2 Kings 4:18-37

Common English Bible

¹⁸ The child grew up. One day he ran to his father, who was with the harvest workers. ¹⁹ He said to his father, “Oh, my head! My head!”

The father said to a young man, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰ So he picked up the boy and brought him to his mother.

The boy sat on her lap until noon. Then he died. ²¹ She went up and laid him down on the bed for the man of God. Then she went out and closed the door. ²² She called her husband and said, “Send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys so that I can hurry to the man of God and come back.”

²³ Her husband said, “Why are you going to him today? It’s not a new moon or sabbath.”

She said, “Don’t worry about it.” ²⁴ She saddled the donkey, then said to her young servant, “Drive the donkey hard. Don’t let me slow down unless I tell you.” ²⁵ So she went off and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.

As soon as the man of God saw her from a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Look, it’s the Shunammite woman! ²⁶ Run out to meet her and ask her, ‘Are things okay with you, your husband, and your child?’”

She said, “Things are okay.”

²⁷ When she got to the man of God at the mountain, she grabbed his feet. Gehazi came up to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone! She is distraught, but the Lord has hidden the reason from me and hasn’t told me why.”

²⁸ She said, “Did I ask you for a son, sir? Didn’t I say, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?”

²⁹ Elisha said to Gehazi, “Get ready, take my staff, and go! If you encounter anyone, don’t stop to greet them. If anyone greets you, don’t reply. Put my staff on the boy’s face.”

³⁰ But the boy’s mother said, “I swear by your life and by the Lord’s life, I won’t leave you!” So Elisha got up and followed her.

³¹ Gehazi went on ahead of them. He set the staff on the young boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So he went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy didn’t wake up.”

³² Elisha came into the house and saw the boy lying dead on his bed. ³³ He went in and closed the door behind the two of them. Then he prayed to the Lord. ³⁴ He got up on the bed and lay down on top of the child, putting his mouth on the boy’s mouth, his eyes on the boy’s eyes, his hands on the boy’s hands. And as he bent over him, the child’s skin grew warm. ³⁵ Then Elisha got down and paced back and forth in the house. Once again he got up on the bed and bent over the boy, at which point the boy sneezed^[a] seven times and opened his eyes. ³⁶ Elisha called for Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” Gehazi called her, and she came to Elisha. He told her, “Pick up your son.” ³⁷ She came and fell at his feet, facedown on the ground. Then she picked up her son and left.