2 Kings 4

1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor has come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!”

2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for you? tell me, what have you in the house? And she said, your handmaid has not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.

“How can I help you?” asked Elisha. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”

3 Then he said, Go, borrow you vessels abroad of all your neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

“Go,” said Elisha, “borrow jars, even empty ones, from all your neighbors. Do not gather just a few.

4 And when you are come in, you shall shut the door upon you and upon your sons, and shall pour out into all those vessels, and you shall set aside that which is full.

Then go inside, shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour oil into all these jars, setting the full ones aside.”

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

So she left him, and after she had shut the door behind her and her sons, they kept bringing jars to her, and she kept 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 said to her son, “Bring me another.” But he replied, “There are no more jars.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt, and live you and your children of the rest.

She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt. Then you and your sons can live on the remainder.”

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

One day Elisha went to Shunem, and a prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to have a meal. So whenever he would pass by, he would stop there to eat.

9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passes by us continually.

Then the woman said to her husband, “Behold, now I know that the one who often comes our way is a holy man of God.

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

Please let us make a small room upstairs and put in it a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp for him. Then when he comes to us, he can stay there.”

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

One day Elisha came to visit and went to his upper room to lie down.

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

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

13 And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, you have been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for you? would you be spoken in order to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.

and Elisha said to Gehazi, “Now tell her, ‘Look, you have gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’” “I have a home among my own people,” she replied.

14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she has no child, and her husband is old.

So he asked, “Then what should be done for her?” “Well, she has no son,” Gehazi replied, “and her husband is old.”

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

“Call her,” said Elisha. So Gehazi called her, and she stood in the doorway.

16 And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, you shall embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, you man of God, do not lie unto your handmaid.

And Elisha declared, “At this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she said. “Do not lie to your maidservant, O man of God.”

17 And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.

But the woman did conceive, and at that time the next year she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.

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

And the child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the harvesters.

19 And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.

“My head! My head!” he complained to his father. So his father told a servant, “Carry him 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.

After the servant had picked him up and carried him 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.

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

22 And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray you, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.

And the woman called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may go quickly to the man of God and return.”

23 And he said, Wherefore will you go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.

“Why would you go to him today?” he replied. “It is not a New Moon or a Sabbath.” “Everything is all right,” she said.

24 Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not your riding for me, except I bid you.

Then she saddled the donkey and told her servant, “Drive onward; do not slow the pace for me unless I tell you.”

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 far off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite:

So she set out and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, there is the Shunammite woman.

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

Please run out now to meet her and ask, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’” And she answered, “Everything is all right.”

27 And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD has hid it from me, and has not told me.

When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she clung to his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is in deep distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.”

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

Then she said, “Did I ask you for a son, my lord? Didn’t I say, ‘Do not deceive me?’”

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

So Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tie up your garment, take my staff in your hand, and go! If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer him. Then lay my staff on the boy’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 he arose, and followed her.

And the mother of the boy said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed 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 went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.

Gehazi went on ahead of them and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So he went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened.”

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

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

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

So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, 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 stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.

Then Elisha got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eye to eye, and hand to hand. As he stretched himself out over him, the boy’s body became warm.

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

Elisha turned away and paced back and forth across the room. Then he got on the bed and stretched himself out over the boy again, and the boy sneezed seven times and 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 your son.

Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” So he called her and she came. Then Elisha said, “Pick up your son.”

37 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and 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 went out.

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 returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. As the sons of the prophets were sitting at his feet, he said to his attendant, “Put on 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 to the field to gather herbs, and he found a wild vine from which he gathered as many wild gourds as his garment could hold. Then he came back and cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were.

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 you man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.

And they poured it out for the men to eat, but when they tasted the stew they cried out, “There is death in the pot, O man of God!” And they could not 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.

Then Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Pour it out for the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

42 And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.

Now a man from Baal-shalishah came to the man of God with a sack of twenty loaves of barley bread from the first ripe grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha.

43 And his personal attendant said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus says the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.

But his servant asked, “How am I to set twenty loaves before a hundred men?” “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha, “for this is what the LORD says: ‘They will eat and have 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 set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.