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2 Kings 4
New English Translation

Elisha Helps a Widow and Her Sons

4 Now a wife of one of the prophets[a] appealed[b] to Elisha for help, saying, “Your servant, my husband is dead. You know that your servant was a loyal follower of the Lord.[c] Now the creditor is coming to take away my two boys to be his servants.” 2 Elisha said to her, “What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a small jar of olive oil.” 3 He said, “Go and ask all your neighbors for empty containers.[d] Get as many as you can.[e] 4 Go and close the door behind you and your sons. Pour the olive oil into all the containers;[f] set aside each one when you have filled it.” 5 So she left him and closed the door behind her and her sons. As they were bringing the containers to her, she was pouring the olive oil. 6 When the containers were full, she said to one of her sons,[g] “Bring me another container.” But he answered her, “There are no more.” Then the olive oil stopped flowing. 7 She went and told the prophet.[h] He said, “Go, sell the olive oil. Repay your creditor, and then you and your sons can live off the rest of the profit.”

Elisha Gives Life to a Boy

8 One day Elisha traveled to Shunem, where a prominent[i] woman lived. She insisted that he stop for a meal.[j] So whenever he was passing through, he would stop in there for a meal.[k] 9 She said to her husband, “Look, I’m sure[l] that the man who regularly passes through here is a very special prophet.[m] 10 Let’s make a small, private upper room[n] and furnish it with[o] a bed, table, chair, and lamp. When he visits us, he can stay there.”

11 One day Elisha[p] came for a visit; he went[q] into the upper room and rested.[r] 12 He told his servant Gehazi, “Ask the Shunammite woman to come here.”[s] So he did so and she came to him.[t] 13 Elisha said to Gehazi,[u] “Tell her, ‘Look, you have treated us with such great respect.[v] What can I do for you? Can I put in a good word for you with the king or the commander of the army?’” She replied, “I’m quite secure.”[w] 14 So he asked Gehazi,[x] “What can I do for her?” Gehazi replied, “She has no son, and her husband is old.” 15 Elisha told him, “Ask her to come here.”[y] So he did so[z] and she came and stood in the doorway.[aa] 16 He said, “About this time next year[ab] you will be holding a son.” She said, “No, my master! O prophet, do not lie to your servant!” 17 The woman did conceive, and at the specified time the next year she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.

18 The boy grew and one day he went out to see his father who was with the harvest workers.[ac] 19 He said to his father, “My head! My head!” His father[ad] told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 So he picked him up and took him to his mother. He sat on her lap[ae] until noon and then died. 21 She went up and laid him down on the prophet’s[af] bed. She shut the door behind her and left. 22 She called to her husband, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so I can go see the prophet quickly and then return.” 23 He said, “Why do you want to go see him today? It is not the new moon[ag] or the Sabbath.” She said, “Everything’s fine.”[ah] 24 She saddled the donkey and told her servant, “Lead on.[ai] Do not stop unless I say so.”[aj]

25 So she went to visit[ak] the prophet at Mount Carmel. When he[al] saw her at a distance, he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, it’s the Shunammite woman. 26 Now, run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you well? Are your husband and the boy well?’” She told Gehazi,[am] “Everything’s fine.” 27 But when she reached the prophet on the mountain, she grabbed hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to push her away, but the prophet said, “Leave her alone, for she is very upset.[an] The Lord has kept the matter hidden from me; he didn’t tell me about it.” 28 She said, “Did I ask my master for a son? Didn’t I say, ‘Don’t mislead me?’” 29 Elisha[ao] told Gehazi, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take my staff,[ap] and go! Don’t stop to exchange greetings with anyone![aq] Place my staff on the child’s face.” 30 The mother of the child said, “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So Elisha[ar] got up and followed her back.

31 Now Gehazi went on ahead of them. He placed the staff on the child’s face, but there was no sound or response. When he came back to Elisha[as] he told him, “The child did not wake up.” 32 When Elisha arrived at the house, there was[at] the child lying dead on his bed. 33 He went in by himself and closed the door.[au] Then he prayed to the Lord. 34 He got up on the bed and spread his body out over[av] the boy; he put his mouth on the boy’s[aw] mouth, his eyes over the boy’s eyes, and the palms of his hands against the boy’s palms. As he bent down across him, the boy’s skin[ax] grew warm. 35 Elisha[ay] went back and walked around in the house.[az] Then he got up on the bed again[ba] and bent down over him. The child sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. 36 Elisha[bb] called to Gehazi and said, “Get the Shunammite woman.” So he did so[bc] and she came to him. He said to her, “Take your son.” 37 She came in, fell at his feet, and bowed down. Then she picked up her son and left.

