2 Kings 4
4
A Prophet’s Widow Asks Elisha for Help
1A man from the group of prophets#4:1 group of prophets Literally, “sons of the prophets.” These were prophets and those studying to become prophets. Also in verses 38, 39, 44. had a wife. This man died, and his wife cried out to Elisha, “My husband was like a servant to you. Now he is dead! You know he honored the Lord. But he owed money to a man. Now that man is coming to take my two boys and make them his slaves!”
2Elisha answered, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
The woman said, “I don’t have anything in the house except a jar of olive oil.”
3Then Elisha said, “Go and borrow bowls from all your neighbors. They must be empty. Borrow plenty of bowls. 4Then go to your house and close the doors. Only you and your sons will be in the house. Then pour the oil into all the bowls. Fill them, and put them in a separate place.”
5So the woman left Elisha, went into her house, and shut the door. Only she and her sons were in the house. Her sons brought the bowls to her and she poured oil. 6She filled many bowls. Finally, she said to her son, “Bring me another bowl.”
But all the bowls were full. One of the sons said to her, “There aren’t any more bowls.” Then the oil in the jar was finished!
7When she told the man of God what had happened, Elisha said to her, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt. You and your sons can live on the money that is left.”
A Woman in Shunem Gives Elisha a Room
8One day Elisha went to Shunem, where an important woman lived. She asked Elisha to stop and eat at her house. So every time Elisha went through that place, he stopped there to eat.
9The woman said to her husband, “Look, I can see that Elisha is a holy man of God. He passes by our house all the time. 10Please, let’s make a little room on the roof#4:10 room on the roof In ancient Israel, houses had flat roofs that were used as an extra room. for him. Let’s put a bed in this room and a table, a chair, and a lampstand. Then when he comes to our house, he can have this room for himself.”
11One day Elisha came to the woman’s house. He went to this room and rested there. 12Elisha said to his servant Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite woman.”
The servant called the Shunammite woman, and she stood in front of Elisha. 13Elisha told his servant, “Now say to her, ‘Look, you have done your best to take care of us. What can we do for you? Do you want us to speak to the king for you, or to the captain of the army?’”
She answered, “I am fine living here among my own people.”
14Elisha said to Gehazi, “What can we do for her?”
He answered, “I know! She does not have a son, and her husband is old.”
15Then Elisha said, “Call her.”
So Gehazi called the woman. She came and stood at his door. 16Elisha said, “About this time next spring, you will be holding your own baby boy in your arms.”
The woman said, “No, sir! Man of God, don’t lie to me!”
The Woman in Shunem Has a Son
17But the woman did become pregnant and gave birth to a son that next spring, just as Elisha had said.
18The boy grew. One day the boy went out into the fields to see his father and the men cutting the grain. 19The boy said to his father, “Oh, my head! My head hurts!”
The father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother!”
20The servant took the boy to his mother. The boy sat on his mother’s lap until noon. Then he died.
The Woman Goes to See Elisha
21The woman laid the boy on the bed of Elisha, the man of God. Then she shut the door to that room and went outside. 22She called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey. Then I will go quickly to get the man of God and come back.”
23The woman’s husband said, “Why would you want to go to the man of God today? It isn’t the New Moon or Sabbath day.”
She said, “Goodbye!”#4:23 Goodbye Or “Everything is all right.” Literally, “Peace.”
24Then she put a saddle on a donkey and said to her servant, “Let’s go, and hurry! Go slow only when I tell you.”
25The woman went to Mount Carmel to get the man of God.
The man of God saw the Shunammite woman coming from far away and said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, there’s the Shunammite woman! 26Please run now to meet her! Say to her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is the child all right?’”
She answered, “Everything is all right.”#4:26 Everything is all right Or “Hello.” Literally, “Peace.”
27But the Shunammite woman went up the hill to the man of God. She bowed down and touched Elisha’s feet. Gehazi came near to pull her away. But the man of God said to Gehazi, “Leave her alone! She’s very upset, and the Lord didn’t tell me about it. He hid this news from me.”
