There was a small city with few men in it. A great king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege works against it.

就是有一小城，其中的人数稀少，有大君王来攻击，修筑营垒，将城围困。

就是有一人口稀少的小城，遇大君王前来攻击，修筑营垒，将城围困。

就是有一人口稀少的小城，遇大君王前来攻击，修筑营垒，将城围困。

有一个势力强大的君王来攻击一个人口不多的小城，他建造营垒围困这城。

有一座小城，人数不多；有一个大君王来进攻，把它包围，建造巨大的高垒攻城。

有一座小城，城中的人很少；一个大君王来到，把它包围，并建造巨大的高垒来攻城。

就是有一小城，其中的人數稀少，有大君王來攻擊，修築營壘，將城圍困。

就是有一人口稀少的小城，遇大君王前來攻擊，修築營壘，將城圍困。

就是有一人口稀少的小城，遇大君王前來攻擊，修築營壘，將城圍困。

有一個勢力強大的君王來攻擊一個人口不多的小城，他建造營壘圍困這城。

有一座小城，人數不多；有一個大君王來進攻，把它包圍，建造巨大的高壘攻城。

有一個小城，裏邊的人稀少；有一個大王來攻擊它，圍繞它，修築大高壘來攻打它。

有一座小城，城中的人很少；一個大君王來到，把它包圍，並建造巨大的高壘來攻城。

有一小邑、其人鮮少、有一大王至而圍之、築高壘以攻之、

設也城邑褊小、人民鮮少、大國之君圍之、築高壘以環攻、

即如有一小邑、其中人民稀少、大力之王來攻、築高壘以圍之、

There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it.

There was once a small city. Only a few people lived there. A powerful king attacked it. He brought in war machines all around it.

There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it.

There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.

there was a small city with few men in it, and a great king came to it, surrounded it, and constructed large siegeworks against it.

There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it.

There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it.

There was a small city with few men in it. A great king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege works against it.

[ There was] a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:

There was once a small city with a few men in it, and a mighty king attacked it, besieging it and building strong siege works against it.

There was a little city, and few men within it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it.

Some time later, King Ben-hadad of Aram brought all his military units together and marched up and laid siege to Samaria.So there was a severe famine in Samaria, and they continued the siege against it until a donkey’s head sold for thirty-four ounces of silver, and a cup of dove’s dung sold for two ounces of silver.As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him,“ My lord the king, help!”He answered,“ If the LORD doesn’t help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor or the winepress?”Then the king asked her,“ What’s the matter?” She said,“ This woman said to me,‘ Give up your son, and we will eat him today. Then we will eat my son tomorrow.’So we boiled my son and ate him, and I said to her the next day,‘ Give up your son, and we will eat him,’ but she has hidden her son.”When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes. Then, as he was passing by on the wall, the people saw that there was sackcloth under his clothes next to his skin.He announced,“ May God punish me and do so severely if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today.”Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a man ahead of him, but before the messenger got to him, Elisha said to the elders,“ Do you see how this murderer has sent someone to remove my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door to keep him out. Isn’t the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him. Then he said,“ This disaster is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”Elisha replied,“ Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the LORD says:‘ About this time tomorrow at Samaria’s gate, six quarts of fine flour will sell for a half ounce of silver and twelve quarts of barley will sell for a half ounce of silver.’”Then the captain, the king’s right-hand man, responded to the man of God,“ Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” Elisha announced,“ You will in fact see it with your own eyes, but you won’t eat any of it.”Now four men with a skin disease were at the entrance to the city gate. They said to each other,“ Why just sit here until we die?If we say,‘ Let’s go into the city,’ we will die there because the famine is in the city, but if we sit here, we will also die. So now, come on. Let’s surrender to the Arameans’ camp. If they let us live, we will live; if they kill us, we will die.”So the diseased men got up at twilight to go to the Arameans’ camp. When they came to the camp’s edge, they discovered that no one was there,for the Lord had caused the Aramean camp to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a large army. The Arameans had said to each other,“ The king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to attack us.”So they had gotten up and fled at twilight, abandoning their tents, horses, and donkeys. The camp was intact, and they had fled for their lives.When these diseased men came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent to eat and drink. Then they picked up the silver, gold, and clothing and went off and hid them. They came back and entered another tent, picked things up, and hid them.Then they said to each other,“ We’re not doing what is right. Today is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until morning light, our punishment will catch up with us. So let’s go tell the king’s household.”The diseased men came and called to the city’s gatekeepers and told them,“ We went to the Aramean camp and no one was there— no human sounds. There was nothing but tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents were intact.”The gatekeepers called out, and the news was reported to the king’s household.So the king got up in the night and said to his servants,“ Let me tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving, so they have left the camp to hide in the open country, thinking,‘ When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and go into the city.’”But one of his servants responded,“ Please, let messengers take five of the horses that are left in the city. Their fate is like the entire Israelite community who will die, so let’s send them and see.”The messengers took two chariots with horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army, saying,“ Go and see.”So they followed them as far as the Jordan. They saw that the whole way was littered with clothes and equipment the Arameans had thrown off in their haste. The messengers returned and told the king.Then the people went out and plundered the Aramean camp. It was then that six quarts of fine flour sold for a half ounce of silver and twelve quarts of barley sold for a half ounce of silver, according to the word of the LORD.The king had appointed the captain, his right-hand man, to be in charge of the city gate, but the people trampled him in the gate. He died, just as the man of God had predicted when the king had come to him.When the man of God had said to the king,“ About this time tomorrow twelve quarts of barley will sell for a half ounce of silver and six quarts of fine flour will sell for a half ounce of silver at Samaria’s gate,”this captain had answered the man of God,“ Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” Elisha had said,“ You will in fact see it with your own eyes, but you won’t eat any of it.”This is what happened to him: the people trampled him in the city gate, and he died.

Joab’s troops came and besieged Sheba in Abel of Beth-maacah. They built a siege ramp against the outer wall of the city. While all the troops with Joab were battering the wall to make it collapse,a wise woman called out from the city,“ Listen! Listen! Please tell Joab to come here and let me speak with him.”When he had come near her, the woman asked,“ Are you Joab?”“ I am,” he replied.“ Listen to the words of your servant,” she said to him. He answered,“ I’m listening.”She said,“ In the past they used to say,‘ Seek counsel in Abel,’ and that’s how they settled disputes.I am one of the peaceful and faithful in Israel, but you’re trying to destroy a city that is like a mother in Israel. Why would you devour the LORD’s inheritance?”Joab protested:“ Never! I would never devour or demolish!That is not the case. There is a man named Sheba son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim, who has rebelled against King David. Deliver this one man, and I will withdraw from the city.” The woman replied to Joab,“ Watch! His head will be thrown over the wall to you.”The woman went to all the people with her wise counsel, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So he blew the ram’s horn, and they dispersed from the city, each to his own tent. Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.