2 Kings 4:1-7
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.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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
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