2 Kings 4

1 Now a certain woman, from the wives of the prophets, cried out to Elisha, saying: “My husband, your servant, is dead. And you know that your servant was one who fears the Lord. And behold, a creditor has arrived, so that he may take away my two sons to serve him.”

One day the widow of one of [Yahweh’s] prophets came to Elisha and cried out to him, “My husband, who worked with you, is dead. You know that he revered Yahweh [very much]. But now a man to whom he owed a lot of money has come to me. [And because I cannot pay back the money, he is threatening] to take away my two sons to be his slaves [as payment for what I owe him]!”

2 And Elisha said to her: “What do you want me to do for you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” And she responded, “I, your handmaid, do not have anything in my house, except a little oil, with which I may be anointed.”

Elisha replied, “What can I do to help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” She replied, “We have only a container of [olive] oil; we have nothing else.”

3 And he said to her: “Go, ask to borrow from all your neighbors empty vessels, more than a few.

Elisha said, “Go to your neighbors and borrow from them as many empty jars as you can.

4 And enter and close your door. And when you are inside with your sons, pour from the oil into all those vessels. And when they are full, take them away.”

Then take the jars into your house with your sons. Shut the door. Then pour olive oil from your container into the other jars. When each jar is full, set it aside [and fill another jar. Keep doing that until all the jars are full].”

5 And so, the woman went and closed the door upon herself and her sons. They were bringing her the vessels, and she was pouring into them.

[So she did what Elisha told her to do]. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she kept filling them.

6 And when the vessels had been filled, she said to her son, “Bring me another a vessel.” And he responded, “I have none.” And there was oil remaining.

Soon all the jars were full. So she said to one of her sons, “Bring me another jar!” But he replied, “There are no more jars!” And then the olive oil stopped flowing.

7 Then she went and told the man of God. And he said: “Go, sell the oil, and repay your creditor. Then you and your sons may live on what remains.”

When she told Elijah [what had happened], he said to her, “Now sell the jars of oil. And [with the money you get, ] pay what you owe, and there will be enough extra money to keep buying food for yourself and your sons.” [So she did that].

8 Now it happened that, on a certain day, Elisha passed by Shunem. And there was a great woman there, who took him to eat bread. And since he frequently passed by there, he turned aside to her house, so that he might eat bread.

One day Elisha went to Shunem [town]. There was a wealthy woman who lived there [with her husband]. One day she invited Elisha to her house for a meal. [Elisha went there and] from then on, every time Elisha was in Shunem, he went to their house to eat a meal.

9 And she said to her husband: “I have noticed that he is a holy man of God, who passes by us frequently.

One day the woman said to her husband, “I am sure that this man who often comes here is a prophet [who brings messages] from God.

10 Therefore, let us prepare a small upper room for him, and place a bed in it for him, and a table, and a chair, and a lampstand, so that when he comes to us, he may stay there.”

I think we should make a small room for him on our [flat] roof, and put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp in it. If we do that, whenever he comes here, he will have a place to stay.” [So they did that].

11 Then it happened that, on a certain day, arriving, he turned aside into the upper room, and he rested there.

One day Elisha returned to Shunem, and he went up to that room to rest.

12 And he said to his servant Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite woman.” And when he had called her, and she stood before him,

He said to his servant Gehazi, “Tell the woman that I want to speak to her.” [So the servant went and told her]. When she came [to the doorway of Elisha’s room],

13 he said to his servant: “Say to her: Behold, you have ministered to us attentively in all things. What do you want, that I might do for you? Do you have any business, or do you want me to speak to the king, or to the leader of the military?” And she responded, “I live in the midst of my own people.”

Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tell her that we both appreciate all the kind things that she has done for us. Then ask her what we can do for her. Ask, ‘Do you want [me to go to] the king or the army commander, to request something for you?’” [Gehazi told her, ] and she replied, “No, [he does not need to do that, because] my family/relatives are able to give me what I need.”

14 And he said, “Then what does she want, that I might do for her?” And Gehazi said: “You need not ask. For she has no son, and her husband is elderly.”

[Later, ] Elisha asked Gehazi, “What do you think that we can do for that woman?” He replied, “She does not have a son, and her husband is an old man. [So maybe we should ask Yahweh to enable her to have a son].”

15 And so, he instructed him to call her. And when she had been called, and was standing before the door,

Elisha told Gehazi, “Call her back again.” [So Gehazi went and called her]. And when the woman returned, as she stood in the doorway,

16 he said to her, “At this time, and at this same hour, with life as a companion, you will have a son in your womb.” But she responded, “Do not, I ask you, my lord, a man of God, do not be willing to lie to your handmaid.”

