2 Kings 4

1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying: 'Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD; and the creditor is come to take unto him my two children to be bondmen.'

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!”

2 And Elisha said unto her: 'What shall I do for thee? tell me; what hast thou in the house?' And she said: 'Thy handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.'

“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.

3 Then he said: 'Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

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

4 And thou shalt go in, and shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and pour out into all those vessels; and thou shalt set aside that which is full.'

“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.”

5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons; they brought the vessels to her, and she poured out.

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.

6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son: 'Bring me yet a vessel.' And he said unto her: 'There is not a vessel more.' And the oil stayed.

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.

7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said: 'Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy sons of the rest.'

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.”

8 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.

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.

9 And she said unto her husband: 'Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, that passeth by us continually.

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

10 Let us make, I pray thee, a little chamber on the roof; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick; and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.'

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.”

11 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the upper chamber and lay there.

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

12 And he said to Gehazi his servant: 'Call this Shunammite.' And when he had called her, she stood before him.

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

13 And he said unto him: 'Say now unto her: Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host?' And she answered: 'I dwell among mine own people.'

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.

14 And he said: 'What then is to be done for her?' And Gehazi answered: 'Verily she hath no son, and her husband is old.'

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.

15 And he said: 'Call her.' And when he had called her, she stood in the door.

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

16 And he said: 'At this season, when the time cometh round, thou shalt embrace a son.' And she said: 'Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thy handmaid.'

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!”

17 And the woman conceived, and bore a son at that season, when the time came round, as Elisha had said unto her.

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.

18 And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.

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

19 And he said unto his father: 'My head, my head.' And he said to his servant: 'Carry him to his mother.'

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

20 And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.

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

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

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

22 And she called unto her husband, and said: 'Send me, I pray thee, one of the servants, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come back.'

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.”

23 And he said: Wherefore wilt thou go to him today? it is neither new moon nor sabbath.' And she said: 'It shall be well.'

“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.

24 Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant: 'Drive, and go forward; slacken me not the riding, except I bid thee.'

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!”

25 So she went, and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant: 'Behold, yonder is that Shunammite.

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!

26 Run, I pray thee, now to meet her, and say unto her: Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child?' And she answered: 'It is well.'

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

27 And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said: 'Let her alone; for her soul is bitter within her; and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told Me.'

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.”

28 Then she said: 'Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say: Do not deceive me?'

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

29 Then he said to Gehazi: 'Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go thy way; if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not; and lay my staff upon the face of the child.'

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.”

30 And the mother of the child said: 'As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.' And he arose, and followed her.

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.

31 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he returned to meet him, and told him, saying: 'The child is not awaked.'

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.”

32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.

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

33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.

He went in, shut the door behind them both, and prayed 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 he stretched himself upon him; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.

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.

35 Then he returned, and walked in the house once to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him; and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

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.

36 And he called Gehazi, and said: 'Call this Shunammite.' So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said: 'Take up thy son.'

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.”

37 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed down to the ground; and she took up her son, and went out.

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

38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal; and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said unto his servant: 'Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.'

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.”

39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage; for they knew them not.

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.

40 So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said: 'O man of God, there is death in the pot.' And they could not eat thereof.

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.

41 But he said: 'Then bring meal.' And he cast it into the pot; and he said: 'Pour out for the people, that they may eat.' And there was no harm in the pot.

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.

42 And there came a man from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of corn in his sack. And he said: 'Give unto the people, that they may eat.'

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.

43 And his servant said: 'How should I set this before a hundred men?' But he said: 'Give the people, that they may eat; for thus saith the LORD: They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.'

“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.’”

44 So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.

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