¶ Elisa prophesyeth plenteousnes of vyttayles, and oth•••• thynges to Samaria. The Sirians runne away, and haue no man folowynge them The lorde that wolde not byleue the worde of Elisa is troden to death.
CAPI. VII.
THen Elisa sayde: heare ye the worde of [unspec A] the lorde: thus sayeth the lorde: to mo∣rowe this tyme shall a busshell of fyne floure be solde for a Sicle, & two busshels of Barley for a Sycle in the gate of Samaria. Then a certayne Lorde (on whose hande the kynge leaned) answered the man of god, and sayde: beholde, yf the lorde wolde make wyn∣dowes in heuen, myght this sayenge come to passe? He sayde: beholde, thou shalt se it with thyne eyes, but shalte not eate therof. And there were foure leperous men at the ente∣tynge in of the gate. And they sayde one to a∣nother, why syt we here, vntyll we dye? Yf we saye: we wyll entre into the citye, beholde, the derth is in the citye, and we shall dye therin. And yf we syt styll here, we dye also, Nowe therfore come, & let vs fall vpon the hoost of the Sirians: If they saue our lyues we shal lyue: Yf they kyl vs, then are we dead And so they arose in the nyght, to go to the hoost of the Sirians. And when they were come to the vttermoost parte of the hoost of Siria: beholde, there was no man there.
For the lord had made the hoost of the Si∣rians [unspec B] to heare a noyse of charett{is} & a noyse or horses, and the noyse of a great hoost. In so moche that they sayde one to another, lo, the kynge of Israell hath hyred agaynst vs the kynges of the Hethites, & the kynges of the Egyptyans, to come vpon vs. Wherfore they arose & fled in the nyght, & left theyr ten tes, theyr horses, and theyr Asses, & the felde whiche they had pytched euen as it was, and fled for theyr lyues. And when these lepers came to the edge of the hoost, they went in to a tent, and dyd eate, & drynke, & caryed thence syluer and golde & rayment, & went and hyd it: & came agayne & entred in to another tent / and caryed thence also, and went and hyd it.
Then sayde one to another: we do not well this daye, for asmoch as it is a day to brynge good tydynges / & we holde our peace. Yf we tarye tyll the day lyght, some myscheyfe wyl come vpon vs. Nowe therfore come, that we maye go, and tell the kynges housholde. [unspec C]
And so they came, & called vnto the porter of the citye, & tolde them sayenge: we came to the pauilions of the Sirians: & se, there was no man there, neyther voyce of man, but hor∣ses & asses tyed, and the tentes were, euen as they were wont to be. And so the man called vnto the porters, and they tolde the kynges house wtin. And the kyng arose in the nyght, & sayde vnto his seruaūtes: I wyll shew you nowe, what the Sirians haue done vnto vs▪ They knowe that we be hungrye, and ther∣fore are they gone out of the pauilyons, to hyde them selues in the felde, sayenge: When they come out of the citie, we shall earth them alyue, and get into the citye. And one of his seruauntes answered, & sayde: Let men ta•••• (I pray you) fyue of the horses that remayne & are lefte in the multytude. Beholde ☞ they are euen as all the multytude of Israell that are lefte in the citye: beholde (I say) they are euen as all the multytude of the Israelites that are cōsumed, & we wyll sende, & se. They toke therfore the horses of two chareties and the kynge sent after the hoost of the Sirians / sayenge: go, & se. And they went after them / euen vnto Iordan: & lo, all the way was full of clothes and vessels whiche the Sirians had cast from them in theyr haste.