Beginning
A Widow Asks Elisha for Help
4 The wife of a man from a group of the prophets came to Elisha. She said, “Your servant, my husband, is dead! You know he honored the Lord. But now the man he owes money to is coming to take my two boys. He will make them his slaves!”
2 Elisha answered, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
The woman said, “I don’t have anything there except a pot of oil.”
3 Then Elisha said, “Go and get empty jars from all your neighbors. Don’t ask for just a few. 4 Then you must go into your house and close the door. Only you and your sons will be there. Then pour oil into all the jars. Set the full ones to one side.”
5 She left Elisha and shut the door. Only she and her sons were in the house. As they brought the jars to her, she poured the oil. 6 When the jars were all full, she said to her son, “Bring me another jar.”
But he said, “There are no more jars.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
7 She went and told Elisha. Elisha said to her, “Go. Sell the oil and pay what you owe. You and your sons can live on what is left.”
The Shunammite Woman
8 One day Elisha went to Shunem. An important woman lived there. She begged Elisha to stay and eat. So every time Elisha passed by, he stopped there to eat. 9 The woman said to her husband, “I know that Elisha is a holy man of God. He passes by our house all the time. 10 Let’s make a small room on the roof.[a] Let’s put a bed in the room for Elisha. And we can put a table, a chair and a lampstand there. Then when he comes by, he can stay there.”
11 One day Elisha came to the woman’s house. He went to his room and rested. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.”
When the servant called her, she stood in front of him. 13 Elisha told his servant, “Now say to her, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak to the king or the commander of the army for you?’”
The woman answered, “I live among my own people.”
14 Elisha said, “But what can we do for her?”
Gehazi answered, “She has no son, and her husband is old.”
15 Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 Then Elisha said, “About this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.”
The woman said, “No, master, man of God. Don’t lie to me!”
17 But the woman became pregnant. And she gave birth to a son at that time the next year as Elisha had told her.
18 The child grew. One day he went out to his father, who was with the men harvesting grain. 19 The boy said to his father, “My head! My head!”
The father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother!” 20 The servant took him to his mother. He lay on his mother’s lap until noon. Then he died. 21 She took him up and laid him on Elisha’s bed. Then she shut the door and went out.
22 She called to her husband. She said, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys. Then I can go quickly to the man of God and come back.”
23 The woman’s husband said, “Why do you want to go to him today? It isn’t the New Moon or the Sabbath day.”
She said, “It will be all right.”
24 Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on. Don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she went to Elisha at Mount Carmel.
He saw her coming from far away. So he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, there’s the Shunammite woman! 26 Run to meet her! Say to her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is the child all right?’”
She answered, “Everything is all right.”
27 Then she came to Elisha at the hill. She caught hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to pull her away. But Elisha said to him, “Let her alone. She’s very upset, and the Lord has not told me about it. He has hidden it from me.”
28 She said, “Master, I didn’t tell you I wanted a son. I told you, ‘Don’t fool me.’”
29 Then Elisha said to Gehazi, “Get ready. Take my walking stick in your hand and go quickly. If you meet anyone, don’t greet him. If anyone greets you, don’t answer him. Lay my walking stick on the face of the boy.”
30 But the child’s mother said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I won’t leave you!” So he got up and followed her.
31 Gehazi went on ahead. He laid the walking stick on the child’s face. But the child did not talk or move. Then Gehazi went back to meet Elisha. He told Elisha, “The child has not awakened.”
32 Elisha came into the house. There was the child, lying dead on his bed. 33 When Elisha entered the room, he shut the door. Only he and the child were in the room. Then Elisha prayed to the Lord. 34 He went to the bed and lay on the child. He put his mouth on the child’s mouth. He put his eyes on the child’s eyes and his hands on the child’s hands. He stretched himself out on top of the child. Then the child’s skin became warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked around the room. Then he went back and put himself on the child again. Then the child sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.
36 Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite!” And he did. When she came, Elisha said, “Pick up your son.” 37 She came in and fell at Elisha’s feet. She bowed facedown to the floor. Then she picked up her son and went out.
Elisha and the Poison
38 Elisha came to Gilgal again. There was a time of hunger in the land. A group of prophets was sitting in front of him. He said to his servant, “Put the large pot on the fire. Boil some stew for these men.”
39 One of them went out into the field to gather plants. He found a wild vine. He picked fruit from the vine and filled his robe with it. Then he came and cut up the fruit into the pot. But they did not know what kind of fruit it was. 40 Then they poured out the stew for the men to eat. But when they began to eat it, they shouted out, “Man of God! There’s death in the pot!” They could not eat it.
