14. He ordered his best troops to go there with horses and chariots. They marched out during the night and surrounded the town.
15. When Elisha's servant got up the next morning, he saw that Syrian troops had the town surrounded. “Sir, what are we going to do?” he asked.
16. “Don't be afraid,” Elisha answered. “There are more troops on our side than on theirs.”
17. Then he prayed, “Lord, please help him to see.” And the Lord let the servant see that the hill was covered with fiery horses and flaming chariots all around Elisha.
18. As the Syrian army came closer, Elisha prayed, “Lord, make those soldiers blind!” And the Lord blinded them with a bright light.
19. Elisha told the enemy troops, “You've taken the wrong road and are in the wrong town. Follow me. I'll lead you to the man you're looking for.” Elisha led them straight to the capital city of Samaria.
20. When all the soldiers were inside the city, Elisha prayed, “Lord, now let them see again.” The Lord let them see that they were standing in the middle of Samaria.
21. The king of Israel saw them and asked Elisha, “Should I kill them, sir?”
22. “No!” Elisha answered. “You didn't capture these troops in battle, so you have no right to kill them. Instead, give them something to eat and drink and let them return to their leader.”
23. The king ordered a huge meal to be prepared for Syria's army, and when they finished eating, he let them go.For a while, the Syrian troops stopped invading Israel's territory.
24. Some time later, King Benhadad of Syria called his entire army together, then they marched to Samaria and attacked.
25. They kept up the attack until there was nothing to eat in the city. In fact, a donkey's head cost about eighty pieces of silver, and a small bowl of pigeon droppings cost five pieces of silver.
26. One day as the king of Israel was walking along the top of the city wall, a woman shouted to him, “Please, Your Majesty, help me!”
27. “Let the Lord help you!” the king said. “Do you think I have grain or wine to give you?”
28. Then he asked, “What's the matter anyway?”The woman answered, “Another woman and I were so hungry that we agreed to eat our sons. She said if we ate my son one day, we could eat hers the next day.
29. So yesterday we cooked my son and ate him. But today when I went to her house to eat her son, she had hidden him.”
30. The king tore off his clothes in sorrow, and since he was on top of the city wall, the people saw that he was wearing sackcloth underneath.
31. He said, “I pray that God will punish me terribly, if Elisha's head is still on his shoulders by this time tomorrow.”