מלכים ב 4
| ואשה אחת מנשי בני הנביאים צעקה אל אלישע לאמר עבדך אישי מת ואתה ידעת כי עבדך היה ירא את יהוה והנשה--בא לקחת את שני ילדי לו לעבדים | 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]!”
| ויאמר אליה אלישע מה אעשה לך הגידי לי מה יש לכי (לך) בבית ותאמר אין לשפחתך כל בבית כי אם אסוך שמן | 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.”
| ויאמר לכי שאלי לך כלים מן החוץ מאת כל שכנכי (שכניך)--כלים רקים אל תמעיטי | 3 |
Elisha said, “Go to your neighbors and borrow from them as many empty jars as you can.
| ובאת וסגרת הדלת בעדך ובעד בניך ויצקת על כל הכלים האלה והמלא תסיעי | 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].”
| ותלך מאתו ותסגר הדלת בעדה ובעד בניה הם מגישים אליה והיא מיצקת (מוצקת) | 5 |
[So she did what Elisha told her to do]. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she kept filling them.
| ויהי כמלאת הכלים ותאמר אל בנה הגישה אלי עוד כלי ויאמר אליה אין עוד כלי ויעמד השמן | 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.
| ותבא ותגד לאיש האלהים ויאמר לכי מכרי את השמן ושלמי את נשיכי (נשיך) ואת בניכי (ובניך) תחיי בנותר | 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].
| ויהי היום ויעבר אלישע אל שונם ושם אשה גדולה ותחזק בו לאכל לחם ויהי מדי עברו יסר שמה לאכל לחם | 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.
| ותאמר אל אישה הנה נא ידעתי כי איש אלהים קדוש הוא--עבר עלינו תמיד | 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.
| נעשה נא עלית קיר קטנה ונשים לו שם מטה ושלחן וכסא ומנורה והיה בבאו אלינו יסור שמה | 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].
| ויהי היום ויבא שמה ויסר אל העליה וישכב שמה | 11 |
One day Elisha returned to Shunem, and he went up to that room to rest.
| ויאמר אל גיחזי נערו קרא לשונמית הזאת ויקרא לה--ותעמד לפניו | 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],
| ויאמר לו אמר נא אליה הנה חרדת אלינו את כל החרדה הזאת מה לעשות לך היש לדבר לך אל המלך או אל שר הצבא ותאמר בתוך עמי אנכי ישבת | 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.”
| ויאמר ומה לעשות לה ויאמר גיחזי אבל בן אין לה--ואישה זקן | 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].”
| ויאמר קרא לה ויקרא לה--ותעמד בפתח | 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,
| ויאמר למועד הזה כעת חיה אתי (את) חבקת בן ותאמר אל אדני איש האלהים--אל תכזב בשפחתך | 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!”
| ותהר האשה ותלד בן למועד הזה כעת חיה אשר דבר אליה אלישע | 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.
| ויגדל הילד ויהי היום ויצא אל אביו אל הקצרים | 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].
| ויאמר אל אביו ראשי ראשי ויאמר אל הנער שאהו אל אמו | 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!”
| וישאהו--ויביאהו אל אמו וישב על ברכיה עד הצהרים וימת | 20 |
So the servant carried him home, and his mother held him on her lap. But at noontime the boy died.
| ותעל ותשכבהו על מטת איש האלהים ותסגר בעדו ותצא | 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.
| ותקרא אל אישה ותאמר שלחה נא לי אחד מן הנערים ואחת האתנות וארוצה עד איש האלהים ואשובה | 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].
| ויאמר מדוע אתי (את) הלכתי (הלכת) אליו היום--לא חדש ולא שבת ותאמר שלום | 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.”
| ותחבש האתון ותאמר אל נערה נהג ולך אל תעצר לי לרכב כי אם אמרתי לך | 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!”
| ותלך ותבא אל איש האלהים--אל הר הכרמל ויהי כראות איש האלהים אתה מנגד ויאמר אל גיחזי נערו הנה השונמית הלז | 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!
| עתה רוץ נא לקראתה ואמר לה השלום לך השלום לאישך השלום לילד ותאמר שלום | 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.”
| ותבא אל איש האלהים אל ההר ותחזק ברגליו ויגש גיחזי להדפה ויאמר איש האלהים הרפה לה כי נפשה מרה לה ויהוה העלים ממני ולא הגיד לי | 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.”
| ותאמר השאלתי בן מאת אדני הלא אמרתי לא תשלה אתי | 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]
| ויאמר לגיחזי חגר מתניך וקח משענתי בידך ולך כי תמצא איש לא תברכנו וכי יברכך איש לא תעננו ושמת משענתי על פני הנער | 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].”
| ותאמר אם הנער חי יהוה וחי נפשך אם אעזבך ויקם וילך אחריה | 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].
| וגחזי עבר לפניהם וישם את המשענת על פני הנער ואין קול ואין קשב וישב לקראתו ויגד לו לאמר לא הקיץ הנער | 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.”
| ויבא אלישע הביתה והנה הנער מת משכב על מטתו | 32 |
When Elisha reached the house, he saw that the boy was lying dead on his bed.
| ויבא ויסגר הדלת בעד שניהם ויתפלל אל יהוה | 33 |
Elisha went into the room by himself and shut the door and prayed to Yahweh.
| ויעל וישכב על הילד וישם פיו על פיו ועיניו על עיניו וכפיו על כפו ויגהר עליו ויחם בשר הילד | 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!
| וישב וילך בבית אחת הנה ואחת הנה ויעל ויגהר עליו ויזורר הנער עד שבע פעמים ויפקח הנער את עיניו | 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!
| ויקרא אל גיחזי ויאמר קרא אל השנמית הזאת ויקראה ותבא אליו ויאמר שאי בנך | 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!”
| ותבא ותפל על רגליו ותשתחו ארצה ותשא את בנה ותצא | 37 |
She [gratefully] prostrated herself at Elisha’s feet. Then she picked up her son and carried him downstairs.
| ואלישע שב הגלגלה והרעב בארץ ובני הנביאים ישבים לפניו ויאמר לנערו שפת הסיר הגדולה ובשל נזיד לבני הנביאים | 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.”
| ויצא אחד אל השדה ללקט ארת וימצא גפן שדה וילקט ממנו פקעת שדה מלא בגדו ויבא ויפלח אל סיר הנזיד--כי לא ידעו | 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.
| ויצקו לאנשים לאכול ויהי כאכלם מהנזיד והמה צעקו ויאמרו מות בסיר איש האלהים ולא יכלו לאכל | 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.
| ויאמר וקחו קמח וישלך אל הסיר ויאמר צק לעם ויאכלו ולא היה דבר רע בסיר | 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.
| ואיש בא מבעל שלשה ויבא לאיש האלהים לחם בכורים עשרים לחם שערים וכרמל בצקלנו ויאמר תן לעם ויאכלו | 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.”
| ויאמר משרתו מה אתן זה לפני מאה איש ויאמר תן לעם ויאכלו--כי כה אמר יהוה אכל והותר | 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!”
| ויתן לפניהם ויאכלו ויותרו כדבר יהוה | 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.
