Melachim Bais 4
Orthodox Jewish Bible
4 Now there cried out a certain isha of the nashim of the Bnei HaNevi’im unto Elishah, saying, Thy eved my ish is dead; and thou knowest that thy eved did fear Hashem: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two yeladim to be avadim (slaves).
2 And Elishah said unto her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the bais? And she said, Thine shifchah hath not anything in the bais, except a flask of shemen.
3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee kelim from all around of all thy shchenim, even empty kelim; borrow not a few.
4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the delet behind thee and behind thy banim, shalt pour out into all those kelim, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
5 So she went from him, and shut the delet behind her and behind her banim, who were bringing to her; and she poured.
6 And it came to pass, when the kelim were full, that she said unto her ben, Bring me another keli. And he said unto her, There is not any more keli. And the shemen stopped.
7 Then she came and told the Ish HaElohim. And he said, Go, sell the shemen, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy banim on the rest.
8 And then one day Elishah passed over to Shunem, where was an isha gedolah; and she constrained him to eat lechem. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in there to eat lechem.
9 And she said unto her ish, Hinei now, I perceive that this is an Ish Elohim Kadosh, which passeth by us tamid.
10 Please, let us make a small aliyyat kir (walled upper room); and let us set for him there a mittah (bed), and a shulchan (table), and a kisse (chair), and a menorah: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in there.
11 And then one day he came there, and he turned in the aliyyah (upper room), and lay there.
12 And he said to Geichazi his na’ar, Call this Shunamit. And when he had called her, she stood before him.
13 And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Hinei, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? Wouldest thou be spoken for to HaMelech, or to the Sar HaTzava? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.
14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Geichazi answered, Verily she hath no ben, and her ish is zaken.
15 And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the petach (doorway).
16 And he said, About this mo’ed, according to the et chayyah (Gen. 18:10), thou choveket ben (shalt embrace a son). And she said, No, adoni, thou Ish HaElohim, do not give false hope unto thine shifchah.
17 And the isha conceived, and bore ben at that mo’ed that Elishah had said unto her, according to the et chayyah.
18 The yeled grew, and it happened one day, that he went out to Aviv to the kotzerim (harvesters, reapers).
19 And he said unto Aviv, My rosh, my rosh. And he said to the na’ar, Carry him to immo.
20 And when he had lifted him, and brought him to immo, he sat on her birkayim (knees) till tzohorayim, and then died.
21 And she went up, and laid him on the mittat Ish HaElohim, and shut [the door] behind her and went out.
22 And she called unto her ish, and said, Send me now, please, one of the ne’arim, and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the Ish HaElohim, and return.
23 And he said, Madu’a (why) wilt thou go to him today? It is neither Rosh Chodesh, nor Shabbos. And she said, Shalom.
24 Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her na’ar, lead on, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.
25 So she went and came unto the Ish HaElohim at Mt Carmel. And it came to pass, when the Ish HaElohim saw her afar off, that he said to Geichazi his na’ar, Hinei, over there is that Shunamit:
26 Run now, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it shalom with thee? Is it shalom with thy ish? Is it shalom with the yeled? And she answered, Shalom:
27 And when she came to the Ish HaElohim at the har, she took hold of him by the raglayim: but Geichazi came near to thrust her away. And the Ish HaElohim said, Let her alone; for her nefesh is marah within her: and Hashem hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
28 Then she said, Did I make request of adoni for a ben? Did I not say, Do not deceive me?
29 Then he said to Geichazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my mishe’net (staff) in thine yad, and run: if thou meet any ish, salute him not; and if any ish salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my mishe’net (staff) upon the face of the na’ar.
30 And the em hana’ar said, As Hashem liveth, and as thy nefesh liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.
31 And Geichazi passed on ahead of them, and laid the mishe’net (staff) upon the face of the na’ar; but there was neither kol (voice), nor keshet (attention). So he went back to meet him, and told him, saying, The na’ar is not awakened.
32 And when Elishah was come into the bais, hinei, the na’ar was dead, and lying upon his mittah.
33 So he went in, and shut the delet on the two of them, and davened unto Hashem.
34 And he went up, and lay upon the yeled, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his palms upon his palms: and stretched himself upon him; and the basar of the yeled grew warm.
35 Then he turned away, and paced in the bais to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him; and the na’ar sneezed seven times, and the na’ar opened his eyes.
