2 Kings 4:38-41
New English Translation
Elisha Makes a Meal Edible
38 Now Elisha went back to Gilgal, while there was a famine in the land. Some of the prophets were visiting him[a] and he told his servant, “Put the big pot on the fire[b] and boil some stew for the prophets.”[c] 39 Someone went out to the field to gather some herbs and found a wild vine.[d] He picked some of its fruit,[e] enough to fill up the fold of his robe. He came back, cut it up, and threw the slices[f] into the stew pot, not knowing they were harmful.[g] 40 The stew was poured out[h] for the men to eat. When they ate some of the stew, they cried out, “Death is in the pot, O prophet!” They could not eat it. 41 He said, “Get some flour.” Then he threw it into the pot and said, “Now pour some out for the men so they may eat.”[i] There was no longer anything harmful in the pot.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Kings 4:38 tn Heb “the sons of the prophets were sitting before him.”
- 2 Kings 4:38 tn The words “the fire” are added for clarification.
- 2 Kings 4:38 tn Heb “sons of the prophets.”
- 2 Kings 4:39 tn Heb “a vine of the field.”
- 2 Kings 4:39 tn Heb “[some] of the gourds of the field.”
- 2 Kings 4:39 tn Heb “he came and cut [them up].”
- 2 Kings 4:39 tc The Hebrew text reads, “for they did not know” (יָדָעוּ, yadaʿu) but some emend the final shureq (וּ, indicating a third plural subject) to holem vav (וֹ, a third masculine singular pronominal suffix on a third singular verb) and read “for he did not know it.” Perhaps it is best to omit the final vav as dittographic (note the vav at the beginning of the next verb form) and read simply, “for he did not know.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 59.
- 2 Kings 4:40 tn Heb “and they poured out [the stew].” The plural subject is probably indefinite.
- 2 Kings 4:41 tn Or “and let them eat.”
2 Kings 4:38-41
World English Bible
38 Elisha came again to Gilgal. There was a famine in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Get the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.”
39 One went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered a lap full of wild gourds from it, and came and cut them up into the pot of stew; for they didn’t recognize them. 40 So they poured out for the men to eat. As they were eating some of the stew, they cried out, and said, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.
41 But he said, “Then bring meal.” He threw it into the pot; and he said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
Read full chapterNET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
by Public Domain. The name "World English Bible" is trademarked.