2 Kings 4

1 The wife of one of the sons of the prophets appealed to Elisha, “My husband, your servant, is dead, and you know that he honored the Lord. But now to pay his debts his creditor is coming to take my two sons as his slaves!”

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.

2 “What can I do to help you?” asked Elisha. “Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “I, your servant, don't have anything in my house except a jar of olive oil,” she replied.

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.

3 “Go and borrow empty jars from your neighbors—as many as possible, not just a few,” Elisha told her.

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

4 “Then go inside, shut the door behind you and your sons, and start pouring olive oil into all these jars, placing the full jars to one side.”

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.

5 She left Elisha, went home, and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept on pouring.

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.

6 When all the jars were full, she told her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There aren't any jars left.” Then the olive oil stopped flowing.

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.

7 She went and told the man of God what had happened, and he said, “Go and sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what's left.”

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.

8 One day as Elisha was passing through Shunem, a wealthy woman who lived there convinced him to have a meal. After that, whenever he was passing by he would stop there to eat.

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.

9 She told her husband, “I'm sure that this man who regularly visits us is a holy man of God.

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.

10 Please let's make a small room on the roof, We can put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp in it for him. Then he can stay there whenever he visits us.”

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.

11 One day Elisha arrived and went up to his room and lay down.

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

12 He said to his servant Gehazi, “Ask the Shunammite woman to come here.” Gehazi called her and she came to see Elisha.

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

13 Elisha said to Gehazi, “Please tell her, ‘You have gone to a lot of trouble on our behalf. Now what can we do for you? Do you want us to speak for you to the king or the army commander?’” “I live with my own people,” she replied.

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.

14 After she had left, Elisha asked, “What can we do for her?” “She doesn't have a son, and her husband is old,” Gehazi replied.

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.

15 Elisha said, “Ask her to come back.” So Gehazi called her, and she came stood by the door.

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

16 Elisha told her, “Around this time next year, you will be holding a son in your arms.” “No, my lord!” she responded. “Man of God, don't tell your servant lies!”

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.

17 But the woman did indeed become pregnant, and the next year around that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had promised her.

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

18 The child grew up, but one day he when went out to see his father who was with the reapers,

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

19 he complained to his father, “My head hurts! My head hurts!” His father told one of his servants, “Carry him back to his mother.”

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

20 The servant picked him up and took him back to his mother. The boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died.

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

21 She went upstairs and laid him on the bed of the man of God. Then she shut the door behind her and left.

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.

22 She called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can run to the man of God and come back.”

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.

23 “Why do you need to go and see him today?” he asked. “It's not the New Moon or the Sabbath.” “Don't worry about it,” she replied.

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

24 She put the saddle on the donkey and told her servant, “Let's go quickly! Don't slow down for me unless I tell you to!”

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.

25 So she set off, and went to the man of God who was at Mount Carmel. When he saw her way in the distance, the man of God told his servant Gehazi, “Look! There's the Shunammite woman!

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.

26 Please run to meet her and ask her, ‘Is everything fine with you, your husband, and your boy?’” “Everything's fine,” she replied.

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.

27 But when she got to the man of God at the mountain, she grabbed hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for she's in terrible misery, but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not explained it to me.”

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.

28 “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she asked. “Didn't I tell you, ‘Don't tell me lies’?”

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

29 Elisha said to Gehazi, “Put your cloak in your belt, pick up my staff, and go! Don't even say hello to anyone you meet, and if anyone says hello you, don't reply. Place my staff on the boy's face.”

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.

30 But the boy's mother said, “As the Lord lives and as you live, I'm not leaving without you!” So he got up and went with her.

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.

31 Gehazi ran on ahead and placed the staff on the boy's face, but there was no sound or sign of life. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy hasn't woken up.”

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.

32 When Elisha got to the house, there was the boy, lying dead on his bed.

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

33 He went in, shut the door behind them both, and prayed to the Lord.

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

34 Then he got on the bed and lay on top of the boy, and put his mouth on the boy's mouth, his eyes on the boy's eyes, his hands on the boy's hands. As he stretched out on him, the boy's body warmed up.

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.

35 Elisha got up, walked back and forth once in the room, and then got back on the bed and stretched out on him again. The boy sneezed seven times and then opened his eyes.

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.

36 Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Ask the Shunammite woman to come.” So he did. When she arrived, Elisha said to her, “Here's your son. You can pick him up.”

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.

37 She came in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground. Then she picked up her son and left.

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.

38 When Elisha went back to Gilgal, there was a famine in that area. The sons of the prophets were sitting at his feet, and he said to his servant, “Use the large pot and boil some stew for the sons of the prophets.”

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.

39 One of them went out into the countryside to pick herbs. He found a wild vine and picked as many wild gourds as his cloak could hold. Then he came back and chopped them up into the pot of stew. But nobody knew they were dangerous to eat.

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.

40 They served it to the men to eat, but when they tasted the stew they shouted, “There's death in the pot, man of God!” They couldn't eat it.

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.

41 Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He threw it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people to eat.” There was nothing bad to eat in the pot.

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.

42 A man from Baal-shalishah came to the man of God with a sack of firstfruits—the first grain of the year, along with twenty loaves of barley bread. “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha.

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.

43 “How can I serve just twenty loaves to a hundred men?” his servant asked. “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha, “for this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and there will still be some left over.’”

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.

44 So he served the bread to them. They ate, and had some left over, just as the Lord had said.

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