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
World English Bible
11 One day he came there, and he went to the room and lay there. 12 He said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” When he had called her, she stood before him. 13 He said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Behold, you have cared for us with all this care. What is to be done for you? Would you like to be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the army?’”
She answered, “I dwell among my own people.”
14 He said, “What then is to be done for her?”
Gehazi answered, “Most certainly she has no son, and her husband is old.”
15 He said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the door. 16 He said, “At this season, when the time comes around, you will embrace a son.”
She said, “No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your servant.”
17 The woman conceived, and bore a son at that season, when the time came around, as Elisha had said to her.
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