Elisha Makes a Meal Edible

38 Now Elisha went back to Gilgal, while there was a famine in the land. Some of the prophets were visiting him[bd] and he told his servant, “Put the big pot on the fire[be] and boil some stew for the prophets.”[bf] 39 Someone went out to the field to gather some herbs and found a wild vine.[bg] He picked some of its fruit,[bh] enough to fill up the fold of his robe. He came back, cut it up, and threw the slices[bi] into the stew pot, not knowing they were harmful.[bj] 40 The stew was poured out[bk] for the men to eat. When they ate some of the stew, they cried out, “Death is in the pot, O prophet!” They could not eat it. 41 He said, “Get some flour.” Then he threw it into the pot and said, “Now pour some out for the men so they may eat.”[bl] There was no longer anything harmful in the pot.

Elisha Miraculously Feeds a Hundred People

42 Now a man from Baal Shalisha brought some food for the prophet[bm]—twenty loaves of bread made from the firstfruits of the barley harvest, as well as fresh ears of grain.[bn] Elisha[bo] said, “Set it before the people so they may eat.” 43 But his attendant said, “How can I feed a hundred men with this?”[bp] He replied, “Set it before the people so they may eat, for this is what the Lord has said, ‘They will eat and have some left over.’”[bq] 44 So he set it before them; they ate and had some left over, just as in the Lord’s message.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 4:1 tn Heb “a wife from among the wives of the sons of the prophets.”
  2. 2 Kings 4:1 tn Or “cried out.”
  3. 2 Kings 4:1 tn Heb “your servant feared the Lord.” “Fear” refers here to obedience and allegiance, the products of healthy respect for the Lord’s authority.
  4. 2 Kings 4:3 tn Heb “Go, ask for containers from outside, from all your neighbors, empty containers.”
  5. 2 Kings 4:3 tn Heb “Do not borrow just a few.”
  6. 2 Kings 4:4 tn Heb “all these vessels.”
  7. 2 Kings 4:6 tn Heb “to her son.”
  8. 2 Kings 4:7 tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 16, 22, 25, 27 [twice]).
  9. 2 Kings 4:8 tn Heb “great,” perhaps “wealthy.”
  10. 2 Kings 4:8 tn Or “she urged him to eat some food.”
  11. 2 Kings 4:8 tn Or “he would turn aside there to eat some food.”
  12. 2 Kings 4:9 tn Heb “I know.”
  13. 2 Kings 4:9 tn Heb “holy man of God.”
  14. 2 Kings 4:10 tn Heb “a small upper room of a wall.” According to HALOT 832 s.v. עֲלִיָּה, this refers to “a fully walled upper room.”
  15. 2 Kings 4:10 tn Heb “and let’s put there for him.”
  16. 2 Kings 4:11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  17. 2 Kings 4:11 tn Heb “turned aside.”
  18. 2 Kings 4:11 tn Or “slept there.”
  19. 2 Kings 4:12 tn Heb “Call for this Shunammite woman.”
  20. 2 Kings 4:12 tn Heb “and he called for her and she stood before him.”
  21. 2 Kings 4:13 tn Heb “he said to him.”
  22. 2 Kings 4:13 tn Heb “you have turned trembling to us with all this trembling.” The exaggerated language is probably idiomatic. The point seems to be that she has taken great pains or gone out of her way to be kind to them. Her concern was a sign of her respect for the prophetic office.
  23. 2 Kings 4:13 tn Heb “Among my people I am living.” This answer suggests that she has security within the context of her family.
  24. 2 Kings 4:14 tn Heb “and he said.”
  25. 2 Kings 4:15 tn Heb “Call for her.”
  26. 2 Kings 4:15 tn Heb “and he called her.”
  27. 2 Kings 4:15 tn Heb “and he called for her and she stood in the door.”
  28. 2 Kings 4:16 tn Heb “at this appointed time, at the time [when it is] reviving.” For a discussion of the second phrase see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 57.
  29. 2 Kings 4:18 tn Heb “to his father, to the harvesters.”
  30. 2 Kings 4:19 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the boy’s father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  31. 2 Kings 4:20 tn Heb “knees.”
  32. 2 Kings 4:21 tn Heb “man of God’s.”
  33. 2 Kings 4:23 sn The new moon was a time of sacrifice and special feasts (Num 28:14; 1 Sam 20:5). Apparently it was a convenient time to visit a prophet. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 57.
  34. 2 Kings 4:23 tn Heb “peace.”
  35. 2 Kings 4:24 tn Heb “lead [the donkey on] and go.”
  36. 2 Kings 4:24 tn Heb “do not restrain for me the riding unless I say to you.”
  37. 2 Kings 4:25 tn Heb “went and came.”
  38. 2 Kings 4:25 tn Heb “the man of God.” The phrase has been replaced by the relative pronoun “he” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  39. 2 Kings 4:26 tn Heb “she said.” The narrator streamlines the story at this point, omitting any reference to Gehazi running to meet her and asking her the questions.
  40. 2 Kings 4:27 tn Heb “her soul [i.e., ‘disposition’] is bitter.”
  41. 2 Kings 4:29 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  42. 2 Kings 4:29 tn Heb “take my staff in your hand.”
  43. 2 Kings 4:29 tn Heb “If you meet a man, do not greet him with a blessing; if a man greets you with a blessing, do not answer.”
  44. 2 Kings 4:30 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The referent must be Elisha here, since the following verse makes it clear that Gehazi had gone on ahead of them.
  45. 2 Kings 4:31 tn Heb “to meet him.”
  46. 2 Kings 4:32 tn Heb “look.”
  47. 2 Kings 4:33 tn Heb “and closed the door behind the two of them.”
  48. 2 Kings 4:34 tn Heb “he went up and lay down over.”
  49. 2 Kings 4:34 tn Heb “his” (also in the next two clauses).
  50. 2 Kings 4:34 tn Or perhaps, “body”; Heb “flesh.”
  51. 2 Kings 4:35 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  52. 2 Kings 4:35 tn Heb “and he returned and went into the house, once here and once there.”
  53. 2 Kings 4:35 tn Heb “and he went up.”
  54. 2 Kings 4:36 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  55. 2 Kings 4:36 tn Heb “and he called for her.”
  56. 2 Kings 4:38 tn Heb “the sons of the prophets were sitting before him.”
  57. 2 Kings 4:38 tn The words “the fire” are added for clarification.
  58. 2 Kings 4:38 tn Heb “sons of the prophets.”
  59. 2 Kings 4:39 tn Heb “a vine of the field.”
  60. 2 Kings 4:39 tn Heb “[some] of the gourds of the field.”
  61. 2 Kings 4:39 tn Heb “he came and cut [them up].”
  62. 2 Kings 4:39 tc The Hebrew text reads, “for they did not know” (יָדָעוּ, yadaʿu) but some emend the final shureq (וּ, indicating a third plural subject) to holem vav (וֹ, a third masculine singular pronominal suffix on a third singular verb) and read “for he did not know it.” Perhaps it is best to omit the final vav as dittographic (note the vav at the beginning of the next verb form) and read simply, “for he did not know.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 59.
  63. 2 Kings 4:40 tn Heb “and they poured out [the stew].” The plural subject is probably indefinite.
  64. 2 Kings 4:41 tn Or “and let them eat.”
  65. 2 Kings 4:42 tn Heb “man of God.”
  66. 2 Kings 4:42 tn On the meaning of the word צִקְלוֹן (tsiqlon), “ear of grain,” see HALOT 148 s.v. בָּצֵק and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 59.
  67. 2 Kings 4:42 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  68. 2 Kings 4:43 tn Heb “How can I set this before a hundred men?”
  69. 2 Kings 4:43 tn The verb forms are infinitives absolute (Heb “eating and leaving over”) and have to be translated in light of the context.
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2 Kings 4
1599 Geneva Bible