36 And he summoned Geichazi, and said, Call this Shunamit. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy ben.
37 Then she went in, and fell at his raglayim, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her ben, and went out.
38 And Elishah returned to Gilgal; and there was a ra’av (famine) in the land; and the Bnei HaNevi’im were sitting before him; and he said unto his na’ar, Put on the siyr hagedolah, and cook stew for the Bnei HaNevi’im.
39 And one went out into the sadeh to gather orot (herbs), and found a gefen sadeh, and gathered thereof pakku’ot sadeh (wild gourds), the fold of his beged he filled, and came and cut them up into the siyr of stew; though no one knew what they were.
40 So they poured out for the anashim to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the stew, that they cried out, and said, O thou Ish HaElohim, there is mavet in the siyr. And they could not eat thereof.
41 But he said, Then bring kemakh (meal, flour). And he cast it into the siyr; and he said, Serve to HaAm, that they may eat. And there was no rah in the siyr.
42 And there came an ish from Ba’al Shalishah, and brought the Ish HaElohim lechem bikkurim, twenty loaves of se’orim (barley), and [roasted] ears of corn in his sack. And he [Elishah] said, Give unto HaAm, that they may eat.
43 And the one serving him said, What, should I set this before a hundred ish? He said again, Give HaAm, that they may eat; for thus saith Hashem, They shall eat, and there shall be shirayim.
44 So he set it before them, and they did eat, and there was shirayim thereof, according to the Devar Hashem.
2 Kings 4
New King James Version
Elisha and the Widow’s Oil(A)
4 A certain woman of the wives of (B)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 the creditor is coming (C)to take my two sons 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 maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”
3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; (D)do not gather just a few. 4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.”
5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”
And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”
Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son(E)
8 Now it happened one day that Elisha went to (F)Shunem, where there was a [a]notable woman, and she [b]persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. 9 And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. 10 Please, let us make [c]a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.”
11 And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. 12 Then he said to (G)Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. 13 And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’ ”
She answered, “I dwell among my own people.”
14 So he said, “What then is to be done for her?”
And Gehazi answered, “Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.”
15 So he said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16 Then he said, [d]“About this time next year you shall embrace a son.”
And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, (H)do not lie to your maidservant!”
17 But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.
18 And the child grew. Now it happened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. 19 And he said to his father, “My head, my head!”
So he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 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, shut the door upon him, and went out. 22 Then she called to her husband, and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come back.”
23 So he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the (I)New Moon nor the Sabbath.”
And she said, [e]“It is well.” 24 Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, “Drive, and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” 25 And so she departed, and went to the man of God (J)at Mount Carmel.
So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, the Shunammite woman! 26 Please run now to meet her, and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’ ”
And she answered, “It is well.” 27 Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me.”
28 So she said, “Did I ask a son of my lord? (K)Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?”
29 Then he said to Gehazi, (L)“Get[f] yourself ready, and take my staff in your hand, and be on your way. If you meet anyone, (M)do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him; but (N)lay my staff on the face of the child.”
30 And the mother of the child said, (O)“As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not (P)leave you.” So he arose and followed her. 31 Now Gehazi went on ahead of them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore he went back to meet him, and told him, saying, “The child has (Q)not awakened.”
32 When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. 33 He (R)went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, (S)and prayed to the Lord. 34 And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and (T)he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. 35 He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up (U)and stretched himself out on him; then (V)the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. 36 And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” 37 So she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; then she (W)picked up her son and went out.
Elisha Purifies the Pot of Stew
38 And Elisha returned to (X)Gilgal, and there was a (Y)famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were (Z)sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” 39 So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. 40 Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is (AA)death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.
41 So he said, “Then bring some flour.” And (AB)he put it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
Elisha Feeds One Hundred Men(AC)
42 Then a man came from (AD)Baal Shalisha, (AE)and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.”
43 But his servant said, (AF)“What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?”
He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the Lord: (AG)‘They shall eat and have some left over.’ ” 44 So he set it before them; and they ate (AH)and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 4:8 Lit. great
- 2 Kings 4:8 Lit. laid hold on him
- 2 Kings 4:10 Or a small walled upper chamber
- 2 Kings 4:16 Lit. About this season, as the time of life
- 2 Kings 4:23 Or It will be well
- 2 Kings 4:29 Lit. Gird up your loins. The skirt of the robe was wrapped around the legs and tucked in the belt to gain freedom of movement.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