Elisha said to her, “About this time next year you will be holding your [infant] son in your arms.” But she protested, “O, sir, you are a prophet [who brings messages] from God, so please do not deceive/lie to me by saying things like that!”

17 And the woman conceived. And she bore a son, in the time and at the same hour as Elisha had said.

But a few months later, the woman became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son at that time the following year, just like Elisha had predicted.

18 And the boy grew. And on a certain day, when he had gone out to his father, to the harvesters,

When the child was older, one day he went out to the fields to see his father, who was [working] with the men who were harvesting [grain].

19 he said to his father: “I have a pain in my head. I have a pain in my head.” But he said to his servant, “Take him, and lead him to his mother.”

[Suddenly] the boy exclaimed, “My head [hurts]! My head [hurts a lot]!” His father said to one of the servants, “Carry him home to his mother!”

20 But when he had taken him, and he had led him to his mother, she placed him upon her knees, until midday, and then he died.

So the servant carried him home, and his mother held him on her lap. But at noontime the boy died.

21 Then she went up and laid him out on the bed of the man of God, and she closed the door. And departing,

She carried him up [the steps] to the prophet’s room and laid him on the bed. She left him there and went out and shut the door.

22 she called her husband, and she said: “Send with me, I beg you, one of your servants, and a donkey, so that I may hurry to the man of God, and then return.”

She then called out to her husband, saying, “Send to me one of the servants and a donkey, so that I can ride [on it] quickly to the prophet, and then come back!” [But she did not tell her husband that their son had died].

23 And he said to her: “What is the reason that you would go to him? Today is not the new moon, and it is not the Sabbath.” She responded, “I will go.”

Her husband [called out to her and] said, “Why [do you want to go] today? This is not the day when we celebrate the Festival of the New Moon, and it is not a Sabbath day!” But she only replied, “[Just do what I requested and] everything will be all right.”

24 And she saddled a donkey, and she instructed her servant: “Drive, and hurry on. You shall cause no delay for me in departing. And do whatever I instruct you to do.”

So she [told the servant to] put saddles on [two] donkeys, and as they left, she said, “Hurry! Do not slow down unless t tell you to do that!”

25 And so she set out. And she came to the man of God, on mount Carmel. And when the man of God had seen her at a distance, he said to his servant Gehazi: “Behold, it is that Shunammite woman.

As they approached Carmel Mountain, where Elisha was, Elisha saw her in the distance. He said to Gehazi, “Look, the woman from Shunem is coming!

26 So then, go to meet her, and say to her, ‘Does all go well concerning you, and your husband, and your son?’” And she answered, “It is well.”

Run to her, and ask her if everything is all right with her and her husband and with her child!” [So Gehazi ran to her and asked her, but she did not tell Gehazi anything.] She only said, “Yes, everything is fine.”

27 And when she had arrived at the man of God, on the mount, she took hold of his feet. And Gehazi drew near, so that he might remove her. But the man of God said: “Permit her. For her soul is in bitterness. And the Lord has concealed it from me, and has not revealed it to me.”

But when she came to where Elisha was, she [prostrated herself on the ground in front of Elisha and] took hold of his feet. Gehazi started to push her away, but Elisha said, “(Do not push her away/Leave her alone)! Something is troubling her very much, but Yahweh has not told me what it is.”

28 And she said to him: “Did I ask a son from my lord? Did I not say to you, ‘You should not deceive me?’”

Then she said to Elisha, “O, sir, I did not ask you to enable me to give birth to a son [RHQ]. And I told you not to lie to me about that!” [RHQ]

29 And so he said to Gehazi: “Gird your waist, and take my staff in your hand, and go. If any man will meet you, you shall not greet him. And if anyone greets you, you shall not respond to him. And place my staff upon the face of the boy.”

Then Elisha [realized that something must have happened to her son. So he] said to Gehazi, “Get ready [to leave immediately]. Take my staff/walking stick and go [to her home]. Do not [stop to] talk to anyone on the way. Go quickly [to where her son is] and lay the staff on the child’s face. [If you do that, perhaps Yahweh will enable him to be well].”

30 But the mother of the boy said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not release you.” Therefore, he rose up, and he followed her.

But the boy’s mother said, “Just [as certain] as Yahweh lives and you live, I will not go home if you do not go with me.” So Elisha returned with her [to her home].