4 4 God increaseth the oil to the poor widow by Elisha. 12 He obtaineth for the Shunammite a son at God’s hand. 18 Who dying,  32 he raiseth him up again. 40 He maketh sweet the pottage, 42 and multiplied the loaves.

1 And one of the wives of the sons [a]of the Prophets cried unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant mine husband is dead, and thou knowest, that thy servant did [b]fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take my two sons to be his [c]bondmen.

2 Then Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou at home? And she said, Thine handmaid hath nothing at home, save a [d]pitcher of oil.

3 And he said, Go and borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, empty vessels, and spare not.

4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and pour out into [e]all those vessels, and set aside those that are full.

5 So she departed from him, and shut the door upon her, and upon her sons. And they brought to her, and she poured out.

6 And when the vessels were full, she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is no more vessels. And the oil [f]ceased.

7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go and sell the oil, and pay them that thou art in debt unto, and live thou and thy children of the [g]rest.

8 ¶ And on a time Elisha came to Shunem, and there a woman of great estimation constrained him to eat bread: and as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.

9 And she said unto her husband, Behold, I know now, that this is an holy man of God that passeth by us continually.

10 Let us make [h]him a little chamber, I pray thee, with walls, and let us set him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick, that he may turn in thither when he cometh to us.

11 ¶ And on a day, he came thither and turned into the chamber, and lay therein,

12 And said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite: and when he called her, she stood before him.

13 Then he said unto him, Say unto her now, Behold, thou hast had all this great care for us, [i]what shall we do for thee? Is there anything to be spoken for thee to the king or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I [j]dwell among mine own people.

14 Again he said, What is then to be done for her? Then Gehazi answered, Indeed she hath [k]no son, and her husband is old.

15 Then said he, Call her. And he called her, and she stood in the door.

16 And he said, (A)At this time appointed, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Oh my Lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.

17 So the woman conceived, and bore a son at that same season, according to the time of life, that Elisha had said unto her.

