4 Kings 4
4
1Now a certain woman of the wives of the prophets cried to Eliseus, saying: Thy servant my husband is dead. And thou knowest that thy servant was one that feared God: and, behold the creditor is come to take away my two sons to serve him.
2And Eliseus said to her: What wilt thou have me to do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in thy house? And she answered: I thy handmaid have nothing in my house but a little oil, to anoint me.
3And he said to her: Go, borrow of all thy neighbours empty vessels not a few.
4And go in, and shut thy door, when thou art within, and thy sons: and pour out thereof into all those vessels: and when they are full take them away.
5So the woman went, and shut the door upon her, and upon her sons. They brought her the vessels, and she poured in.
6And when the vessels were full, she said to her son: Bring me yet a vessel. And he answered: I have no more. And the oil stood.
7And she came, and told the man of God. And he said: Go, sell the oil, and pay thy creditor; and thou and thy sons live of the rest.
8And there was a day when Eliseus passed by Sunam. Now there was a great woman there, who detained him to eat bread; and as he passed often that way, he turned into her house to eat bread.
9And she said to her husband: I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who often passeth by us.
10Let us therefore make him a little chamber, and put a little bed in it for him, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick, that when he cometh to us, he may abide there.
11Now there was a certain day when he came and turned in to the chamber, and rested there.
12And he said to Giezi his servant: Call this Sunamitess. And when he had called her, and she stood before him,
13He said to his servant: Say to her: Behold, thou hast diligently served us in all things, what wilt thou have me to do for thee? Hast thou any business, and wilt thou that I speak to the king, or to the general of the army? And she answered: I dwell in the midst of my own people.
14And he said: What will she then that I do for her? And Giezi said: Do not ask; for she hath no son, and her husband is old.
15Then he bid him call her: And when she was called, and stood before the door.
16He said to her: At this time, and this same hour, if life accompany, thou shalt have a son in thy womb. But she answered: Do not, I beseech thee, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie to thy handmaid.
17And the woman conceived, and brought forth a son in the time, and at the same hour, that Eliseus had said.
18And the child grew. And on a certain day, when he went out to his father to the reapers,
19He said to his father: My head acheth, my head acheth. But he said to his servant: Take him, and carry him to his mother.
20And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, she set him on her knees until noon: and then he died.
21And she went up and laid him upon the bed of the man of God, and shut the door. And going out,
22She called her husband, and said: Send with me, I beseech thee, one of thy servants, and an ass that I may run to the man of God, and come again.
23And he said to her: Why dost thou go to him? to-day is neither new moon nor sabbath. She answered: I will go.
24And she saddled an ass, and commanded her servant: Drive, and make haste. Make no stay in going. And do that which I bid thee.
25So she went forward, and came to the man of God to mount Carmel. And when the man of God saw her coming towards, he said to Giezi his servant: Behold that Sunamitess.
26Go therefore to meet her, and say to her: Is all well with thee, and with thy husband, and with thy son? And she answered: Well.
27And when she came to the man of God to the mount, she caught hold on his feet. And Giezi came to remove her. And the man of God said: Let her alone for her soul is in anguish, and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
28And she said to him: Did I ask a son of my lord? Did I not say to thee: Do not deceive me?
29Then he said to Giezi: Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go. If any man meet thee, salute him not: and if any man salute thee, answer him not: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.
30But the mother of the child said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. He arose, therefore, and followed her.
31But Giezi was gone before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child: and there was no voice nor sense. And he returned to meet him, and told him, saying: The child is not risen.
32Eliseus therefore went into the house: and behold, the child lay dead on his bed.
33And going in he shut the door upon him, and upon the child, and prayed to the Lord.
34And he went up, and lay upon the child: and he put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he bowed himself upon him. And the child's flesh grew warm.
35Then he returned and walked in the house, once to and fro. And he went up, and lay upon him: and the child gaped seven times, and opened his eyes.
36And he called Giezi, and said to him: Call this Sunamitess. And she being called went in to him. And he said: Take up thy son.
37She came and fell at his feet, and worshipped upon the ground: and took up her son, and went out.
38And Eliseus returned to Galgal. And there was a famine in the land; and the sons of the prophets dwelt before him. And he said to one of his servants: Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets.
39And one went out into the field to gather wild herbs: and he found something like a wild vine, and gathered of it wild gourds of the field, and filled his mantle. And coming back he shred them into the pot of pottage, for he knew not what it was.
40And they poured it out for their companions to eat: and when they had tasted of the pottage, they cried out saying: Death is in the pot, O man of God. And they could not eat thereof.
41But he said: Bring some meal. And when they had brought it, he cast it into the pot, and said: Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was now no bitterness in the pot.
42And a certain man came from Baalsalisa bringing to the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and new corn in his scrip. And he said: Give to the people, that they may eat.
43And his servant answered him: How much is this, that I should set it before a hundred men? He said again: Give to the people, that they may eat. For thus saith the Lord: They shall eat, and there shall be left.
44So he set it before them: and they ate. And there was left according to the word of the Lord.
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4 Kings 4: DRC1752
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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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