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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 Yahweh. Now the creditor has come to take for himself my two children to be slaves.”

Elisha said to her, “What should I do for you? Tell me: what do you have in the house?”

She said, “Your servant has nothing in the house, except a pot of oil.”

Then he said, “Go, borrow empty containers from all your neighbors. Don’t borrow just a few containers. Go in and shut the door on you and on your sons, and pour oil into all those containers; and set aside those which are full.”

So she went from him, and shut the door on herself and on her sons. They brought the containers to her, and she poured oil. When the containers were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.”

He said to her, “There isn’t another container.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

Then she came and told the man of God. He said, “Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”

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The Miracle of the Oil Vessels(A)

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!”

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.”

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. 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.”

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] 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. 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.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 4:4 The Heb. lacks oil
  2. 2 Kings 4:5 Lit. him
  3. 2 Kings 4:5 The Heb. lacks oil
  4. 2 Kings 4:6 The Heb. lacks last of
  5. 2 Kings 4:7 The Heb. lacks what had happened