His servants approached and said to him, "O master, if the prophet had told you to do some difficult task, you would have been willing to do it. It seems you should be happy that he simply said, "Wash and you will be healed."

When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, "Should I strike them down, my master?"

He was still talking to them when the messenger approached and said, "Look, the Lord is responsible for this disaster! Why should I continue to wait for the Lord to help?"

Now Elisha advised the woman whose son he had brought back to life, "You and your family should go and live somewhere else for a while, for the Lord has decreed that a famine will overtake the land for seven years."

Jehoiada the priest ordered the officers of the units of hundreds, who were in charge of the army, "Bring her outside the temple to the guards. Put the sword to anyone who follows her." The priest gave this order because he had decided she should not be executed in the Lord's temple.

Jehoiada then drew up a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, stipulating that they should be loyal to the Lord.

The priests should receive the silver they need from the treasurers and repair any damage to the temple they discover."

Have them hand it over to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord's temple. They in turn should pay the temple workers to repair it,

including craftsmen, builders, and masons, and should buy wood and chiseled stone for the repair work.