1 Elisha answered, “Listen to what the Lord says! By this time tomorrow you will be able to buy in Samaria ten pounds of the best wheat or twenty pounds of barley for one piece of silver.”
2 The personal attendant of the king said to Elisha, “That can't happen—not even if the Lord himself were to send grain at once!”
“You will see it happen, but you won't get to eat any of the food,” Elisha replied.
The Syrian Army Leaves
3 Four men who were suffering from a dreaded skin disease were outside the gates of Samaria, and they said to each other, “Why should we wait here until we die? 4 It's no use going into the city, because we would starve to death in there; but if we stay here, we'll die also. So let's go to the Syrian camp; the worst they can do is kill us, but maybe they will spare our lives.” 5 So, as it began to get dark, they went to the Syrian camp, but when they reached it, no one was there. 6 The Lord had made the Syrians hear what sounded like the advance of a large army with horses and chariots, and the Syrians thought that the king of Israel had hired Hittite and Egyptian kings and their armies to attack them. 7 So that evening the Syrians had fled for their lives, abandoning their tents, horses, and donkeys, and leaving the camp just as it was.
8 When the four men reached the edge of the camp, they went into a tent, ate and drank what was there, grabbed the silver, gold, and clothing they found, and went off and hid them; then they returned, entered another tent, and did the same thing. 9 But then they said to each other, “We shouldn't be doing this! We have good news, and we shouldn't keep it to ourselves. If we wait until morning to tell it, we are sure to be punished. Let's go right now and tell the king's officers!” 10 So they left the Syrian camp, went back to Samaria, and called out to the guards at the gates: “We went to the Syrian camp and didn't see or hear anybody; the horses and donkeys have not been untied, and the tents are just as the Syrians left them.”
11 The guards announced the news, and it was reported in the palace. 12 It was still night, but the king got out of bed and said to his officials, “I'll tell you what the Syrians are planning! They know about the famine here, so they have left their camp to go and hide in the countryside. They think that we will leave the city to find food, and then they will take us alive and capture the city.”
13 One of his officials said, “The people here in the city are doomed anyway, like those that have already died. So let's send some men with five of the horses that are left, so that we can find out what has happened.” 14 They chose some men, and the king sent them in two chariots with instructions to go and find out what had happened to the Syrian army. 15 The men went as far as the Jordan, and all along the road they saw the clothes and equipment that the Syrians had abandoned as they fled. Then they returned and reported to the king. 16 The people of Samaria rushed out and looted the Syrian camp. And as the Lord had said, ten pounds of the best wheat or twenty pounds of barley were sold for one piece of silver.
17 It so happened that the king of Israel had put the city gate under the command of the officer who was his personal attendant. The officer was trampled to death there by the people and died, as Elisha had predicted when the king went to see him. 18 Elisha had told the king that by that time the following day ten pounds of the best wheat or twenty pounds of barley would be sold in Samaria for one piece of silver, 19 to which the officer had answered, “That can't happen—not even if the Lord himself were to send grain at once!” And Elisha had replied, “You will see it happen, but you won't get to eat any of the food.” 20 And that is just what happened to him—he died, trampled to death by the people at the city gate.
1 Ngono Elisha kati, “Ihwa dama la Yahwe, tjinoleba Yahwe ndi etji, mangwana nge tjibaka itjetji tjilizanyo tje bgwisa gwe tjiwunga gowobe gutengesiwa ne shekele ing'ompela, ne zwilizanyo zwibili zwe bhali zowotengwa nge shekele ku nkoba we Samariya.” 2 Ngono ntungamili unonayidziwa luboko ndi mambo kadwa nlume we Ndzimu kati, “Bona, nenguba Yahwe bangazhula mafesitere e kudzimu, apa ikoku kungashingikala kene?” Ngono Elisha kadabila eti, “Unowokubona nge mesho awo, koga autowokuja.”
