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.

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. A great king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege works against 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, 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.

And it happened after this that Ben-Hadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.And there was a great famine in Samaria; and indeed they besieged it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and one-fourth of a kab of dove droppings for five shekels of silver.Then, as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying,“ Help, my Lord, O king!”And he said,“ If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?”Then the king said to her,“ What is troubling you?” And she answered,“ This woman said to me,‘ Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day,‘ Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.”Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he tore his clothes; and as he passed by on the wall, the people looked, and there underneath he had sackcloth on his body.Then he said,“ God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today!”But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man ahead of him, but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders,“ Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent someone to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”And while he was still talking with them, there was the messenger, coming down to him; and then the king said,“ Surely this calamity is from the Lord; why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”Then Elisha said,“ Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord:‘ Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’”So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said,“ Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” And he said,“ In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another,“ Why are we sitting here until we die?If we say,‘ We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.”And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there.For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses— the noise of a great army; so they said to one another,“ Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!”Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact— their tents, their horses, and their donkeys— and they fled for their lives.And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it.Then they said to one another,“ We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, saying,“ We went to the Syrian camp, and surprisingly no one was there, not a human sound— only horses and donkeys tied, and the tents intact.”And the gatekeepers called out, and they told it to the king’s household inside.So the king arose in the night and said to his servants,“ Let me now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying,‘ When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.’”And one of his servants answered and said,“ Please, let several men take five of the remaining horses which are left in the city. Look, they may either become like all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; or indeed, I say, they may become like all the multitude of Israel left from those who are consumed; so let us send them and see.”Therefore they took two chariots with horses; and the king sent them in the direction of the Syrian army, saying,“ Go and see.”And they went after them to the Jordan; and indeed all the road was full of garments and weapons which the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the king.Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord.Now the king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. But the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him.So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying,“ Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, shall be sold tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.”Then that officer had answered the man of God, and said,“ Now look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said,“ In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.

Then they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maachah; and they cast up a siege mound against the city, and it stood by the rampart. And all the people who were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down.Then a wise woman cried out from the city,“ Hear, Hear! Please say to Joab,‘ Come nearby, that I may speak with you.’”When he had come near to her, the woman said,“ Are you Joab?” He answered,“ I am.” Then she said to him,“ Hear the words of your maidservant.” And he answered,“ I am listening.”So she spoke, saying,“ They used to talk in former times, saying,‘ They shall surely seek guidance at Abel,’ and so they would end disputes.I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the inheritance of the Lord?”And Joab answered and said,“ Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy!That is not so. But a man from the mountains of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has raised his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city.” So the woman said to Joab,“ Watch, his head will be thrown to you over the wall.”Then the woman in her wisdom went to all the people. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. Then he blew a trumpet, and they withdrew from the city, every man to his tent. So Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem.