2 Kings 4
Christian Standard Bible
The Widow’s Oil Multiplied
4 One of the wives of the sons of the prophets(A) cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, has died. You know that your servant feared the Lord.(B) Now the creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves.”(C)
2 Elisha asked her, “What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?”
She said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.”(D)
3 Then he said, “Go out and borrow empty containers from all your neighbors. Do not get just a few.(E) 4 Then go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour oil into all these containers. Set the full ones to one side.” 5 So she left.
After she had shut the door behind her and her sons, they kept bringing her containers, and she kept pouring.(F) 6 When they were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.”
But he replied, “There aren’t any more.” Then the oil stopped.
7 She went and told the man of God,(G) and he said, “Go sell the oil and pay your debt; you and your sons can live on the rest.”(H)
The Shunammite Woman’s Hospitality
8 One day Elisha went to Shunem.(I) A prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to eat some food. So whenever he passed by, he stopped there to eat.(J) 9 Then she said to her husband, “I know that the one who often passes by here is a holy man of God, 10 so let’s make a small, walled-in upper room and put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp there for him. Whenever he comes, he can stay there.”(K)
The Shunammite Woman’s Son
11 One day he came there and stopped at the upstairs room to lie down. 12 He ordered his attendant Gehazi,(L) “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her and she stood before him.
13 Then he said to Gehazi, “Say to her, ‘Look, you’ve gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you?(M) Can we speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’”
She answered, “I am living among my own people.”
14 So he asked, “Then what should be done for her?”
Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.”
15 “Call her,” Elisha said. So Gehazi called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 Elisha said, “At this time next year you will have a son in your arms.”(N)
Then she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your servant.”(O)
17 The woman conceived and gave birth to a son at the same time the following year, as Elisha had promised her.
The Shunammite’s Son Raised
18 The child grew and one day went out to his father and the harvesters.(P) 19 Suddenly he complained to his father, “My head! My head!”
His father told his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 So he picked him up and took him to his mother. The child sat on her lap until noon and then died. 21 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut him in, and left.
22 She summoned her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so I can hurry to the man of God and come back again.”
23 But he said, “Why go to him today? It’s not a New Moon or a Sabbath.”(Q)
She replied, “It’s all right.”(R)
24 Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Go fast; don’t slow the pace for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.(S)
When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to his attendant Gehazi,(T) “Look, there’s the Shunammite woman.(U) 26 Run out to meet her and ask, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your son all right?’”
And she answered, “It’s all right.”
27 When she came up to the man of God at the mountain, she clung to his feet.(V) Gehazi came to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone—she is in severe anguish,(W) and the Lord has hidden it from me. He hasn’t told me.”
28 Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Didn’t I say, ‘Do not lie to me?’” (X)
29 So Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tuck your mantle(Y) under your belt, take my staff with you, and go. If you meet anyone, don’t stop to greet him, and if a man greets you, don’t answer him.(Z) Then place my staff on the boy’s face.”
30 The boy’s mother said to Elisha, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”(AA) So he got up and followed her.
31 Gehazi went ahead of them and placed the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or sign of life, so he went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy didn’t wake up.”(AB)
32 When Elisha got to the house, he discovered the boy lying dead on his bed.(AC) 33 So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord.(AD) 34 Then he went up and lay on the boy:(AE) he put mouth to mouth, eye to eye, hand to hand. While he bent down over him, the boy’s flesh became warm.(AF) 35 Elisha got up, went into the house, and paced back and forth. Then he went up and bent down over him again. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.(AG)
36 Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” He called her and she came. Then Elisha said, “Pick up your son.” 37 She came, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; she picked up her son and left.(AH)
The Deadly Stew
38 When Elisha returned to Gilgal,(AI) there was a famine(AJ) in the land. The sons of the prophets(AK) were sitting before him.(AL) He said to his attendant, “Put on the large pot and make stew for the sons of the prophets.”
39 One went out to the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine from which he gathered as many wild gourds as his garment would hold. Then he came back and cut them up into the pot of stew, but they were unaware of what they were.[a]
40 They served some for the men to eat, but when they ate the stew they cried out, “There’s death in the pot,(AM) man of God!” And they were unable to eat it.
