2 Kings 4
New American Standard Bible
The Widow’s Oil
4 Now a woman of the wives of (A)the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord; and (B)the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except (C)a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go, [a]borrow containers [b]elsewhere for yourself, empty containers from all your neighbors—do not get too few. 4 Then you shall come in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour into all these containers; and you shall set aside what is full.” 5 So she left him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they began bringing the containers to her, and she poured the oil. 6 When (D)the containers were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.” But he said to her, “There [c]are no more containers.” Then the oil stopped. 7 So she came and told (E)the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”
The Shunammite Woman
8 Now a day came when Elisha went over to (F)Shunem, where there was a [d]prominent woman, and she urged him to eat [e]food. And so it was, as often as he passed by, that he turned in there to eat [f]food. 9 And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I am aware that this is a holy (G)man of God passing by us repeatedly. 10 Please, let’s (H)make a little walled upper room, and let’s set up a bed for him there, and a table, a chair, and a lampstand; then it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.”
11 Now [g]one day he came there, and turned in to the upper room and [h]rested. 12 Then he said to his servant (I)Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite.” And when he had called her, she stood before him. 13 And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Behold, you have taken trouble for us with all this [i]care; what can I do for you? [j]Would you like me to speak for you to the king or to the commander of the army?’” But she [k]answered, “I live among my own people.” 14 So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi [l]answered, “It is a fact that she has no son, and her husband is old.” 15 He then said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16 Then he said, “(J)At this season [m]next year, you are going to embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, you man of God, (K)do not lie to your servant.”
17 Now the woman conceived and gave birth to a son at that season [n]the next year, as Elisha had told her.
The Shunammite’s Son
18 When the child was grown, the day came that he went out to his father, to the reapers. 19 And he said to his father, “My head, my head!” And his father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 When he had carried him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her [o]lap until noon, and then he died. 21 And she went up and (L)laid him on the bed of (M)the man of God, and shut the door behind him and left. 22 Then she called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so that I may run to the man of God and return.” 23 But he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither (N)new moon nor Sabbath.” So she just said, “It will be fine.” 24 Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Drive the donkey and go on; do not slow down [p]the pace for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she went on and came to the man of God at (O)Mount Carmel.
When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, that person there is the Shunammite. 26 Please run now to meet her and say to her, ‘Is it going well for you? Is it going well for your husband? Is it going well for the child?’” Then she [q]answered, “It is going well.” 27 But she came to the man of God (P)at the hill and took hold of his feet. And Gehazi came up to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is [r]troubled within her; and the Lord has concealed it from me and has not informed me.” 28 Then she said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘(Q)Do not give me false hope’?”
29 Then he said to Gehazi, “[s](R)Get ready and (S)take my staff in your hand, and go; if you meet anyone, do not [t](T)greet him, and if anyone [u]greets you, do not reply to him. And (U)lay my staff on the boy’s face.” 30 The mother of the boy said, “(V)As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her. 31 Then Gehazi went on ahead of them and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or [v]response. So he returned to meet him and informed him, saying, “The boy (W)has not awakened.”
32 When Elisha entered the house, behold the boy was dead, laid on his bed. 33 So he entered and (X)shut the door behind them both, and he prayed to the Lord. 34 Then (Y)he got up on the bed and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, his hands on his hands, and he bent down on him; and the flesh of the child became warm. 35 Then he returned and walked in the house back and forth once, and went up and (Z)bent down on him; and the boy sneezed seven times, then the boy opened his eyes. 36 And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” 37 Then she came in and fell at his feet and bowed down to the ground, and (AA)she picked up her son and left.
The Poisonous Stew
38 When Elisha returned to (AB)Gilgal, there was (AC)a famine in the land. [w]As (AD)the sons of the prophets (AE)were sitting in front of him, he said to his servant, “(AF)Put on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” 39 Then one went out into the field to gather mallow, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds; and he came and sliced them into the pot of stew, because they did not know what they were. 40 So they poured it out for the men to eat. But as they were eating the stew, they cried out and said, “You man of God, there is (AG)death in the pot!” And they were unable to eat. 41 Then he said, “Bring flour.” (AH)And he threw it into the pot, and said, “Pour it out for the people that they may eat.” Then there was nothing harmful in the pot.
42 Now a man came from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh grain in his sack. And Elisha said, “(AI)Give them to the people that they may eat.” 43 But his attendant said, “How (AJ)am I to serve this to a hundred men?” Nevertheless he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat, for this is what the Lord says: ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’” 44 So he served it to them, and they ate and (AK)had some left over, in accordance with the word of the Lord.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 4:3 Lit request
- 2 Kings 4:3 Lit from outside
- 2 Kings 4:6 Lit is...container
- 2 Kings 4:8 Lit great
- 2 Kings 4:8 Lit bread
- 2 Kings 4:8 Lit bread
- 2 Kings 4:11 Lit the day came that
- 2 Kings 4:11 Lit lay there
- 2 Kings 4:13 Lit fear
- 2 Kings 4:13 Lit Is it to speak
- 2 Kings 4:13 Lit said
- 2 Kings 4:14 Lit said
- 2 Kings 4:16 Lit when the time revives
- 2 Kings 4:17 Lit when the time revived
- 2 Kings 4:20 Lit knees
- 2 Kings 4:24 Lit riding
- 2 Kings 4:26 Lit said
- 2 Kings 4:27 Lit bitter
- 2 Kings 4:29 Lit Belt up your waist
- 2 Kings 4:29 Lit bless
- 2 Kings 4:29 Lit blesses
- 2 Kings 4:31 Lit attentiveness
- 2 Kings 4:38 Lit And
2 Kings 4
King James Version
4 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.
2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.
3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.
6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.
8 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.
9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.
