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
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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