2 Kings 4

1 Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets came crying to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared Yahweh. Now the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”

Now a certain woman, the wife of one of the sons of the prophets, came crying to Elisha and said, Your servant my husband is dead; and to your knowledge he was a worshipper of the Lord; but now, the creditor has come to take my two children as servants in payment of his debt.

2 So Elisha said to her, “What can 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.”

Then Elisha said to her, What am I to do for you? say now, what have you in the house? And she said, Your servant has nothing in the house but a pot of oil.

3 Then Elisha said, “Go out to borrow jars from your neighbors, empty jars. Borrow as many as possible.

Then he said, Go out to all your neighbours and get vessels, a very great number of them.

4 Then you must go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour oil into all those jars; set aside the jars that are full.”

Then go in, and, shutting the door on yourself and your sons, put oil into all these vessels, putting on one side the full ones.

5 So she left Elisha and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her, and she filled them with oil.

So she went away, and when the door was shut on her and her sons, they took the vessels to her and she put oil into them.

6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another jar.” But he said to her, “There are no more jars.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

And when all the vessels were full, she said to her son, Get me another vessel. And he said, There are no more. And the flow of oil was stopped.

7 Then she came and told the man of God. He said, “Go, sell the oil; pay your debt, and live with your sons on the rest.”

So she came to the man of God and gave him word of what she had done. And he said, Go and get money for the oil and make payment of your debt, and let the rest be for the needs of yourself and your sons.

8 One day Elisha walked to Shunem where an important woman lived; she urged him to eat food with her. So as often as Elisha passed by, he would stop there to eat.

Now there came a day when Elisha went to Shunem, and there was a woman of high position living there, who made him come in and have a meal with her. And after that, every time he went by, he went into her house for a meal.

9 The woman said to her husband, “See, now I realize that this is a holy man of God who is always passing by.

And she said to her husband, Now I see that this is a holy man of God, who comes by day after day.

10 Let us make a little room on the roof for Elisha, and let us put in it a bed, a table, a seat, and a lamp. Then when he comes to us, he will stay there.”

So let us make a little room on the wall; and put a bed there for him, and a table and a seat and a light; so that when he comes to us, he will be able to go in there.

11 So when the day came again that Elisha stopped there, he stayed in the room and rested there.

Now one day, when he had gone there, he went into the little room and took his rest there.

12 Elisha said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” When he had called her, she stood before him.

And he said to Gehazi, his servant, Send for this Shunammite. So in answer to his voice she came before him.

13 Elisha said to him, “Say to her, 'You have gone to all this trouble to care for us. What can be done for you? Can we speak for you to the king or to the army commander?'” She answered, “I live among my own people.”

And he said to him, Now say to her, See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? will you have any request made for you to the king or the captain of the army? But she said, I am living among my people.

14 So Elisha said, “What can we do for her, then?” Gehazi answered, “Indeed, she has no son, and her husband is old.”

So he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi made answer, Still there is this, she has no son and her husband is old.

15 So Elisha answered, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the door.

Then he said, Send for her. And in answer to his voice she took her place at the door.

16 Elisha said, “At this time of year, in one year's time, you will be holding a son.” She said, “No, my master and man of God, do not lie to your servant.”

And Elisha said, At this time in the coming year you will have a son in your arms. And she said, No, my lord, O man of God, do not say what is false to your servant.

17 But the woman conceived and gave birth to a son at the same time in the following year, as Elisha had said to her.

Then the woman became with child and gave birth to a son at the time named, in the year after, as Elisha had said to her.

18 When the child had grown, he went out one day to his father, who was with harvesters.

Now one day, when the child was older, he went out to his father to where the grain was being cut.

19 He said to his father, “My head, my head.” His father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.”

And he said to his father, My head, my head! And the father said to a servant, Take him in to his mother.

20 When the servant had picked him up and brought the boy to his mother, the child sat on her knees until noon and then died.

And he took him in to his mother, and she took him on her knees and kept him there till the middle of the day, when his life went from him.

21 So the woman got up and laid the boy on the bed of the man of God, shut the door, and went out.

Then she went up and put him on the bed of the man of God, shutting the door on him, and went out.

22 She called to her husband, and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys so that I may hurry to the man of God and then come back.”

And she said to her husband, Send me one of the servants and one of the asses so that I may go quickly to the man of God and come back again.

23 Her husband said, “Why do you want to go to him today? It is not a new moon nor a Sabbath.” She replied, “It will be all right.”

And he said, Why are you going to him today? it is not a new moon or a Sabbath. But she said, It is well.

24 Then she saddled a donkey and said to her servant, “Drive on quickly; do not slow down for me unless I say so.”

Then she made the ass ready and said to her servant, Keep driving on; do not make a stop without orders from me.

25 So she went and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. So when the man of God saw her in the distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Look, here comes the Shunammite woman.

