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.
1 Elisha answered, “I have a message for you. The Lord promises that tomorrow here in Samaria, you will be able to buy a large sack of flour or two large sacks of barley for almost nothing.”
2 The chief officer there with the king replied, “I don't believe it! Even if the Lord sent a rainstorm, it couldn't produce that much grain by tomorrow.”
“You will see it happen, but you won't eat any of the food,” Elisha warned him.
The Syrian Army Stops Its Attack
3 About the same time, four men with leprosy were just outside the gate of Samaria. They said to each other, “Why should we sit here, waiting to die? 4 There's nothing to eat in the city, so we would starve if we went inside. But if we stay out here, we will die for sure. Let's sneak over to the Syrian army camp and surrender. They might kill us, but they might not.” 5-8 That evening the four men got up and left for the Syrian camp.
As they walked toward the camp, the Lord caused the Syrian troops to hear what sounded like the roar of a huge cavalry. The soldiers said to each other, “Listen! The king of Israel must have hired Hittite and Egyptian troops to attack us. Let's get out of here!” So they ran out of their camp that night, leaving their tents and horses and donkeys.
When the four men with leprosy reached the edge of the Syrian camp, no one was there. They walked into one of the tents, where they ate and drank, before carrying off clothes, as well as silver and gold. They hid all this, then walked into another tent; they took what they wanted and hid it too.
9 They said to each other, “This isn't right. Today is a day to celebrate, and we haven't told anyone else what has happened. If we wait until morning, we will be punished. Let's go to the king's palace at once and tell the good news.”
10 They went back to Samaria and shouted up to the guards at the gate, “We've just come from the Syrian army camp, and all the soldiers are gone! The tents are empty, and the horses and donkeys are still tied up. We didn't see or hear anybody.”
11 The guards reported the news to the king's palace. 12 The king got out of bed and said to his officers, “I know what those Syrians are doing. They know we're starving, so they're hiding in the fields, hoping we will go out to look for food. When we do, they can capture us and take over our city.”
13 One of his officers replied, “We have a few horses left—why don't we let some men take five of them and go to the Syrian camp and see what's happening? We're going to die anyway like those who have already died.” 14 They found two chariots, and the king commanded the men to find out what had happened to the Syrian troops.
15 The men rode as far as the Jordan River. All along the way they saw clothes and equipment that the Syrians had thrown away as they escaped. Then they went back to the king and told him what they had seen.
16 At once the people went to the Syrian camp and carried off what was left. They took so much that a large sack of flour and two large sacks of barley sold for almost nothing, just as the Lord had promised.
17 The king of Israel had put his chief officer in charge of the gate, but he died when the people trampled him as they rushed out of the city. 18 Earlier, when the king was at Elisha's house, Elisha had told him that flour or barley would sell for almost nothing. 19 But the officer refused to believe that even the Lord could do that. So Elisha warned him that he would see it happen, but would not eat any of the food. 20 And that's exactly what happened—the officer was trampled to death.