3 Kwakabe kuna balume bali banna begwala mapele ku nkoba we nzi nkulu, ngono bakalangana beti, “Nekutini tingagala ipapa kuswikila tifa kene? 4 Ha titi, ‘Towobgwilila mu nzi nkulu’, kuna bhamba mu nzi nkulu towofila mukati, ngono apa tigala ipapa towofa zwedu. Ndizo ngwenu ngatiyendeni ku bukotokelo gwe Basiriya. Ha bangatitjidza towotjila, ha bangatibulaya towofa.” 5 Ndizo bakamilika kutjakabhata bakayenda ku bukotokelo gwe Basiriya, koga bakati beswika ku ndzibo we bukotokelo gwe Basiriya, bona, kwakabe kusina nthu mukati. 6 Ngobe Yahwe bakabe bathama kuti ngwa ye Baasiriya ihwe nsindo we koloyi dze ngwa newe mbizi ne nsindo we ngwa hwulu, kwabakadzina baka budzana beti, “Bona, mambo we Iziraela wati shakila bomambo be Bahiti na bomambo be Egipiti kuti bazhe batinginilile.” 7 Ndizo bakamilika bakatizha kutjakabhata ngono bakasiya mishasha yabo ne mbizi ne madonki abo. Bakasiya bukotokelo gwabo gwakajalo bezwitjidza. 8 Ngono balume banogwala mapele bakati batjiswika ku ndzibo we bukotokelo bakangina mu nshasha, ngono bakaja bakang'wa, bakasenga siliva ne golide ne zwiambalo ngono bakayenda bakanozwisumbika. Bakashanduka bakangina mu nshasha mmwe ngono bakasenga zwithu muuli bakanozwisumbika.
9 Ipapo bakalebesana beti, “Atitothama zubuyanana. Zhuba ileli ndele ndebo mbuya, ngono apa tingazwinyalaligwa tikamilila kuti zhuba libhude, lobgwa shamu kowotiwila, ngono ngwenu ngatiyendeni tinozibisa be ng'umba ye bumambo.” 10 Ndizo bakayenda bakanodana balindi be nkoba we nzi nkulu bakababudza beti, “Tayenda ku bukotokelo gwe Basiriya ngono tawana kusina ne nthu unoboneka kene unohwika koga kwabe kuna mbizi dzakasungiligwa ne madonki akasungiligwa, ngono ne mishasha yasiyiwa yakajalo.” 11 Balindi bakaandamisa ndebo ngono kukanozibisiwa neku ng'umba ya mambo.
12 Ngono mambo bakamuka kuli busiku bakadwa balanda babo bakati, “Ndowomubudza kuti Baasiriya batilukila gwanga tjini. Banoziba kuti tobulawa nge zhala, ndizo wali babhuda mu bukotokelo banobgwata ku shango bekumbulila beti, ‘Ha bangabhuda mu nzi nkulu towobatapa betjila tikangina mu nzi nkulu.’ ” 13 Ngono mmwe we balanda babe kati, “Imani bamwe balume batole mbizi dzili shanu munadzasala, bona, banonga bunji gose gwe Baiziraela bakasala ipapo, bona, banonga bunji gwe Baiziraela bakalobesiwa, ngatitumileni bathu banoshola.”
14 Ndizo bakashalula koloyi dze ngwa mbili, ngono mambo kabatuma kutobela ngwa ye Basiriya eti, “Yendani munoshola.” 15 Bakabatobela bakadzina bakanoswika ku Jorodani, ngono mu zila kwakabe kulizhele zwiambalo ne zwija zwakabezwilashiwa nge Basiriya mu kutizha kwabo. Ndizo batumwa bakashanduka bakanobudza mambo. 16 Ngono bathu bakabhuda bakanotapa bukotokelo gwe Basiriya, ndizo tjilizanyo tje bgwisa gwe tjiwunga tjikatengesiwa nge shekele, ne zwilizanyo zwibili zwe bhali zwikatengisiwa nge shekele, kuyendidzana nge dama la Yahwe.
17 Ipapo ntungamili wakabe mambo enaila luboko gugwe, kwakabe kuli iye wakalingilila nkoba we nzi nkulu, ngono bathu bakantshamba nge makumbo mu nkoba ngono kafa sekwa kaleba nlume we Ndzimu mu tjibaka tja mambo bakabe bedelukila ku ng'umba yabo. 18 Kwakashingikala koga sekwa kaleba nlume we Ndzimu eti, “Zwilizanyo zwibili zwe bhali zowotengesiwa nge shekele, ne tjilizanyo tje bgwisa gwe tjiwunga tjowotengesiwa nge shekele mu tjibaka itjetji mangwana pa nkoba we Samariya,” 19 koga ntungamili wakabe adwa nlume we Ndzimu eti, “Bona, nenguba Yahwe bangazhula mafesitere e kudzimu, apa ikoku kungashingikala kene?” Ngono nlume we Ndzimu wakabe anshandula eti, “Unowokubona nge mesho awo koga autowoja tjimwe.” 20 Ngono nge malebeswa nditjo tjakanshingikalila, bathu bakantshamba tshamba mu nkoba ngono kafa.