18 ¶ And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father, and to the reapers.

19 And he said to his father, [l]Mine head, mine head. Who said to his servant, Bear him to his mother.

20 And he took him and brought him to his mother, and he sat on her knees till noon, and died.

21 Then she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him and went out.

22 ¶ Then she called to her husband, and said, Send with me, I pray thee, one of the young men and one of the asses: for I will haste to the man of God, and come again.

23 And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him today? it is neither [m]new moon nor Sabbath day. And she answered, [n]All shall be well.

24 Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward: stay not for me to get up, except I bid thee.

25 ¶ So she went, and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And when the man of God saw her [o]over against him, he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, the Shunammite.

26 Run now, I say, to meet her, and say unto her, Art thou in health? is thine husband in health? and is the child in health? And she answered, We are in health.

27 And when she came to the man of God unto the mountain, she [p]caught him by his feet: and Gehazi went to her, to thrust her away: but the man of God said, Let her alone: for her soul is [q]vexed within her, and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told it me.

28 Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Deceive me not?

29 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: [r]if thou meet any, salute him not: and if any salute thee, answer him not: 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. Therefore he arose, and followed her.

31 But Gehazi was gone before them, and had laid the staff upon the face of the child, but he neither spake nor heard: wherefore he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not waken.

32 ¶ Then came Elisha into the house, and 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 After he went up, and [s]lay upon the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands, and stretched himself upon him, and the flesh of the child waxed warm.

35 And he went from him, and walked up and down in the house, and went up and spread himself upon him: then the child sneezed [t]seven times, and opened his eyes.

36 Then he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her, which came in unto him. And he said unto her, Take thy son.

37 And she came, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.

38 Afterward Elisha returned to Gilgal, and a famine was in the [u]land, and the children of the Prophets dwelt with him. And he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the children of the Prophets.

39 And one went out into the field, to gather herbs, and found as it were a wild vine, and gathered thereof [v]wild gourds his garment full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew it not.

40 So they poured out for the men to eat: and when they did eat of the pottage, they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, [w]death is in the pot: and they could not eat thereof.

41 Then he said, Bring meal. And he cast it into the pot, and said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat: and there was none evil in the pot.

42 ¶ Then came a man from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, even twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.

43 And his servant answered, How should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give it unto the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the Lord, They [x]shall eat, and there shall remain.

44 So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left over, according to the word of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 4:1 Read 2 Kings 2:3.
  2. 2 Kings 4:1 And therefore fell not into debt by unthriftiness or prodigality, but by the hand of the Lord.
  3. 2 Kings 4:1 Because I am poor and not able to pay.
  4. 2 Kings 4:2 Thus God suffereth his many times to be brought to extreme necessity, before he succor them, that afterward they may the more praise his mercy.
  5. 2 Kings 4:4 The Prophet declareth hereby unto her, that God never faileth to provide for his servants, their wives and children, if they trust in him.
  6. 2 Kings 4:6 To augment and increase in the vessels.
  7. 2 Kings 4:7 God here did not only provide for his servant, that his debts should be paid and so kept his doctrine and profession without slander, but also for his wife and children.
  8. 2 Kings 4:10 Which should be separate from the rest of the house, that he might more commodiously give himself to study and prayers.
  9. 2 Kings 4:13 Thus the servants of God are not unthankful for the benefits they receive.
  10. 2 Kings 4:13 I am content with that that God hath sent me, and can want nothing that one can do for another.
  11. 2 Kings 4:14 Which then was a reproach, and therefore he would that his master should pray to God for her that she might be fruitful.
  12. 2 Kings 4:19 His head ached sore, and therefore he cried thus.
  13. 2 Kings 4:23 For at such times the people were wont to resort to the Prophets for doctrine and consolation.
  14. 2 Kings 4:23 Hebrew, peace.
  15. 2 Kings 4:25 Or, far off.
  16. 2 Kings 4:27 In token of humility and joy that she had met with him.
  17. 2 Kings 4:27 Hebrew, her soul is in bitterness.
  18. 2 Kings 4:29 Make such speed that nothing may let thee in the way, Luke 10:4.
  19. 2 Kings 4:34 The like did Elijah to the widow’s son at Zarephath, 1 Kings 17:21 and St. Paul, Acts 20:10, signifying the care that ought to be in them, that bear the word of God, and are distributors of the spiritual life.
  20. 2 Kings 4:35 Meaning, oftentimes.
  21. 2 Kings 4:38 That is, in the land of Israel.
  22. 2 Kings 4:39 Which the Apothecaries call colloquintida, and is most vehement and dangerous in purging.
  23. 2 Kings 4:40 They feared that they were poisoned, because of the bitterness.
  24. 2 Kings 4:43 It is not the quantity of bread that satisfieth, but the blessing that God giveth.
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