So she went, and came to Mount Carmel, to the man of God. And when the man of God saw her coming in his direction, he said to Gehazi, his servant, See, there is the Shunammite;

26 Please run to meet her and say to her, 'Is everything alright with you and with your husband and child?'” She answered, “It is alright.”

Go quickly to her, and on meeting her say to her, Are you well? and your husband and the child, are they well? And she said in answer, All is well.

27 When she came to the man of God at the mountain, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to thrust her away but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for she is very upset, and Yahweh has hidden the problem from me, and has told me nothing.”

And when she came to where the man of God was on the hill, she put her hands round his feet; and Gehazi came near with the purpose of pushing her away; but the man of God said, Let her be, for her soul is bitter in her; and the Lord has kept it secret from me, and has not given me word of it.

28 Then she said, “Did I ask you for a son, my master? Did I not say, 'Do not deceive me'?”

Then she said, Did I make a request to my lord for a son? did I not say, Do not give me false words?

29 Then Elisha said to Gehazi, “Dress for travel and take my staff in your hand. Go to her home. If you meet any man, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer him. Lay my staff on the child's face.”

Then he said to Gehazi, Make yourself ready, and take my stick in your hand, and go: if you come across anyone on the way, give him no blessing, and if anyone gives you a blessing, give him no answer. And put my stick on the child's face.

30 But the mother of the child said, “As Yahweh lives, and as you live, I will not leave you.” So Elisha arose and followed her.

But the mother of the child said, As the Lord is living and as your soul is living, I will not go back without you. So he got up and went with her.

31 Gehazi hurried on ahead of them and laid the staff on the child's face, but the child did not speak or hear. So then Gehazi returned to meet Elisha and told him saying, “The child has not awakened.”

And Gehazi went on before them and put the stick on the child's face; but there was no voice, and no one gave attention. So he went back, and meeting him gave him the news, saying, The child is not awake.

32 When Elisha arrived at the house, the child was dead and was still on the bed.

And when Elisha came into the house he saw the child dead, stretched on his bed.

33 So Elisha went in and shut the door on the child and himself and prayed to Yahweh.

So he went in, and shutting the door on the two of them, made prayer to the Lord.

34 He went up and lay on the child; he put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. He stretched himself out on the boy, and the boy's body grew warm.

Then he got up on the bed, stretching himself out on the child, and put his mouth on the child's mouth, his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands; and the child's body became warm.

35 Then Elisha got up and walked around the room and again went up and stretched himself out on the boy. The child sneezed seven times and then opened his eyes!

Then he came back, and after walking once through the house and back, he went up, stretching himself out on the child seven times; and the child's eyes became open.

36 So Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite!” So he called her, and when she came into the room, Elisha said, “Pick up your son.”

And he gave orders to Gehazi, and said, Send for the Shunammite. And she came in answer to his voice. And he said, Take up your son.

37 Then she lay facedown on the ground at his feet and bowed to the ground, and then picked up her son and went out.

And she came in, and went down on her face to the earth at his feet; then she took her son in her arms and went out.

38 Then Elisha came again to Gilgal. There was famine in the land, and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him. He said to his servant, “Put the large pot on the fire and cook stew for the sons of the prophets.”

And Elisha went back to Gilgal, now there was very little food in the land; and the sons of the prophets were seated before him. And he said to his servant, Put the great pot on the fire, and make soup for the sons of the prophets.

39 One of them went out into a field to gather vegetables. He found a wild vine and gathered enough wild gourds to fill the fold of his robe. They cut them up and put them into the stew, but did not know what kind they were.

And one went out into the field to get green plants and saw a vine of the field, and pulling off the fruit of it till the fold of his robe was full, he came back and put the fruit, cut up small, into the pot of soup, having no idea what it was.

40 So they poured out the stew for the men to eat. Later, as they were eating, they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” So they could not eat it anymore.

Then they gave the men soup from the pot. And while they were drinking the soup, they gave a cry, and said, O man of God, there is death in the pot; and they were not able to take any more food.

41 But Elisha said, “Bring some flour.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Pour it out for the people, so that they may eat.” Then there was no longer anything hurtful in the pot.

But he said, Get some meal. And he put it into the pot, and said, Now give it to the people so that they may have food. And there was nothing bad in the pot.

42 A man came from Baal Shalishah to the man of God and brought twenty loaves of barley bread in his sack from the new harvest, and fresh ears of grain. He said, “Give this to the people so they can eat.”

Now a man came from Baal-shalishah with an offering of first-fruits for the man of God, twenty barley cakes and garden fruit in his bag. And he said, Give these to the people for food.

43 His servant said, “What, should I set this before a hundred men?” But Elisha said, “Give this to the people, so they can eat, because Yahweh says, 'They will eat and will have some left.'”

But his servant said, How am I to put this before a hundred men? But he said, Give it to the people for food; for the Lord says, There will be food for them and some over.

44 So his servant set it before them; they ate, and left some remaining, just as the word of Yahweh promised.

So he put it before them, and they had a meal and there was more than enough, as the Lord had said.