2 Kings 4

Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to ^[a]Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”

The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.’

Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.”

Elisha replied to her, ‘How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?’

‘Your servant has nothing there at all,’ she said, ‘except a small jar of olive oil.’

Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels at large for yourself from all your neighbors, even empty vessels; do not get a few.

Elisha said, ‘Go round and ask all your neighbours for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few.

And you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full.”

Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.’

So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they were bringing the vessels to her and she poured.

She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring.

When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not one vessel more.” And the oil stopped.

When all the jars were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another one.’

But he replied, ‘There is not a jar left.’ Then the oil stopped flowing.

Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”

The Shunammite Woman

She went and told the man of God, and he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.’

The Shunammite’s son restored to life

Now there came a day when Elisha passed over to Shunem, where there was a ^[b]prominent woman, and she persuaded him to eat ^[c]food. And so it was, as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat ^[d]food.

One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he passed by, he stopped there to eat.

She said to her husband, “Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God passing by us continually.

She said to her husband, ‘I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God.

Please, let us make a little walled upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.”

Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.’

^[e]One day he came there and turned in to the upper chamber and ^[f]rested.

One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there.

Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” And when he had called her, she stood before him.

He said to his servant Gehazi, ‘Call the Shunammite.’ So he called her, and she stood before him.

He said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Behold, you have been ^[g]careful for us with all this ^[h]care; what can I do for you? Would you be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the army?’” And she ^[i]answered, “I live among my own people.”

Elisha said to him, ‘Tell her, “You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?”’

She replied, ‘I have a home among my own people.’

So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi ^[j]answered, “Truly she has no son and her husband is old.”

‘What can be done for her?’ Elisha asked.

Gehazi said, ‘She has no son, and her husband is old.’

He said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway.

Then Elisha said, ‘Call her.’ So he called her, and she stood in the doorway.

Then he said, “At this season ^[k]next year you will embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God, do not lie to your maidservant.”

‘About this time next year,’ Elisha said, ‘you will hold a son in your arms.’

‘No, my lord!’ she objected. ‘Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!’

The woman conceived and bore a son at that season ^[l]the next year, as Elisha had said to her.

The Shunammite’s Son

But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.

When the child was grown, the day came that he went out to his father to the reapers.

The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers.

He said to his father, “My head, my head.” And he said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.”

He said to his father, ‘My head! My head!’

His father told a servant, ‘Carry him to his mother.’

When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her ^[m]lap until noon, and then died.

After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died.

She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door behind him and went out.

She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out.

Then she called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and return.”

She called her husband and said, ‘Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return.’

He said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath.” And she said, “It will be well.”

‘Why go to him today?’ he asked. ‘It’s not the New Moon or the Sabbath.’

‘That’s all right,’ she said.

Then she saddled a donkey and said to her servant, “Drive and go forward; do not slow down ^[n]the pace for me unless I tell you.”

She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, ‘Lead on; don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.’

So she went and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel.

When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, ^[o]there is the Shunammite.

So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.

When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, ‘Look! There’s the Shunammite!

Please run now to meet her and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’” And she ^[p]answered, “It is well.”

Run to meet her and ask her, “Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?”’

‘Everything is all right,’ she said.

When she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to push her away; but the man of God said, “Let her alone, for her soul is ^[q]troubled within her; and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.”

When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, ‘Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why.’

Then she said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?”

‘Did I ask you for a son, my lord?’ she said. ‘Didn’t I tell you, “Don’t raise my hopes”?’

Then he said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins and take my staff in your hand, and go your way; if you meet any man, do not salute him, and if anyone salutes you, do not answer him; and lay my staff on the lad’s face.”

Elisha said to Gehazi, ‘Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. Don’t greet anyone you meet, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy’s face.’

The mother of the lad said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” And he arose and followed her.

But the child’s mother said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.’ So he got up and followed her.

Then Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff on the lad’s face, but there was no sound or ^[r]response. So he returned to meet him and told ^[s]him, “The lad has not awakened.”

Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, ‘The boy has not awakened.’

When Elisha came into the house, behold the lad was dead and laid on his bed.

When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch.

So he entered and shut the door behind them both and prayed to the Lord.

He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord.

And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth and his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands, and he stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child became warm.

Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm.

Then he returned and walked in the house once back and forth, and went up and stretched himself on him; and the lad sneezed seven times and the lad opened his eyes.

Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got onto the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

He called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Take up your son.”

Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, ‘Call the Shunammite.’ And he did. When she came, he said, ‘Take your son.’

Then she went in and fell at his feet and bowed herself to the ground, and she took up her son and went out.

The Poisonous Stew

She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.

Death in the pot

When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. ^[t]As the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.”

Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, ‘Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these prophets.’

Then one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, for they did not know what they were.

One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild gourd plant and picked as many of its gourds as his garment could hold. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were.

So they poured it out for the men to eat. And as they were eating of the stew, they cried out and said, “O man of God, there is death in the pot.” And they were unable to eat.

The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, ‘Man of God, there is death in the pot!’ And they could not eat it.

But he said, “Now bring meal.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Pour it out for the people that they may eat.” Then there was no harm in the pot.

Elisha said, ‘Get some flour.’ He put it into the pot and said, ‘Serve it to the people to eat.’ And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

Feeding of a hundred

Now a man came from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat.”

A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe corn, along with some ears of new corn. ‘Give it to the people to eat,’ Elisha said.

His attendant said, “What, will I set this before a hundred men?” But he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’”

‘How can I set this before a hundred men?’ his servant asked.

But Elisha answered, ‘Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says: “They will eat and have some left over.”’

So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.

Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.