31 But Gehazi had gone before them, and he had placed the staff upon the face of the boy. And there was no voice, nor any response. And so he returned to meet him. And he reported to him, saying, “The boy did not rise up.”

Gehazi hurried quickly, and [when he got to the woman’s home, ] he laid the staff/walking stick on the child’s face, but the child did not move or say anything. So Gehazi returned to meet Elisha [along the road], and told him, “The child is still dead.”

32 Therefore, Elisha entered the house. And behold, the boy was lying dead upon his bed.

When Elisha reached the house, he saw that the boy was lying dead on his bed.

33 And entering, he closed the door upon himself and the boy. And he prayed to the Lord.

Elisha went into the room by himself and shut the door and prayed to Yahweh.

34 And he climbed up, and lay across the boy. And he put his mouth over his mouth, and his eyes over his eyes, and his hands over his hands. And he leaned himself over him, and the body of the boy grew warm.

Then he lay down on the boy’s body, and put his mouth on the boy’s mouth, and put his eyes on the boy’s eyes, and put his hands on the boy’s hands. Then the boy’s body started to become warm!

35 And returning, he walked around the house, first here and then there. And he went up, and lay across him. And the boy gasped seven times, and he opened his eyes.

Elisha got up and walked back and forth in the room [several times]. Then he stretched his body on the boy’s body again. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes!

36 And he called Gehazi, and said to him, “Call this Shunammite woman.” And having been called, she entered to him. And he said, “Take up your son.”

Then Elisha summoned Gehazi. He said, “Call the boy’s mother!” [So Gehazi went and called her, ] and when she came in, Elisha said, “Here, take your son!”

37 She went and fell at his feet, and she reverenced upon the ground. And she took up her son, and departed.

She [gratefully] prostrated herself at Elisha’s feet. Then she picked up her son and carried him downstairs.

38 And Elisha returned to Gilgal. Now there was a famine in the land, and the sons of the prophets were living in his sight. And he said to one of his servants, “Set out a large cooking pot, and boil a soup for the sons of the prophets.”

Then Elisha returned to Gilgal. But at that time there was (a famine/very little food) in that area. One day as the group of prophets was sitting in front of Elisha [listening to what he was teaching], he said to his servant, “Put a large pot on [the stove] and make some stew for these men.”

39 And one went out into the field, so that he might collect wild herbs. And he found something like a wild vine, and he gathered from it bitter fruits of the field, and he filled his cloak. And returning, he cut these up for the pot of soup. But he did not know what it was.

One of the prophets went out to the fields to gather some vegetables. But he gathered [only] some wild gourds and put them in his cloak and brought them back. He shredded them and put them in the pot, but he did not know that the gourds were poisonous.

40 Then they poured it out for their companions to eat. And when they had tasted the mixture, they cried out, saying, “Death is in the cooking pot, O man of God!” And they were unable to eat.

He served the stew to the prophets, but after the men had eaten only a couple bites, they cried out, “Elisha, there is something in the pot that will kill us!” So they would not eat it.

41 But he said, “Bring some flour.” And when they had brought it, he cast it into the cooking pot, and he said, “Pour it out for the group, so that they may eat.” And there was no longer any bitterness in the cooking pot.

Elisha said, “Bring me some flour.” [They brought him some, and] he threw it in the pot and he said, “It is all right now. You can eat it.” And they ate it, and it did not harm them.

42 Now a certain man arrived from Baal-Shalishah, carrying, for the man of God, bread from the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and new grain in his satchel. But he said, “Give it to the people, so that they may eat.”

One day a man from Baal-Shalishah [town] brought to Elisha a sack of freshly cut grain and 20 loaves of barley bread, made from the first grain that they harvested [that year]. Elisha said [to his servant], “Give it to the group of prophets, so that they can eat it.”

43 And his servant responded to him, “What amount is this, that I should set it before a hundred men?” But he said again: “Give it to the people, so that they may eat. For thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat, and there shall be still more.’”

But his servant exclaimed, “Do you think that we can feed 100 of us prophets with only that much?” [RHQ] But Elisha replied, “Give it to the prophets so that they can eat it, because Yahweh says that there will be plenty for all of them, and there will be some left over!”

44 And so, he set it before them. And they ate, and there was still more, in accord with the word of the Lord.

After his servant gave it to the prophets, they ate [all that they wanted], and there was food left over, just as Yahweh had promised.