2 Kings 4
4
1 Now a certain woman, from the wives of the prophets, cried out to Elisha, saying: "My husband, your servant, is dead. And you know that your servant was one who fears the Lord. And behold, a creditor has arrived, so that he may take away my two sons to serve him."
2 And Elisha said to her: "What do you want me to do for you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?" And she responded, "I, your handmaid, do not have anything in my house, except a little oil, with which I may be anointed."
3 And he said to her: "Go, ask to borrow from all your neighbors empty vessels, more than a few.
4 And enter and close your door. And when you are inside with your sons, pour from the oil into all those vessels. And when they are full, take them away."
5 And so, the woman went and closed the door upon herself and her sons. They were bringing her the vessels, and she was pouring into them.
6 And when the vessels had been filled, she said to her son, "Bring me another a vessel." And he responded, "I have none." And there was oil remaining.
7 Then she went and told the man of God. And he said: "Go, sell the oil, and repay your creditor. Then you and your sons may live on what remains."
8 Now it happened that, on a certain day, Elisha passed by Shunem. And there was a great woman there, who took him to eat bread. And since he frequently passed by there, he turned aside to her house, so that he might eat bread.
9 And she said to her husband: "I have noticed that he is a holy man of God, who passes by us frequently.
10 Therefore, let us prepare a small upper room for him, and place a bed in it for him, and a table, and a chair, and a lampstand, so that when he comes to us, he may stay there."
11 Then it happened that, on a certain day, arriving, he turned aside into the upper room, and he rested there.
12 And he said to his servant Gehazi, "Call this Shunammite woman." And when he had called her, and she stood before him,
13 he said to his servant: "Say to her: Behold, you have ministered to us attentively in all things. What do you want, that I might do for you? Do you have any business, or do you want me to speak to the king, or to the leader of the military?" And she responded, "I live in the midst of my own people."
14 And he said, "Then what does she want, that I might do for her?" And Gehazi said: "You need not ask. For she has no son, and her husband is elderly."
15 And so, he instructed him to call her. And when she had been called, and was standing before the door,
16 he said to her, "At this time, and at this same hour, with life as a companion, you will have a son in your womb." But she responded, "Do not, I ask you, my lord, a man of God, do not be willing to lie to your handmaid."
17 And the woman conceived. And she bore a son, in the time and at the same hour as Elisha had said.
18 And the boy grew. And on a certain day, when he had gone out to his father, to the harvesters,
19 he said to his father: "I have a pain in my head. I have a pain in my head." But he said to his servant, "Take him, and lead him to his mother."
20 But when he had taken him, and he had led him to his mother, she placed him upon her knees, until midday, and then he died.
21 Then she went up and laid him out on the bed of the man of God, and she closed the door. And departing,
22 she called her husband, and she said: "Send with me, I beg you, one of your servants, and a donkey, so that I may hurry to the man of God, and then return."
23 And he said to her: "What is the reason that you would go to him? Today is not the new moon, and it is not the Sabbath." She responded, "I will go."
24 And she saddled a donkey, and she instructed her servant: "Drive, and hurry on. You shall cause no delay for me in departing. And do whatever I instruct you to do."
25 And so she set out. And she came to the man of God, on mount Carmel. And when the man of God had seen her at a distance, he said to his servant Gehazi: "Behold, it is that Shunammite woman.
26 So then, go to meet her, and say to her, 'Does all go well concerning you, and your husband, and your son?' " And she answered, "It is well."
27 And when she had arrived at the man of God, on the mount, she took hold of his feet. And Gehazi drew near, so that he might remove her. But the man of God said: "Permit her. For her soul is in bitterness. And the Lord has concealed it from me, and has not revealed it to me."
28 And she said to him: "Did I ask a son from my lord? Did I not say to you, 'You should not deceive me?' "
29 And so he said to Gehazi: "Gird your waist, and take my staff in your hand, and go. If any man will meet you, you shall not greet him. And if anyone greets you, you shall not respond to him. And place my staff upon the face of the boy."
30 But the mother of the boy said, "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not release you." Therefore, he rose up, and he followed her.
