Kings IV 4

1 And one of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisaie, saying, Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant feared the Lord: and the creditor is come to take my two sons to be his servants.

Now a certain woman, the wife of one of the sons of the prophets, came crying to Elisha and said, Your servant my husband is dead; and to your knowledge he was a worshipper of the Lord; but now, the creditor has come to take my two children as servants in payment of his debt.

2 And Elisaie said, What shall I do for you? tell me what you have in the house. And she said, Your servant has nothing in the house, except oil wherewith I anoint myself.

Then Elisha said to her, What am I to do for you? say now, what have you in the house? And she said, Your servant has nothing in the house but a pot of oil.

3 And he said to her, Go, borrow for yourself vessels without of all your neighbours, [even] empty vessels; borrow not a few.

Then he said, Go out to all your neighbours and get vessels, a very great number of them.

4 And you shall go in and shut the door upon you and upon your sons, and you shall pour forth into these vessels, and remove that which is filled.

Then go in, and, shutting the door on yourself and your sons, put oil into all these vessels, putting on one side the full ones.

5 And she departed from him, and shut the door upon herself and upon her sons: they brought the vessels near to her, and she poured in until the vessels were filled.

So she went away, and when the door was shut on her and her sons, they took the vessels to her and she put oil into them.

6 And she said to her sons, Bring me yet a vessel. And they said to her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.

And when all the vessels were full, she said to her son, Get me another vessel. And he said, There are no more. And the flow of oil was stopped.

7 And she came and told the man of God: and Elisaie said, Go, and sell the oil, and you shall pay your debts, and you and your sons shall live of the remaining oil.

So she came to the man of God and gave him word of what she had done. And he said, Go and get money for the oil and make payment of your debt, and let the rest be for the needs of yourself and your sons.

8 And a day came, when Elisaie passed over to Soman, and [there was] a great lady there, and she constrained him to eat bread: and it came to pass as often as he went into [the city, that] he turned aside to eat there.

Now there came a day when Elisha went to Shunem, and there was a woman of high position living there, who made him come in and have a meal with her. And after that, every time he went by, he went into her house for a meal.

9 And the woman said to her husband, See now, I know that this [is] a holy man of God who comes over continually to us.

And she said to her husband, Now I see that this is a holy man of God, who comes by day after day.

10 Let us now make for him an upper chamber, a small place; and let us put there for him a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall come to pass that when he comes in to us, he shall turn in there.

So let us make a little room on the wall; and put a bed there for him, and a table and a seat and a light; so that when he comes to us, he will be able to go in there.

11 And a day came, and he went in there, and turned aside into the upper chamber, and lay there.

Now one day, when he had gone there, he went into the little room and took his rest there.

12 And he said to Giezi his servant, Call me this Somanite. and he called her, and she stood before him.

And he said to Gehazi, his servant, Send for this Shunammite. So in answer to his voice she came before him.

13 And he said to him, Say now to her, Behold, you have taken all this trouble for us; what should I do for you? Hast you any request [to make] to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she said, I dwell in the midst of my people.

And he said to him, Now say to her, See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? will you have any request made for you to the king or the captain of the army? But she said, I am living among my people.

14 And he said to Giezi, What must we do for her? and Giezi his servant said, Indeed she has no son, and her husband [is] old.

So he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi made answer, Still there is this, she has no son and her husband is old.

15 And he called her, and she stood by the door.

Then he said, Send for her. And in answer to his voice she took her place at the door.

16 And Elisaie said to her, At this time [next year], as the season [is], you [shall be] alive, and embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, do not lie to your servant.

And Elisha said, At this time in the coming year you will have a son in your arms. And she said, No, my lord, O man of God, do not say what is false to your servant.

17 And the woman conceived, and bore a son at the very time, as the season was, being alive, as Elisaie said to her.

Then the woman became with child and gave birth to a son at the time named, in the year after, as Elisha had said to her.

18 And the child grew: and it came to pass when he went out to his father to the reapers,

Now one day, when the child was older, he went out to his father to where the grain was being cut.

19 that he said to his father, My head, my head. and [his father] said to a servant, carry him to his mother.

And he said to his father, My head, my head! And the father said to a servant, Take him in to his mother.

20 And he carried him to his mother, and he lay upon her knees till noon, and died.

And he took him in to his mother, and she took him on her knees and kept him there till the middle of the day, when his life went from him.

21 And she carried him up and laid him on the bed of the man of god; and she shut the door upon him, and went out.

Then she went up and put him on the bed of the man of God, shutting the door on him, and went out.

22 And she called her husband, and said, Send now for me one of the young men, and one of the asses, and I will ride quickly to the man of God, and return.

And she said to her husband, Send me one of the servants and one of the asses so that I may go quickly to the man of God and come back again.

23 And he said, Why are you going to him today? It is neither new moon, nor the Sabbath. And she said, [It is] well.

And he said, Why are you going to him today? it is not a new moon or a Sabbath. But she said, It is well.

24 And she saddled the ass, and said to her servant, Be quick, proceed: spare not on my account to ride, unless I shall tell you. Go, and you shall proceed, and come to the man of God to mount Carmel.

Then she made the ass ready and said to her servant, Keep driving on; do not make a stop without orders from me.

