and violent man has sent to take away my life?

33 Mens han enda snakket med dem, kom kongen ned og sa: Dette onde kommer fra Herren; hvorfor skulle jeg lenger vente på Herren?

While he was still talking to them, the king came down and said, This evil is from the Lord; why am I to go on waiting any longer for the Lord?