2 Kings 4:11-17
New English Translation
11 One day Elisha[a] came for a visit; he went[b] into the upper room and rested.[c] 12 He told his servant Gehazi, “Ask the Shunammite woman to come here.”[d] So he did so and she came to him.[e] 13 Elisha said to Gehazi,[f] “Tell her, ‘Look, you have treated us with such great respect.[g] What can I do for you? Can I put in a good word for you with the king or the commander of the army?’” She replied, “I’m quite secure.”[h] 14 So he asked Gehazi,[i] “What can I do for her?” Gehazi replied, “She has no son, and her husband is old.” 15 Elisha told him, “Ask her to come here.”[j] So he did so[k] and she came and stood in the doorway.[l] 16 He said, “About this time next year[m] you will be holding a son.” She said, “No, my master! O prophet, do not lie to your servant!” 17 The woman did conceive, and at the specified time the next year she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Kings 4:11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Kings 4:11 tn Heb “turned aside.”
- 2 Kings 4:11 tn Or “slept there.”
- 2 Kings 4:12 tn Heb “Call for this Shunammite woman.”
- 2 Kings 4:12 tn Heb “and he called for her and she stood before him.”
- 2 Kings 4:13 tn Heb “he said to him.”
- 2 Kings 4:13 tn Heb “you have turned trembling to us with all this trembling.” The exaggerated language is probably idiomatic. The point seems to be that she has taken great pains or gone out of her way to be kind to them. Her concern was a sign of her respect for the prophetic office.
- 2 Kings 4:13 tn Heb “Among my people I am living.” This answer suggests that she has security within the context of her family.
- 2 Kings 4:14 tn Heb “and he said.”
- 2 Kings 4:15 tn Heb “Call for her.”
- 2 Kings 4:15 tn Heb “and he called her.”
- 2 Kings 4:15 tn Heb “and he called for her and she stood in the door.”
- 2 Kings 4:16 tn Heb “at this appointed time, at the time [when it is] reviving.” For a discussion of the second phrase see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 57.
2 Kings 4:11-17
Common English Bible
11 So one day Elisha came there, headed to the room on the roof, and lay down. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite woman.” Gehazi called her, and she stood before him. 13 Elisha then said to Gehazi, “Say to her, ‘Look, you’ve gone to all this trouble for us. What can I do for you? Is there anything I can say on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’”
She said, “I’m content to live at home with my own people.”
14 Elisha asked, “So what can be done for her?”
Gehazi said, “Well, she doesn’t have a son, and her husband is old.”
15 Elisha said, “Call her.” So Gehazi called her, and she stood at the door. 16 Elisha said, “About this time next year, you will be holding a son in your arms.”
But she said, “No, man of God, sir; don’t lie to your servant.”
17 But the woman conceived and gave birth to a son at about the same time the next year. This was what Elisha had promised her.
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