41 Then Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Serve it for the people to eat.” And there was nothing bad in the pot.(AN)
The Multiplied Bread
42 A man from Baal-shalishah(AO) came to the man of God with his sack full of[b] twenty loaves of barley bread from the first bread of the harvest. Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.”(AP)
43 But Elisha’s attendant asked, “What? Am I to set this before a hundred men?” (AQ)
“Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said, “for this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat, and they will have some left over.’” 44 So he set it before them, and as the Lord had promised, they ate and had some left over.(AR)
2 Kings 4
International Standard Version
The Miracle of the Oil Vessels(A)
4 Now there happened to be a certain woman who had been the wife of a member of the Guild of Prophets. She cried out to Elisha, “My husband who served you has died, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. But a creditor has come to take away my children into indentured servitude!”
2 Elisha responded, “What shall I do for you? Tell me what you have in your house.”
She replied, “Your servant has nothing in the entire house except for a flask of oil.”
3 He told her, “Go out to all of your neighbors in the surrounding streets and borrow lots of pots from them. Don’t get just a few empty vessels, either. 4 Then go in and shut the door behind you, taking only your children, and pour oil[a] into all of the pots. As each one is filled, set it aside.”
5 So she left Elisha,[b] shut the door behind her and her children, and while they kept on bringing vessels to her, she kept on pouring oil.[c] 6 When the last of[d] the vessels had been filled, she told her son, “Bring me another pot!”
But he replied, “There isn’t even one pot left.” Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 After this, she went and told the man of God what had happened.[e] So he said, “Go sell the oil, pay your debt, and you and your children will be able to live on the proceeds.”
The Hospitality of a Woman from Shunem
8 Some time later, Elisha went to Shunem,[f] where he met a prominent and wealthy[g] woman who persuaded him to have a meal with her. As a result, whenever he was in the area, he stopped by to eat with her. 9 So she had a talk with her husband. “Look here! I’ve learned that this is a holy and godly man[h] who comes by here on a regular basis. 10 Now then, let’s build a small upper room and put a bed in it for him there, along with a table, a chair, and a lamp stand. That way, when he comes to visit, he can rest[i] there.”
11 One day, Elisha[j] came by to visit and stopped in to rest in the upper chamber. 12 He told his attendant[k] Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite.” So when he had summoned her, she stood in front of him.
13 Elisha[l] told him, “Ask her, ‘Look how you’ve gone to all this trouble to care for us! What can I do for you? Do you wish to be mentioned to the king or to the head of the army?’”
She replied, “I’m at home[m] living among my own people.”
14 He responded, “What, then, is to be done on her behalf?”
Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son and her husband is growing old.”
15 “Call her,” Elisha[n] ordered. After he called her, she came and stood in the doorway, 16 and he told her, “About this time next year you will be embracing a son.”
“No, sir! Please, as a godly man,[o] don’t mislead your servant!” 17 But the woman did conceive and did bear a son at that very same time the next year, just as Elisha had told her.
Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son(B)
18 After the child had grown up a bit, one day he went out to visit his father, who was with the harvesters. 19 He told his father, “My head! My head!”
So his father ordered his servant, “Carry him over to his mother!” 20 So the servant carried him over to his mother, where he rested on her lap until mid-day,[p] and then he died. 21 The woman went upstairs, laid him on the bed belonging to the man of God, and shut the door, leaving him behind as she left.
22 Then she called to her husband and asked him, “Please send me one of the servants, along with one of the donkeys, so I can ride quickly to see that godly man.[q] I’ll be right back.”
23 He asked her, “What’s the point of visiting him today? It’s not a New Moon, and it isn’t the Sabbath!”
But she kept saying, “Things will go well.”[r]
24 So she saddled a donkey and told her servant, “Forward, driver! Don’t slow down on my account, unless I tell you!” 25 So out she went and eventually she arrived at Mount Carmel to visit the man of God.
When the man of God noticed her from a distance, he told his attendant Gehazi, “Look! There’s the woman from Shunem! 26 Please run out quickly and greet her. Ask her, ‘Are things going well with you? Are things going well with your husband? Are things going well with your child?’”
She answered Gehazi,[s] “Things are going well.”