31 But Gehazi had gone before them, and he had placed the staff upon the face of the boy. And there was no voice, nor any response. And so he returned to meet him. And he reported to him, saying, "The boy did not rise up."
32 Therefore, Elisha entered the house. And behold, the boy was lying dead upon his bed.
33 And entering, he closed the door upon himself and the boy. And he prayed to the Lord.
34 And he climbed up, and lay across the boy. And he put his mouth over his mouth, and his eyes over his eyes, and his hands over his hands. And he leaned himself over him, and the body of the boy grew warm.
35 And returning, he walked around the house, first here and then there. And he went up, and lay across him. And the boy gasped seven times, and he opened his eyes.
36 And he called Gehazi, and said to him, "Call this Shunammite woman." And having been called, she entered to him. And he said, "Take up your son."
37 She went and fell at his feet, and she reverenced upon the ground. And she took up her son, and departed.
38 And Elisha returned to Gilgal. Now there was a famine in the land, and the sons of the prophets were living in his sight. And he said to one of his servants, "Set out a large cooking pot, and boil a soup for the sons of the prophets."
39 And one went out into the field, so that he might collect wild herbs. And he found something like a wild vine, and he gathered from it bitter fruits of the field, and he filled his cloak. And returning, he cut these up for the pot of soup. But he did not know what it was.
40 Then they poured it out for their companions to eat. And when they had tasted the mixture, they cried out, saying, "Death is in the cooking pot, O man of God!" And they were unable to eat.
41 But he said, "Bring some flour." And when they had brought it, he cast it into the cooking pot, and he said, "Pour it out for the group, so that they may eat." And there was no longer any bitterness in the cooking pot.
42 Now a certain man arrived from Baal-Shalishah, carrying, for the man of God, bread from the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and new grain in his satchel. But he said, "Give it to the people, so that they may eat."
43 And his servant responded to him, "What amount is this, that I should set it before a hundred men?" But he said again: "Give it to the people, so that they may eat. For thus says the Lord, 'They shall eat, and there shall be still more.' "
44 And so, he set it before them. And they ate, and there was still more, in accord with the word of the Lord.
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2 Kings 4
4
Elisha Provides Olive Oil for a Widow
1The wife of a man from the group of the prophets cried out to Elisha. She said, “My husband is dead. You know how much respect he had for the Lord. But he owed money to someone. And now that person is coming to take my two boys away. They will become his slaves.”
2Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me. What do you have in your house?”
“I don’t have anything there at all,” she said. “All I have is a small jar of olive oil.”
3Elisha said, “Go around to all your neighbors. Ask them for empty jars. Get as many as you can. 4Then go inside your house. Shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars. As each jar is filled, put it over to one side.”
5The woman left him. Then she shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her. And she kept pouring. 6When all the jars were full, she spoke to one of her sons. She said, “Bring me another jar.”
But he replied, “There aren’t any more left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
7She went and told the man of God about it. He said, “Go and sell the oil. Pay what you owe. You and your sons can live on what is left.”
The Son of a Woman From Shunem Is Brought Back to Life
8One day Elisha went to the town of Shunem. A rich woman lived there. She begged him to stay and have a meal. So every time he came by, he stopped there to eat. 9The woman said to her husband, “That man often comes by here. I know that he is a holy man of God. 10Let’s make a small room for him on the roof. We’ll put a bed and a table in it. We’ll also put a chair and a lamp in it. Then he can stay there when he comes to visit us.”
11One day Elisha came. He went up to his room and lay down there. 12He said to his servant Gehazi, “Go and get the woman from Shunem.” So he did. She stood in front of Elisha. 13He said to Gehazi, “Tell her, ‘You have gone to a lot of trouble for us. Now what can we do for you? Can we speak to the king for you? Or can we speak to the commander of the army for you?’ ”
She replied, “I live among my own people. I have everything I need here.”
14After she left, Elisha asked Gehazi, “What can we do for her?”
Gehazi said, “She doesn’t have a son. And her husband is old.”
