The Widow’s Oil

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.” 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.” Then he said, “Go, [a]borrow containers [b]elsewhere for yourself, empty containers from all your neighbors—do not get too few. 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.” 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. 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. 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.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 4:3 Lit request
  2. 2 Kings 4:3 Lit from outside
  3. 2 Kings 4:6 Lit is...container

The Widow’s Olive Oil

The wife of a man from the company(A) of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor(B) is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”(C)

Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

She went and told the man of God,(D) and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

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