2 Kings 4

1 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]!”

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 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.”

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

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

4 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].”

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

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 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.

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 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].

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 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.

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 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.

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 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].

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

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

12 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],

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

13 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.”

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 [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].”

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

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

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

16 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!”

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 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.

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 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].

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

19 [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!”

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

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

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

22 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].

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 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.”

“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 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!”

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

25 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!

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 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.”

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 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.”

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 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]

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

29 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].”

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 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].

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 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.”

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

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

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

So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD.

34 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!

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 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!

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 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!”

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

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

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

38 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.”

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.”

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 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!”

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 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.

So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.