2 Kings 4
4
Elisha and the Widow’s Olive Oil
1One of the wives of a disciple of the prophets called to Elisha, “Sir, my husband is dead! You know how he feared the Lord. Now a creditor has come to take my two children as slaves.”
2Elisha asked her, “What should I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
She answered, “I have nothing in the house except a jar of olive oil.”
3Elisha said, “Borrow many empty containers from all your neighbors. 4Then close the door behind you and your children, and pour oil into all those containers. When one is full, set it aside.”
5So she left him and closed the door behind her and her children. The children kept bringing containers to her, and she kept pouring. 6When the containers were full, she told her son, “Bring me another container.”
He told her, “There are no more containers.” So the olive oil stopped flowing. 7She went and told the man of God.
He said, “Sell the oil, and pay your debt. The rest is for you and your children.”
Elisha Brings a Shunem Woman’s Son Back to Life
8One day Elisha was traveling through Shunem, where a rich woman lived. She had invited him to eat ⌞with her⌟. So whenever he was in the area, he stopped in to eat.
9She told her husband, “I know he’s a holy man of God. And he regularly travels past our house. 10Let’s make a small room on the roof and put a bed, table, chair, and lamp stand there for him. He can stay there whenever he comes to visit us.”
11One day he came ⌞to their house⌟, went into the upstairs room, and rested there. 12He told his servant Gehazi, “Call this Shunem woman.”
Gehazi called her, and she stood in front of him. 13Elisha said to Gehazi, “Ask her what we can do for her, since she has gone to a lot of trouble for us. Maybe she would like us to speak to the king or the commander of the army for her.”
She answered, “I’m already living among my own people.”
14“What should we do for her?” Elisha asked.
Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.”
15Elisha said, “Call her.” So Gehazi called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16Elisha said, “At this time next spring, you will hold a baby boy in your arms.”
She answered, “Don’t say that, sir. Don’t lie to me. You’re a man of God.”
17But the woman became pregnant and had a son at that time next year, as Elisha had told her.
18Several years later the boy went to his father, who was with the harvest workers. 19⌞Suddenly,⌟ he said to his father, “My head! My head!”
The father told his servant, “Carry him to his mother.”
20The servant picked him up and brought him to his mother. The boy sat on her lap until noon, when he died. 21She took him upstairs and laid him on the bed of the man of God, left ⌞the room⌟, and shut the door behind her. 22She called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys. I will go quickly to the man of God and come back again.”
23Her husband asked, “Why are you going to him today? It isn’t a New Moon Festival or a day of rest—a holy day.”
But she said goodbye to him.
24She saddled the donkey. Then she told her servant, “Lead on. Don’t slow down unless I tell you.” 25So she came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.
When he saw her coming at a distance, he told his servant Gehazi, “There is the woman from Shunem. 26Run to meet her and ask her how she, her husband, and the boy are doing.”
“Everyone’s fine,” she answered.
27When she came to the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi went to push her away. But the man of God said, “Leave her alone. She is bitter. The Lord has hidden the reason from me. He hasn’t told me.”
28The woman said, “I didn’t ask you for a son. I said, ‘Don’t raise my hopes.’ ”
29The man of God told Gehazi, “Put on a belt, take my shepherd’s staff in your hand, and go. Whenever you meet anyone, don’t stop to greet him. If he greets you, don’t stop to answer him. Lay my staff on the boy’s face.”
30The boy’s mother said, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord and you live, I will not leave without you.” So Elisha got up and followed her.
31Gehazi went ahead of them and put the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or sign of life. So Gehazi came back to meet the man of God. Gehazi told him, “The boy didn’t wake up.”
32When Elisha came to the house, the dead boy was lying on Elisha’s bed. 33He went into the room, closed the door, and prayed to the Lord. 34Then he lay on the boy, putting his mouth on the boy’s mouth, his eyes on the boy’s eyes, his hands on the boy’s hands. He crouched over the boy’s body, and it became warm. 35Elisha got up, walked across the room and came back, and then got back on the bed and crouched over him. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. 36Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunem woman.” Gehazi called her. When she came to him, he said, “Take your son.”
37Then she immediately bowed at his feet. She took her son and left.
Elisha and the Poisoned Food
38When Elisha went back to Gilgal, there was a famine in the country. ⌞One day,⌟ while the disciples of the prophets were meeting with him, he told his servant, “Put a large pot on the fire, and cook some stew for the disciples of the prophets.”
39One of them went into the field to gather vegetables and found a wild vine. He filled his clothes with wild gourds. Then he cut them into the pot of stew without knowing what they were. 40They dished out the food for the men to eat. As they were eating the stew, they cried out, “There’s death in the pot, man of God!” So they couldn’t eat it.
41Elisha said, “Bring some flour.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Dish it out for the people to eat.” Then there was nothing harmful in the pot.
Elisha Feeds a Hundred People
42A man from Baal Shalisha brought bread made from the first harvested grain, 20 barley loaves, and fresh grain to the man of God. The man of God said, “Give it to the people to eat.”
43But his servant asked, “How can I set this in front of a hundred people?”
“Give it to the people to eat,” the man of God said. “This is what the Lord says: They will eat and even have some left over.”
44The servant set it in front of them. They ate and had some left over, as the Lord had predicted.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
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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