28Then she said, “Sir, I never asked for a son. I told you, ‘Don’t trick me!’”
29Then Elisha said to Gehazi, “Get ready to go. Take my walking stick and go! If you meet anyone along the way, don’t even stop to say hello to him. If anyone says hello to you, don’t answer. Put my walking stick on the child’s face.”
30But the child’s mother said, “I promise, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave without you!”
So Elisha got up and followed her.
31Gehazi arrived at the house before Elisha and the Shunammite woman. Gehazi laid the walking stick on the child’s face, but the child did not talk or show any sign that he heard anything. Then Gehazi came back to meet Elisha and said, “The child will not wake up!”
The Woman’s Son Comes Back to Life
32Elisha went into the house, and there was the child, lying dead on his bed. 33Elisha went into the room and shut the door. He and the child were alone in the room now. Then he prayed to the Lord. 34Elisha went to the bed and lay on the child. He put his eyes on the child’s eyes, his mouth on the child’s mouth, and his hands on the child’s hands. He lay there on top of the child until the child’s body became warm.
35Then Elisha turned away and walked around the room. He went back and lay on the child until the child sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.
36Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman!”
Gehazi called her, and she came to Elisha. Elisha said, “Pick up your son.”
37Then the Shunammite woman went into the room and bowed down at Elisha’s feet. Then she picked up her son and went out.
Elisha and the Poisoned Soup
38Elisha went to Gilgal again. There was a famine in the land. The group of prophets was sitting in front of Elisha. Elisha said to his servant, “Put the large pot on the fire, and make some soup for the group of prophets.”
39One man went out into the field to gather herbs. He found a wild vine and picked the fruit from it. He put that fruit in his robe and brought it back. He cut up the wild fruit and put it into the pot. But the group of prophets did not know what kind of fruit it was.
40Then they poured some of the soup for the men to eat. But when they began to eat the soup, they shouted out, “Man of God! There’s poison in the pot!” The food tasted like poison, so they could not eat that food.
41But Elisha said, “Bring some flour.” He threw the flour into the pot. Then he said, “Pour the soup for the people so that they can eat.”
And there was nothing wrong with the soup.
Elisha Feeds the Group of Prophets
42A man from Baal Shalishah came and brought bread from the first harvest to the man of God. This man brought 20 loaves of barley bread and fresh grain in his sack. Then Elisha said, “Give this food to the people, so that they can eat.”
43Elisha’s servant said, “What? There are 100 men here. How can I give this food to all those men?”
But Elisha said, “Give the food to the people to eat. The Lord says, ‘They will eat and there will still be food left over.’”
44Then Elisha’s servant put the food in front of the group of prophets. The group of prophets had enough to eat, and they even had food left over. This happened just as the Lord had said.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
2 Kings 4
4
A poor widow
1Now there was a woman who had been married to a member of a group of prophets. She appealed to Elisha, saying, “My husband, your servant, is dead. You know how he feared the LORD. But now someone he owed money to has come to take my two children away as slaves.”
2Elisha said to her, “What can I do for you? Tell me what you still have left in the house.”
She said, “Your servant has nothing at all in the house except a small jar of oil.”
3He said, “Go out and borrow containers from all your neighbors. Get as many empty containers as possible. 4Then go in and close the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all those containers. Set each one aside when it’s full.”
5She left Elisha and closed the door behind her and her sons. They brought her containers as she kept on pouring. 6When she had filled the containers, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.”
He said to her, “There aren’t any more.” Then the oil stopped flowing, 7and she reported this to the man of God.
He said, “Go! Sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what remains.”
A rich woman
8One day Elisha went to Shunem. A rich woman lived there. She urged him to eat something, so whenever he passed by, he would stop in to eat some food. 9She said to her husband, “Look, I know that he is a holy man of God and he passes by regularly. 10Let’s make a small room on the roof. We’ll set up a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp for him there. Then when he comes to us, he can stay there.”