27 As she came near the man of God on the mountain, she grabbed his feet. When Gehazi intervened to push her away, the man of God said, “Leave her alone! She is deeply troubled! The Lord has concealed the thing from me, and hasn’t informed me.”
28 Then she asked, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Didn’t I beg you, ‘Don’t mislead me?’”
29 At this he told Gehazi, “Get ready to run![t] Take my staff in your hand, and get on the road. Don’t greet anyone you meet. If anyone greets you, don’t respond. Just go lay my staff on the youngster’s face.”
30 At this, the youngster’s mother replied, “As long as you and the Lord live, I’m not leaving you!” So he got up and followed her.
31 Meanwhile, Gehazi went on ahead of them and placed the staff on the youngster’s face, but when there was no sound or reaction, he returned, met Elisha,[u] and told him, “The youngster has shown no sign of awakening.”
32 When Elisha entered the house, there was the youngster, dead and laid out on Elisha’s[v] bed! 33 So he entered, shut the door behind them both, and prayed to the Lord. 34 Then he approached the child and lay down with his mouth near the child’s, with his eyes near those of the child, and taking the child’s hands in his. As Elisha[w] stretched himself on the child, the child’s flesh began to grow warm. 35 Then he went downstairs, walked around back and forth inside the house once, went back up to his upper chamber,[x] and stretched himself over the child again. The young man sneezed seven times and then opened his eyes.
36 He called out to Gehazi, “Go get the Shunammite woman!” So he called her. When she came in to see Elisha,[y] he told her, “Take back your son!” 37 Then she approached him, fell at his feet, bowing low to the ground, took back her son, and went out.
Poisoned Stew is Purified
38 Elisha returned to Gilgal during a time of famine in the land. While the Guild of Prophets were having a meal[z] with him, he instructed his attendant, “Put a large pot on the fire and boil some stew for the Guild of Prophets.” 39 Somebody went out into the fields to grab some herbs, found a wild vine, and gathered a lap full of wild gourds, which he came and sliced up into the stew pot, but nobody else knew.
40 When they served the men, they began to eat the stew. But they cried out, “That pot of stew is deadly, you man of God!” So they couldn’t eat the stew.
41 But he replied, “Bring me some flour.” He tossed it into the pot and said, “Serve the people so they can eat.” Then there was nothing harmful in the pot.
Feeding of the Crowd(C)
42 Later on, a man arrived from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God some bread as a first fruit offering. He had 20 loaves of barley and ripe ears of corn in his sack. So Elisha[aa] said, “Give them to the people so they can eat.”
43 Elisha’s attendant asked, “What? Will this serve 100 men?”
But he replied, “Distribute it to the people so they can eat, because this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have a surplus!’” 44 So he served them, and they ate and had some left over, just as the Lord had indicated.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 4:4 The Heb. lacks oil
- 2 Kings 4:5 Lit. him
- 2 Kings 4:5 The Heb. lacks oil
- 2 Kings 4:6 The Heb. lacks last of
- 2 Kings 4:7 The Heb. lacks what had happened
- 2 Kings 4:8 I.e. a town in the territory belonging to Issachar
- 2 Kings 4:8 Lit. strong
- 2 Kings 4:9 Or a holy man of God
- 2 Kings 4:10 Or can turn in
- 2 Kings 4:11 Lit. he
- 2 Kings 4:12 Lit. his young man; and so throughout the chapter
- 2 Kings 4:13 Lit. He
- 2 Kings 4:13 So LXX; the Heb. lacks at home
- 2 Kings 4:15 Lit. he
- 2 Kings 4:16 Or a man of God
- 2 Kings 4:20 Or noon
- 2 Kings 4:22 Or that man of God
- 2 Kings 4:23 Lit. Peace; i.e. a general statement of good will; and so through v. 26
- 2 Kings 4:26 The Heb. lacks Gehazi
- 2 Kings 4:29 Lit. Tie up your garments; i.e. to secure one’s robes with a belt in preparation for running
- 2 Kings 4:31 Lit. him
- 2 Kings 4:32 Lit. his
- 2 Kings 4:34 Lit. he
- 2 Kings 4:35 The Heb. lacks up to his upper chamber
- 2 Kings 4:36 Lit. him
- 2 Kings 4:38 Lit. were sitting
- 2 Kings 4:42 Lit he
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