15Then Elisha said, “Bring her here again.” So he did. She stood in the doorway. 16“You will hold a son in your arms,” Elisha said. “It will be about this time next year.”
“No, my master!” she objected. “You are a man of God. So please don’t lie to me!”
17But the woman became pregnant. She had a baby boy. It happened the next year about that same time. That’s exactly what Elisha had told her would happen.
18The child grew. One day he went out to get his father. His father was with the people who were gathering the crops. 19The boy said to his father, “My head hurts! It really hurts!”
His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20The servant lifted up the boy. He carried him to his mother. The boy sat on her lap until noon. Then he died. 21She went up to the room on the roof. There she laid him on the bed of the man of God. Then she shut the door and went out.
22She sent for her husband. She said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey. Then I can go quickly to the man of God and return.”
23“Why do you want to go to him today?” he asked. “It isn’t the time for the New Moon feast. It isn’t the Sabbath day.”
“Don’t let that bother you,” she said.
24She put a saddle on her donkey. She said to her servant, “Let’s go. Don’t slow down for me unless I tell you to.” 25So she started out. She came to Mount Carmel. That’s where the man of God was.
When she was still a long way off, he saw her coming. He said to his servant Gehazi, “Look! There’s the woman from Shunem! 26Run out there to meet her. Ask her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’ ”
“Everything is all right,” she said.
27She came to the man of God at the mountain. Then she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away. But the man of God said, “Leave her alone! She is suffering terribly. But the Lord hasn’t told me the reason for it. He has hidden it from me.”
28“My master, did I ask you for a son?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t make me hope for something that won’t happen’?”
29Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tuck your coat into your belt. Take my walking stick and run to Shunem. Don’t say hello to anyone you see. If anyone says hello to you, don’t answer. Lay my walking stick on the boy’s face.”
30But the child’s mother said, “I won’t leave you. And that’s just as sure as the Lord and you are alive.” So Elisha got up and followed her.
31Gehazi went on ahead. He laid Elisha’s walking stick on the boy’s face. But there wasn’t any sound. The boy didn’t move at all. So Gehazi went back to Elisha. He told him, “The boy hasn’t awakened.”
32Elisha arrived at the house. The boy was dead. He was lying on Elisha’s bed. 33Elisha went into the room. He shut the door. He was alone with the boy. He prayed to the Lord. 34Then Elisha got on the bed. He lay down on the boy. His mouth touched the boy’s mouth. His eyes touched the boy’s eyes. And his hands touched the boy’s hands. As Elisha lay on the boy, the boy’s body grew warm. 35Elisha turned away. He walked back and forth in the room. Then he got on the bed again. He lay down on the boy once more. The boy sneezed seven times. After that, he opened his eyes.
36Elisha sent for Gehazi. He said to him, “Go and get the woman from Shunem.” So he did. When she came, Elisha said, “Take your son.” 37She came in and fell at Elisha’s feet. She bowed down with her face toward the ground. Then she took her son and went out.
Deadly Food in a Pot
38Elisha returned to Gilgal. There wasn’t enough food to eat in that area. The group of the prophets was meeting with Elisha. So he said to his servant, “Put the large pot over the fire. Cook some stew for these prophets.”
39One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs. He found a wild vine and picked some of its gourds. He picked as many as he could fit in his coat. Then he cut them up and put them into the pot of stew. But no one knew what they were. 40The stew was poured out for the men. They began to eat it. But then they cried out, “Man of God, the food in that pot will kill us!” They couldn’t eat it.
41Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He put it in the pot. He said, “Serve it to the men to eat.” Then there wasn’t anything in the pot that could harm them.
Elisha Feeds 100 People
42A man came from Baal Shalishah. He brought the man of God 20 loaves of barley bread. They had been baked from the first grain that had ripened. The man also brought some heads of new grain. “Give this food to the people to eat,” Elisha said.
43“How can I put this in front of 100 men?” his servant asked.
But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. Do it because the Lord says, ‘They will eat and have some left over.’ ” 44Then the servant put the food in front of them. They ate it and had some left over. It happened just as the Lord had said it would.
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