2 Kings 4

1 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 the LORD. Now the creditor has come to take for himself my two children to be 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 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.”

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 he said, “Go, borrow empty containers from all your neighbours. Don’t borrow just a few containers.

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

4 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.”

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 went from him, and shut the door on herself and on her sons. They brought the containers to her, and she poured 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 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.

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, and pay your debt; and you and your sons live 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 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.

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 She said to her husband, “See now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God who passes by us continually.

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

10 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.”

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 One day he came there, and he went to the room and lay there.

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

12 He 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 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 amongst 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 He said, “What then is to be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “Most certainly 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 He said, “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 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.”

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 The woman conceived, and bore a son at that season when the time came around, 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 was grown, one day he went out to his father to the reapers.

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!” He 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 he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he 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 She went up and laid him on the man of God’s bed, and shut the door on him, 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, that I may run to the man of God and come again.”

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 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.”

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, and go forward! Don’t slow down for me, unless I ask you to.”

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 to Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her afar off, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, there is the Shunammite.

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 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.”

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 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 the LORD has hidden it from me, and has not told me.”

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 lord? Didn’t I 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 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.”

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 The child’s mother said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So he 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 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.”

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 had come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and lying on his bed.

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

33 He went in therefore, and shut the door on them both, and prayed to the LORD.

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, 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.

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 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.

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 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.”

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 went in, fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground; then she 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 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.”

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 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 recognise them.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.”

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 he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for the LORD says, ‘They will eat, and will have some left over.’”

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

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