11So one day Elisha came there, headed to the room on the roof, and lay down. 12He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite woman.” Gehazi called her, and she stood before him. 13Elisha then said to Gehazi, “Say to her, ‘Look, you’ve gone to all this trouble for us. What can I do for you? Is there anything I can say on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’”
She said, “I’m content to live at home with my own people.”
14Elisha asked, “So what can be done for her?”
Gehazi said, “Well, she doesn’t have a son, and her husband is old.”
15Elisha said, “Call her.” So Gehazi called her, and she stood at the door. 16Elisha said, “About this time next year, you will be holding a son in your arms.”
But she said, “No, man of God, sir; don’t lie to your servant.”
17But the woman conceived and gave birth to a son at about the same time the next year. This was what Elisha had promised her.
18The child grew up. One day he ran to his father, who was with the harvest workers. 19He said to his father, “Oh, my head! My head!”
The father said to a young man, “Carry him to his mother.” 20So he picked up the boy and brought him to his mother.
The boy sat on her lap until noon. Then he died. 21She went up and laid him down on the bed for the man of God. Then she went out and closed the door. 22She called her husband and said, “Send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys so that I can hurry to the man of God and come back.”
23Her husband said, “Why are you going to him today? It’s not a new moon or sabbath.”
She said, “Don’t worry about it.” 24She saddled the donkey, then said to her young servant, “Drive the donkey hard. Don’t let me slow down unless I tell you.” 25So she went off and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.
As soon as the man of God saw her from a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Look, it’s the Shunammite woman! 26Run out to meet her and ask her, ‘Are things okay with you, your husband, and your child?’”
She said, “Things are okay.”
27When she got to the man of God at the mountain, she grabbed his feet. Gehazi came up to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone! She is distraught, but the LORD has hidden the reason from me and hasn’t told me why.”
28She said, “Did I ask you for a son, sir? Didn’t I say, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?”
29Elisha said to Gehazi, “Get ready, take my staff, and go! If you encounter anyone, don’t stop to greet them. If anyone greets you, don’t reply. Put my staff on the boy’s face.”
30But the boy’s mother said, “I swear by your life and by the LORD’s life, I won’t leave you!” So Elisha got up and followed her.
31Gehazi went on ahead of them. He set the staff on the young boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So he went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy didn’t wake up.”
32Elisha came into the house and saw the boy lying dead on his bed. 33He went in and closed the door behind the two of them. Then he prayed to the LORD. 34He got up on the bed and lay down on top of the child, putting his mouth on the boy’s mouth, his eyes on the boy’s eyes, his hands on the boy’s hands. And as he bent over him, the child’s skin grew warm. 35Then Elisha got down and paced back and forth in the house. Once again he got up on the bed and bent over the boy, at which point the boy sneezed#4.35 Or gasped; Heb uncertain seven times and opened his eyes. 36Elisha called for Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” Gehazi called her, and she came to Elisha. He told her, “Pick up your son.” 37She came and fell at his feet, facedown on the ground. Then she picked up her son and left.
Miracles with food
38When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. A group of prophets was sitting before him. He said to his servant, “Put on the big pot and cook some stew for the prophets.” 39So one of them went out to the field to gather plants; he found a wild vine and gathered wild gourds from it, filling his garment. He came and cut them up into the pot of stew, but no one knew what they were.
40The stew was served to the men, but as they started to eat it, they cried out and said, “There is death in that pot, man of God!” They couldn’t eat it.
41Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Serve the people so they can eat.” At that point, there was nothing bad left in the pot.
42A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God some bread from the early produce—twenty loaves of barley bread and fresh grain from his bag.#4.42 Or still on its stem Elisha said, “Give it to the people so they can eat.”
43His servant said, “How can I feed one hundred men with this?”
Elisha said, “Give it to the people so they can eat! This is what the LORD says: ‘Eat and there will be leftovers.’” 44So the servant gave the food to them. They ate and had leftovers, in agreement with the LORD’s word.
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