2 Kings 4
Tree of Life Version
Miracle of Multiplying Oil
4 Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha saying, “Your servant my husband is dead—you know that your servant feared Adonai. Now the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”
2 “What should I do for you?” Elisha asked her. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”
She replied, “Your handmaid has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.”
3 Then he said, “Go borrow for yourself vessels from all your neighbors—empty jars—not just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and behind your sons, and pour into all those vessels, setting aside what is full.”
5 So she left him and shut the door behind her and behind her sons. They kept bringing the vessels to her and she kept pouring. 6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”
But he said to her, “There isn’t another vessel.” So the oil stopped.
7 Then she came and told the man of God. So he said, “Go sell the oil and pay your debt, then you and your sons can live on the rest.”
Shunammite Hospitality
8 One day when Elisha passed through Shunem, where there was a prominent woman who persuaded him to eat some food. And so it was, whenever he passed through, he would stop for a meal. 9 Then she said to her husband, “Behold now, I realize that this man who often passes through is a holy man of God. 10 Please, let’s make a little walled room on the roof, and let’s put there a bed, a table, a chair, and a lampstand for him. Then whenever he comes to us, he can stay there.”
11 One day he came there, and retired to the upper chamber and lay down there. 12 Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. 13 He said to him, “Tell her: Behold, you have gone to all this trouble for us. What can be done for you? Can something be communicated to the king or to the commander of the army for you?”
She answered, “I am living among my own people.”
14 So he asked, “Then what should be done for her?”
Then Gehazi answered, “In fact, she has no son, and her husband is old.”
15 “Call her,” he said. And when he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16 Then he said, “At this season next year, you will be embracing a son.”
But she said, “No, my lord, do not lie to your handmaid, man of God.”
17 Nevertheless, the woman conceived and bore a son during that season the following year, just as Elisha had told her.
18 Now when the child was grown, one day he went out to his father among the reapers. 19 Then he said to his father, “My head, my head!” So he said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 So he picked him up and brought him to his mother. The child sat on her lap until noon, and then died. 21 She then went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door on him and went out. 22 Then she called to her husband, and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys that I may run to the man of God and come back.”
23 But he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither New Moon nor Shabbat.”
But she said, “It will be well.”
24 Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Move on! Don’t slow down riding unless I tell you.”
25 So she set out and came near the man of God at Mount Carmel. Upon seeing her from a distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, “Look! There’s the Shunammite. 26 Please, run now to meet her and ask her: ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the boy?’”
She answered, “It is well.” 27 But when she arrived at the mountain, up to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet.
Then Gehazi stepped forward to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is bitter within her, yet Adonai has hid it from me and has not told me.”
28 “Did I ask my lord for a son?” she said. “Didn’t I say, ‘Don’t deceive me’?”
29 Then he said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins and take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, don’t greet him. Or if anyone greets you, don’t answer him; and lay my staff on the face of the child.”
30 But the mother of the child said, “As Adonai lives and as you live, I won’t leave you.” So he arose and followed her. 31 Gehazi passed on ahead of them and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or response. So he returned to meet him and told him, saying, “The boy has not awakened.”
32 When Elisha entered the house, there was the child, dead and laying on his bed. 33 So he entered and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to Adonai. 34 Then he got up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth and his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands, and he stretched himself upon him. So the flesh of the child became warm. 35 Then he stepped down and walked in the house to and fro, and then he got up on the bed and stretched himself on him. The child sneezed seven times, then the child opened his eyes. 36 He then called Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.”
So he called her. When she came in to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” 37 She came, fell at his feet and bowed down to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.
Elisha Purifies Deadly Stew
38 Afterward Elisha returned to Gilgal. Now there was famine in the land. As the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.”
39 Then one of them went out into the field to gather herbs, found a wild vine and picked from it a lapful of wild gourds. Then he came back and sliced them into the stew pot, for they didn’t know what they were. 40 Then they served it for the men to eat. But it came to pass as they were still eating the stew, they cried out and said, “O man of God, there is death in the pot.” So they could not eat it.
41 But he said, “Bring some flour,” and he threw it into the pot and said, “Serve it to the people and let them eat.” So there was nothing bad in the pot.
42 Now a man came from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits—20 loaves of barley bread and fresh ears of corn in his sack. Then he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat.”
43 But his attendant said, “What? Will I set this before a hundred men?” But he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat, for thus says Adonai, ‘They will eat and will have left over.’” 44 So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of Adonai.
2 Kings 4
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 4
The Widow’s Oil.[a] 1 Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant lived in fear of the Lord. His creditor is coming to take away his two sons to be his slaves.” 2 Elisha said, “What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have at home?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing at home except for a flask of oil.” 3 He said, “Go around and borrow jars from all of your neighbors. Empty jars, and not too few of them. 4 Then go inside, and shut the door behind you and your sons. Fill all of those jars, and when a jar is full, set it to the side.”
