While he was still talking to them, the messenger arrived. He said to Elisha, “This severe famine is from the Lord. Why should I wait any longer for the Lord ⌞to help us⌟?”
Everyone fears you, O King of the Nations. This is what you deserve. No one is like you among all the wise people in the nations or in all their kingdoms.
My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. My heart is beating wildly! My heart is pounding! I can’t keep quiet because I hear a ram’s horn sounding the alarm for war.
Report this message in Judah. Make it heard in Jerusalem. Say, “Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land.” Shout loudly and say, “Gather together! Let’s go into the fortified cities.”
Don’t you fear me?” asks the Lord. “Don’t you tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, a permanent barrier that it cannot cross. Although the waves toss continuously, they can’t break through. Although they roar, they can’t cross it.
“Take cover, people of Benjamin! Run away from Jerusalem! Blow the ram’s horn in Tekoa. Raise the flag over Beth Hakkerem, because disaster and widespread destruction are coming from the north.
Before that time there was no money to hire any person or animal. No one who traveled was safe from the enemy. I turned every person against his neighbor.
As people who know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. God already knows what we are, and I hope that you also know what we are.