Elijah Brings a Boy Back to Life

¹⁷ Several days later, the son of the woman who owned the house^[a] got sick, and he kept getting worse, until finally he died.

¹⁸ The woman shouted at Elijah, “What have I done to you? I thought you were God's prophet. Did you come here to cause the death of my son as a reminder that I've sinned against God?”^[b]

¹⁹ “Bring me your son,” Elijah said. Then he took the boy from her arms and carried him upstairs to the room where he was staying. Elijah laid the boy on his bed ²⁰ and prayed, “Lord God, why did you do such a terrible thing to this woman? She's letting me stay here, and now you've let her son die.” ^21 (A) Elijah stretched himself out over the boy three times, while praying, “Lord God, bring this boy back to life!”

²² The Lord answered Elijah's prayer, and the boy started breathing again. ²³ Elijah picked him up and carried him downstairs. He gave the boy to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive.”

²⁴ “You are God's prophet!” the woman replied. “Now I know that you really do speak for the Lord.”

²⁵ She left at once for Mount Carmel to talk with Elisha.^[a]

When Elisha saw her coming, he said, “Gehazi, look! It's the woman from Shunem. ²⁶ Run and meet her. And ask her if everything is all right with her and her family.”

“Everything is fine,” she answered Gehazi. ²⁷ But as soon as she got to the top of the mountain, she went over and grabbed Elisha by the feet.

Gehazi started toward her to push her away, when Elisha said, “Leave her alone! Don't you see how sad she is? But the Lord hasn't told me why.”

²⁸ The woman said, “Sir, I begged you not to get my hopes up, and I didn't even ask you for a son.”

²⁹ “Gehazi, get ready and go to her house,” Elisha said. “Take along my walking stick, and when you get there, lay it on the boy's face. Don't stop to talk to anyone, even if they try to talk to you.”

³⁰ But the boy's mother said to Elisha, “I swear by the living Lord and by your own life that I won't leave without you.” So Elisha got up and went with them.

³¹ Gehazi ran on ahead and laid Elisha's walking stick on the boy's face, but the boy didn't move or make a sound. Gehazi ran back to Elisha and said, “The boy didn't wake up.”

³² Elisha arrived at the woman's house and went straight to his room, where he saw the boy's body on his bed. ³³ He walked in, shut the door, and prayed to the Lord. ^34 (A) Then he got on the bed and stretched out over the dead body, with his mouth on the boy's mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hand on his hands. As he lay there, the boy's body became warm. ³⁵ Elisha got up and walked back and forth in the room, then he went back and leaned over the boy's body. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

³⁶ Elisha called out to Gehazi, “Ask the boy's mother to come here.” Gehazi did, and when she was at the door, Elisha said, “You can take your son.”

³⁷ She came in and bowed down at Elisha's feet. Then she picked up her son and left.