2 Kings 7:16

¹⁴ Then the scouts took two chariots with horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army, saying, “Go and see.”

¹⁵ And they tracked them as far as the Jordan, and indeed, the whole way was littered with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown off in haste. So the scouts returned and told the king.

Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. It was then that a seah of fine flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.

¹⁷ Now the king had appointed the officer on whose arm he leaned to be in charge of the gate, but the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king had come to him.

¹⁸ It happened just as the man of God had told the king: “About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel.”

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. It was then that a seah of fine flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
KJV: And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
WEB: The people went out and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the LORD’s word.
ASV: And the people went out, and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was [sold] for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of Jehovah.
DARBY: And the people went out and plundered the camp of the Syrians; and the measure of fine flour was at a shekel, and two measures of barley at a shekel, according to the word of Jehovah.
BLB: And the people went out and plundered the tents of Aram. And there was a seah of fine flour for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of YHWH.

ÅB: Så gikk folket ut og plyndret syrernes leir; da ble et mål fint mel å få for en sekel og likeså to mål bygg for en sekel, etter Herrens ord.
OTB: Så våget folket seg ut og plyndret arameernes leir. Følgelig ble en seah fint mel solgt for en sekel, og to seah bygg for en sekel, i samsvar med Herrens ord.
B1930: Så gikk folket ut og plyndret syrernes leir; da blev et mål fint mel å få for en sekel og likeså to mål bygg for en sekel, efter Herrens ord.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

2 Kings 7:1
Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the LORD says: ‘About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel.’”
Read in context
Isaiah 33:4
Your spoil, O nations, is gathered as by locusts; like a swarm of locusts men sweep over it.
Read in context
Isaiah 33:23
Your ropes are slack; they cannot secure the mast or spread the sail. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided, and even the lame will carry off plunder.
Read in context
Job 27:16–17
Though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up a wardrobe like clay,
Read in context
Psalms 68:12
“Kings and their armies flee in haste; she who waits at home divides the plunder.
Read in context
Isaiah 33:1
Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.
Read in context
Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
Read in context
2 Chronicles 20:25
Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to carry off the plunder, and they found on the bodies an abundance of goods and valuables —more than they could carry away. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much.
Read in context