5 So she left him, and she shut the door behind her and her sons who had brought her jars, and she kept pouring. 6 When all of the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another jar.” He said, “There are no more jars,” and then the oil stopped flowing.
7 She went and recounted it to the man of God, and he said, “Go and sell the oil and pay your debt. You and your children can live on what is left over.”
Elisha and the Shunammite.[b] 8 One day Elisha traveled to Shunem.[c] There was an important woman there, and she insisted that he stop to eat. Whenever he passed by there, he would stop to eat.
9 She said to her husband, “Behold, this man who often visits us is a holy man of God. 10 We should prepare a small room on the roof, and place a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp in it for him. Then he can stay there when he visits us.”
11 One day he arrived, and he went into the room to lie down. 12 He said to Gehazi, his servant, “Call the Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him. 13 He said to him, “Say to her, ‘You have put yourself through all this trouble for us. What could be done for you? Should we speak to the king or the commander of the army for you?’ ” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.”
14 He said, “Then what can be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “She and her husband are old, and they have no children.” 15 Elisha said, “Summon her.” He called her and she stood in the doorway. 16 He said, “You will embrace a son around this time next year.” She said, “No, my lord, O man of God. Do not lie to your servant.”
17 The woman became pregnant, and she had a son that time the next year, just as Elisha had predicted. 18 The child grew up, and one day he went out to his father who was with the reapers. 19 He said to his father, “My head! My head!” He said to a young man, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 He picked him up and brought him to his mother. He sat on her lap until noon when he died.
21 She went up and laid him on the bed belonging to the man of God. She closed him in the room and went out. 22 She called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys so that I can hurry to the man of God and return.” 23 He said, “Why would you go today? It is not a new moon or the Sabbath.” But she said, “It is all right.”[d]
24 She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on, and do not slow down for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she departed and came to the man of God on Mount Carmel.
When the man of God saw her from a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, it is the Shunammite. 26 Run to her and say to her, ‘Is everything all right? Is your husband well? Is your child well?’ ” She answered, “It is all right.”
27 When she reached the man of God on the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi approached to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone. Her spirit is in despair, but the Lord had hidden it from me and did not tell me.”
28 She said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not lie to me.’ ”
29 Elisha said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hands, and go! If you meet anyone, do not greet him. And if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff upon the child’s face.”[e] 30 But the boy’s mother said, “As the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.
31 Gehazi went on before them, and he laid the staff upon the child’s face, but there was no sound or response. He went out to meet him, and he said to him, “The child did not wake up.”
32 When Elisha arrived at the house, the child was lying dead upon his bed. 33 He went in, and he shut the door on the two of them, and then he prayed to the Lord. 34 He got up and lay upon the child, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, and hands to hands. He stretched himself out upon the child, and the child’s flesh grew warm. 35 He turned and walked back and forth in the room, and then he went and stretched himself out again. The boy sneezed seven times, and then the boy opened his eyes.
36 Elisha called for Gehazi, and he said, “Call this Shunammite.” He called her, and she came, and he said to her, “Take your son.” 37 She came in and bowed down, falling to the ground at Elisha’s feet. She then took her son and left.
38 Poisoned Stew. Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. The sons of the prophets were sitting in front of him, and he said to his servant, “Set up the large pot and cook some soup for the sons of the prophets.”
39 One of them went out into the field to gather some herbs and he found a wild vine. He picked the wild gourds, filling his cloak. He cut them up into the pot of soup, although no one knew what they were.
40 When they poured out the soup for the men to eat, and they began to eat the soup, they cried out, “O man of God, there is death in the pot.” And they could not eat it.
41 He said, “Bring some flour.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Pour it out for the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
42 Multiplication of Loaves. A man came from Baal-shalishah, and he brought the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread from the firstfruits along with some heads of grain. He said, “Give it to the people so that they might eat.” 43 His servant said, “What? Should I place this before one hundred men?” But he said again, “Give it to the people to eat, for thus says the Lord: They will eat, and there will be some left over.”
44 He set it before them, and they ate, and there was some left over, just as the Lord had predicted.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 4:1 This chapter recounts God’s mercy and power in providing for the needs of the faithful. God uses Elisha to help the widow in debt, to restore life to the dead boy, to purify food, and to feed one hundred men.
- 2 Kings 4:8 The story is very like the one told of Elijah (1 Ki 17:17-24).
- 2 Kings 4:8 Shunem: at the foot of Little Hermon in northern Israel.
- 2 Kings 4:23 It was customary to approach the prophets on festival days (see 1 Sam 20:5).
- 2 Kings 4:29 The sign of an urgent mission (see Lk 10:4). Easterners are, even today, very formal, and even the simplest greeting takes time.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