10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.
11 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.
12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.
13 And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.
14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.
15 And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.
16 And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.
17 And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.
18 And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.
19 And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.
20 And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.
21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.
22 And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.
23 And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
24 Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.
25 So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite:
26 Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well:
27 And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
28 Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?
29 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.
30 And the mother of the child said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.
31 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.
32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the Lord.
34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.
35 Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
36 And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.
37 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.
38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.
39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.
40 So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.
41 But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.
42 And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.
43 And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the Lord, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.
44 So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the Lord.
2 Kings 4
Living Bible
4 One day the wife of one of the seminary students came to Elisha to tell him of her husband’s death. He was a man who had loved God, she said. But he had owed some money when he died, and now the creditor was demanding it back. If she didn’t pay, he said he would take her two sons as his slaves.
2 “What shall I do?” Elisha asked. “How much food do you have in the house?”
“Nothing at all, except a jar of olive oil,” she replied.
3 “Then borrow many pots and pans from your friends and neighbors!” he instructed. 4 “Go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Then pour olive oil from your jar into the pots and pans, setting them aside as they are filled!”
5 So she did. Her sons brought the pots and pans to her, and she filled one after another! 6 Soon every container was full to the brim!
“Bring me another jar,” she said to her sons.
“There aren’t any more!” they told her. And then the oil stopped flowing!
7 When she told the prophet what had happened, he said to her, “Go and sell the oil and pay your debt, and there will be enough money left for you and your sons to live on!”
8 One day Elisha went to Shunem. A prominent woman of the city invited him in to eat, and afterwards, whenever he passed that way, he stopped for dinner.
9 She said to her husband, “I’m sure this man who stops in from time to time is a holy prophet. 10 Let’s make a little room for him on the roof; we can put in a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, and he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by.”
11-12 Once when he was resting in the room he said to his servant Gehazi, “Tell the woman I want to speak to her.”
When she came, 13 he said to Gehazi, “Tell her that we appreciate her kindness to us. Now ask her what we can do for her. Does she want me to put in a good word for her to the king or to the general of the army?”
“No,” she replied, “I am perfectly content.”
14 “What can we do for her?” he asked Gehazi afterwards.
He suggested, “She doesn’t have a son, and her husband is an old man.”
15-16 “Call her back again,” Elisha told him.
When she returned, he talked to her as she stood in the doorway. “Next year at about this time you shall have a son!”
“O man of God,” she exclaimed, “don’t lie to me like that!”
17 But it was true; the woman soon conceived and had a baby boy the following year, just as Elisha had predicted.
18 One day when her child was older, he went out to visit his father, who was working with the reapers. 19 He complained about a headache and soon was moaning in pain. His father said to one of the servants, “Carry him home to his mother.”
20 So he took him home, and his mother held him on her lap; but around noontime he died. 21 She carried him up to the bed of the prophet and shut the door; 22 then she sent a message to her husband: “Send one of the servants and a donkey so that I can hurry to the prophet and come right back.”
23 “Why today?” he asked. “This isn’t a religious holiday.”
But she said, “It’s important. I must go.”
24 So she saddled the donkey and said to the servant, “Hurry! Don’t slow down for my comfort unless I tell you to.”
25 As she approached Mount Carmel, Elisha saw her in the distance and said to Gehazi, “Look, that woman from Shunem is coming. 26 Run and meet her and ask her what the trouble is. See if her husband is all right and if the child is well.”
“Yes,” she told Gehazi, “everything is fine.”
27 But when she came to Elisha at the mountain she fell to the ground before him and caught hold of his feet. Gehazi began to push her away, but the prophet said, “Leave her alone; something is deeply troubling her and the Lord hasn’t told me what it is.”
28 Then she said, “It was you who said I’d have a son. And I begged you not to lie to me!”
29 Then he said to Gehazi, “Quick, take my staff! Don’t talk to anyone along the way. Hurry! Lay the staff upon the child’s face.”
30 But the boy’s mother said, “I swear to God that I won’t go home without you.” So Elisha returned with her.
31 Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff upon the child’s face, but nothing happened. There was no sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, “The child is still dead.”
32 When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, lying there upon the prophet’s bed. 33 He went in and shut the door behind him and prayed to the Lord. 34 Then he lay upon the child’s body, placing his mouth upon the child’s mouth, and his eyes upon the child’s eyes, and his hands upon the child’s hands. And the child’s body began to grow warm again! 35 Then the prophet went down and walked back and forth in the house a few times; returning upstairs, he stretched himself again upon the child. This time the little boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes!
36 Then the prophet summoned Gehazi. “Call her!” he said. And when she came in, he said, “Here’s your son!”
37 She fell to the floor at his feet and then picked up her son and went out.
38 Elisha now returned to Gilgal, but there was a famine in the land. One day as he was teaching the young prophets, he said to Gehazi, “Make some stew for supper for these men.”
39 One of the young men went out into the field to gather vegetables and came back with some wild gourds. He shredded them and put them into a kettle without realizing that they were poisonous. 40 But after the men had eaten a bite or two they cried out, “Oh, sir, there’s poison in this stew!”
41 “Bring me some meal,” Elisha said. He threw it into the kettle and said, “Now it’s all right! Go ahead and eat!” And then it didn’t harm them.
42 One day a man from Baal-shalishah brought Elisha a sack of fresh corn[a] and twenty individual loaves of barley bread made from the first grain of his harvest. Elisha told Gehazi to use it to feed the young prophets.
43 “What?” Gehazi exclaimed. “Feed one hundred men with only this?”
But Elisha said, “Go ahead, for the Lord says there will be plenty for all, and some will even be left over!”
44 And sure enough, there was, just as the Lord had said!
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 4:42 fresh corn, literally, “fresh grain.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.