25 And she rode and came to the man of God to the mountain: and it came to pass when Elisaie saw her coming, that he said to Giezi his servant, See now, that Somanite comes.

So she went, and came to Mount Carmel, to the man of God. And when the man of God saw her coming in his direction, he said to Gehazi, his servant, See, there is the Shunammite;

26 Now run to meet her, and you shall say, [Is it] well with you? [is it] well with your husband? [is it] well with the child? and she said, [It is] well.

Go quickly to her, and on meeting her say to her, Are you well? and your husband and the child, are they well? And she said in answer, All is well.

27 And she came to Elisaie to the mountain, and laid hold of his feet; and Giezi drew near to thrust her away. And Elisaie said, Let her alone, for her soul [is] much grieved in her, and the Lord has hidden [it] from me, and has not told [it] me.

And when she came to where the man of God was on the hill, she put her hands round his feet; and Gehazi came near with the purpose of pushing her away; but the man of God said, Let her be, for her soul is bitter in her; and the Lord has kept it secret from me, and has not given me word of it.

28 And she said, Did I ask a son of my lord? For did I not say, Do not deal deceitfully with me?

Then she said, Did I make a request to my lord for a son? did I not say, Do not give me false words?

29 And Elisaie said to Giezi, Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go: if you meet any man, you shall not salute him, and if a man salute you you shall not answer him: and you shall lay my staff on the child's face.

Then he said to Gehazi, Make yourself ready, and take my stick in your hand, and go: if you come across anyone on the way, give him no blessing, and if anyone gives you a blessing, give him no answer. And put my stick on the child's face.

30 And the mother of the child said, [As] the Lord lives and [as] your soul lives, I will not leave you. And Elisaie arose, and went after her.

But the mother of the child said, As the Lord is living and as your soul is living, I will not go back without you. So he got up and went with her.

31 And Giezi went on before her, and laid his staff on the child's face: but there was neither voice nor any hearing. So he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.

And Gehazi went on before them and put the stick on the child's face; but there was no voice, and no one gave attention. So he went back, and meeting him gave him the news, saying, The child is not awake.

32 And Elisaie went into the house, and, behold, the dead child was laid upon his bed.

And when Elisha came into the house he saw the child dead, stretched on his bed.

33 And Elisaie went into the house, and shut the door upon themselves, the two, and prayed to the Lord.

So he went in, and shutting the door on the two of them, made prayer to the Lord.

34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands; and bowed himself upon him, and the flesh of the child grew warm.

Then he got up on the bed, stretching himself out on the child, and put his mouth on the child's mouth, his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands; and the child's body became warm.

35 And he returned, and walked up and down in the house: and he went up, and bowed himself on the child seven times; and the child opened his eyes.

Then he came back, and after walking once through the house and back, he went up, stretching himself out on the child seven times; and the child's eyes became open.

36 And Elisaie cried out to Giezi, and said, Call this Somanite. So he called her, and she came in to him: and Elisaie said, Take your son.

And he gave orders to Gehazi, and said, Send for the Shunammite. And she came in answer to his voice. And he said, Take up your son.

37 And the woman went in, and fell at his feet, and did obeisance [bowing] to the ground; and she took her son, and went out.

And she came in, and went down on her face to the earth at his feet; then she took her son in her arms and went out.

38 And Elisaie returned to Galgala: and a famine [was] in the land; and the sons of the prophets sat before him: and Elisaie said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets.

And Elisha went back to Gilgal, now there was very little food in the land; and the sons of the prophets were seated before him. And he said to his servant, Put the great pot on the fire, and make soup for the sons of the prophets.

39 And he went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a vine in the field, and gathered of it wild gourds, his garment full; and he cast it into the cauldron of pottage, for they knew [them] not.

And one went out into the field to get green plants and saw a vine of the field, and pulling off the fruit of it till the fold of his robe was full, he came back and put the fruit, cut up small, into the pot of soup, having no idea what it was.

40 And he poured it out for the men to eat: and it came to pass, when they were eating of the pottage, that behold! they cried out, and said, [There is] death in the pot, O man of God. And they could not eat.

Then they gave the men soup from the pot. And while they were drinking the soup, they gave a cry, and said, O man of God, there is death in the pot; and they were not able to take any more food.

41 And he said, Take meal, and cast it into the pot. And Elisaie said to his servant Giezi, Pour out for the people, and let them eat. And there was no longer there any hurtful thing in the pot.

But he said, Get some meal. And he put it into the pot, and said, Now give it to the people so that they may have food. And there was nothing bad in the pot.

42 And there came a man over from Baetharisa, and brought to the man of God twenty barley loaves and cakes of figs, of the first fruits. And he said, Give to the people, and let them eat.

Now a man came from Baal-shalishah with an offering of first-fruits for the man of God, twenty barley cakes and garden fruit in his bag. And he said, Give these to the people for food.

43 And his servant said, Why should I set this before a hundred men? and he said, Give to the people, and let them eat; for thus says the Lord, They shall eat and leave.

But his servant said, How am I to put this before a hundred men? But he said, Give it to the people for food; for the Lord says, There will be food for them and some over.

44 And they ate and left, according to the word of the Lord.

So he put it before them, and they had a meal and there was more than enough, as the Lord had said.