41 Elisha told them to bring some flour. Then he threw it into the pot. He said, “Pour it out for the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
Elisha Multiplies Bread
42 A man from Baal Shalishah came to Elisha. He brought 20 loaves of barley bread from the first harvest to Elisha. He also brought fresh grain in his sack. Then Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.”
43 Elisha’s servant said, “How can I feed 100 men with so little?”
But Elisha said, “Give the bread to the people to eat. This is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and will have food left over.’” 44 Then he gave it to them. The people ate and had food left over, as the Lord had said.
Naaman Is Healed
5 Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man to his master. He had much honor because the Lord had used him to give victory to Aram. He was a mighty and brave man. But he had a harmful skin disease.
2 The Arameans had gone out to steal from the Israelites. And they had taken a little girl as a captive from Israel. This little girl served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “I wish that my master would meet the prophet who lives in Samaria. He would heal Naaman of his disease.”
4 Naaman went to the king. He told him what the girl from Israel had said. 5 The king of Aram said, “Go now. And I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left and took about 750 pounds of silver. He also took about 150 pounds of gold and ten changes of clothes with him. 6 He brought the letter to the king of Israel. It read, “I am sending my servant Naaman to you. I’m sending him so you can heal him of his skin disease.”
7 The king of Israel read the letter. Then he tore his clothes to show how upset he was. He said, “I’m not God! I can’t kill and make alive again! Why does this man send someone with a harmful skin disease for me to heal? You can see that the king of Aram is trying to start trouble with me!”
8 Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes. So he sent a message to the king. It said, “Why have you become so upset that you tore your clothes? Let Naaman come to me. Then he will know there is a prophet in Israel!” 9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots to Elisha’s house. And he stood outside the door.
10 Elisha sent a messenger to Naaman. The messenger said, “Go and wash in the Jordan River seven times. Then your skin will be healed, and you will be clean.”
11 Naaman became angry and left. He said, “I thought Elisha would surely come out and stand before me. I thought he would call on the name of the Lord his God. I thought he would wave his hand over the place and heal the disease! 12 Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, are better than all the waters of Israel! Why can’t I wash in them and become clean?” So Naaman went away very angry.
13 But Naaman’s servants came near and talked to him. They said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? Doesn’t it make more sense just to do it? After all, he only told you, ‘Wash, and you will be clean.’” 14 So Naaman went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times. He did just as Elisha had said. Then Naaman’s skin became new again. It was like the skin of a little boy. And Naaman was clean!
15 Naaman and all his group came back to Elisha. He stood before Elisha and said, “Look. I now know there is no God in all the earth except in Israel! Now please accept a gift from me.”
16 But Elisha said, “I serve the Lord. As surely as the Lord lives, I won’t accept anything.” Naaman urged him to take the gift, but he refused.
17 Then Naaman said, “If you won’t take the gift, then please give me some dirt. Give me as much as two of my mules can carry. From now on I’ll not offer any burnt offering or sacrifice to any other gods. I’ll only offer sacrifices to the Lord. 18 But let the Lord pardon me for this: My master goes into the temple of Rimmon[b] to worship. When he goes, he will lean on my arm. Then I must bow in that temple. May the Lord pardon me when I do that.”
19 Elisha said to him, “Go in peace.”
Naaman left Elisha and went a short way. 20 Gehazi was the servant of Elisha the man of God. Gehazi thought, “My master has not accepted what Naaman the Aramean brought. As surely as the Lord lives, I’ll run after him. I’ll get something from him.” 21 So he went after him.
Naaman saw someone running after him. So he got off the chariot to meet Gehazi. He said, “Is everything all right?”
22 Gehazi said, “Everything is all right. My master has sent me. He said, ‘Two young men just came to me. They are from the group of the prophets in the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them 75 pounds of silver and two changes of clothes.’”
23 Naaman said, “Please take 150 pounds.” He urged Gehazi to take it. He tied 150 pounds of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes. Then he gave them to two of his servants. They carried them for Gehazi. 24 When they came to the hill, Gehazi took these things from Naaman’s servants. And he put them in the house. He let Naaman’s servants go, and they left.
25 Then he came in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?”
Gehazi said, “I didn’t go anywhere.”
26 But Elisha said to him, “My spirit was with you. I knew when the man turned from his chariot to meet you. This isn’t a time to receive money, clothes, olives and grapes. It isn’t a time to receive sheep, oxen, male servants and female servants. 27 Naaman’s skin disease will come on you and your children forever.” When Gehazi left Elisha, he had the disease. He was as white as snow.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.