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!”
Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead. You know that your servant feared Yahweh. Now the creditor has come to take for himself my two children to be slaves.”
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.
Elisha said to her, “What should I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She said, “Your servant has nothing in the house, except a pot of oil.”
3 “Go and borrow empty jars from your neighbors—as many as possible, not just a few,” Elisha told her.
Then he said, “Go, borrow empty containers from all your neighbors. Don’t borrow just a few containers.
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.”
Go in and shut the door on you and on your sons, and pour oil into all those containers; and set aside those which are full.”
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.
So she went from him, and shut the door on herself and on her sons. They brought the containers to her, and she poured oil.
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.
When the containers were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.” He said to her, “There isn’t another container.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
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.”
Then she came and told the man of God. He said, “Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”
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.
One day Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman; and she persuaded him to eat bread. So it was, that as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat bread.
9 She told her husband, “I'm sure that this man who regularly visits us is a holy man of God.
She said to her husband, “See now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God who passes by us continually.
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.”
Please, let’s make a little room on the roof. Let’s set a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp stand for him there. When he comes to us, he can stay there.”
11 One day Elisha arrived and went up to his room and lay down.
One day he came there, and he went to the room 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.
He said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” When he had called her, 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.
He said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Behold, you have cared for us with all this care. What is to be done for you? Would you like to be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the army?’” She answered, “I dwell among my own 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.
He said, “What then is to be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “Most certainly 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.
He said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in 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!”
He said, “At this season next year, you will embrace a son.” She said, “No, my lord, you man of God, 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.
The woman conceived, and bore a son at that season when the time came around, as Elisha had said to her.
18 The child grew up, but one day he when went out to see his father who was with the reapers,
When the child was grown, one day 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.”
He said to his father, “My head! My head!” He said to his 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.
When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees until noon, and then 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.
She went up and laid him on the man of God’s bed, and shut the door on 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.”
She called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants, and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come again.”
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.
He said, “Why would you want to go to him today? It is not a new moon or a Sabbath.” She said, “It’s all right.”
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!”
Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, “Drive, and go forward! Don’t slow down for me, unless I ask you to.”
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!
So she went, and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her afar off, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, there is the Shunammite.
26 Please run to meet her and ask her, ‘Is everything fine with you, your husband, and your boy?’” “Everything's fine,” she replied.
Please run now to meet her, and ask her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with your child?’” She answered, “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.”
When she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is troubled within her; and Yahweh has hidden it from me, and has not told me.”
28 “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she asked. “Didn't I tell you, ‘Don't tell me lies’?”
Then she said, “Did I ask you for a son, my lord? Didn’t I say, ‘Do not deceive 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.”
Then he said to Gehazi, “Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand, and go your way. If you meet any man, don’t greet him; and if anyone greets you, don’t answer him again. Then 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.
The child’s mother said, “As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So he arose, and followed 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.”
Gehazi went ahead of them, and laid the staff on the child’s face; but there was no voice and no hearing. Therefore he returned to meet him, and told him, “The child has not awakened.”
32 When Elisha got to the house, there was the boy, lying dead on his bed.
When Elisha had come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and lying on his bed.
33 He went in, shut the door behind them both, and prayed to the Lord.
He went in therefore, and shut the door on them both, and prayed to Yahweh.
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.
He went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. He stretched himself on him; and the child’s flesh 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.
Then he returned, and walked in the house once back and forth, then went up and stretched himself out on him. Then the child sneezed 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.”
He called Gehazi, and said, “Call this Shunammite!” So he called her. When she had come in to him, he said, “Take up your son.”
37 She came in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground. Then she picked up her son and left.
Then she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground; then she picked up 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.”
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
A man from Baal Shalishah came, and brought the man of God some bread of the first fruits: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, “Give to the people, that they may 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.’”
His servant said, “What, should I set this before a hundred men?” But he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for Yahweh says, ‘They will eat, and will have some left over.’”
44 So he served the bread to them. They ate, and had some left over, just as the Lord had said.
So he set it before them and they ate and had some left over, according to Yahweh’s word.
