The Widow’s Oil Multiplied

One of the wives of the sons of the prophets(A) cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, has died. You know that your servant feared the Lord.(B) Now the creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves.”(C)

Elisha asked 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 jar of oil.”(D)

Then he said, “Go and borrow empty containers from everyone—from all your neighbors. Do not get just a few.(E) Then go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour oil into all these containers. Set the full ones to one side.” So she left.

After she had shut the door behind her and her sons, they kept bringing her containers, and she kept pouring.(F) When they were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.”

But he replied, “There aren’t any more.” Then the oil stopped.

She went and told the man of God,(G) and he said, “Go sell the oil and pay your debt; you and your sons can live on the rest.”(H)

The Shunammite Woman’s Hospitality

One day Elisha went to Shunem.(I) A prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to eat some food. So whenever he passed by, he stopped there to eat.(J) Then she said to her husband, “I know that the one who often passes by here is a holy man of God, 10 so let’s make a small room upstairs and put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp there for him. Whenever he comes, he can stay there.”(K)

The Shunammite Woman’s Son

11 One day he came there and stopped and went to the room upstairs to lie down. 12 He ordered his attendant Gehazi,(L) “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her and she stood before him.

13 Then he said to Gehazi, “Say to her, ‘Look, you’ve gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you?(M) Can we speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’”

She answered, “I am living among my own people.”

14 So he asked, “Then what should be done for her?”

Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.”

15 “Call her,” Elisha said. So Gehazi called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 Elisha said, “At this time next year you will have a son in your arms.”(N)

Then she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not deceive your servant.”(O)

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

The Shunammite’s Son Raised

18 The child grew and one day went out to his father and the harvesters.(P) 19 Suddenly he complained to his father, “My head! My head!”

His father told his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 So he picked him up and took him to his mother. The child sat on her lap until noon and then died. 21 Then she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut him in, and left.

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

23 But he said, “Why go to him today? It’s not a New Moon or a Sabbath.”(Q)

She replied, “Everything is all right.”(R)

24 Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Hurry, don’t slow the pace for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she set out and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel.(S)

When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to his attendant Gehazi,(T) “Look, there’s the Shunammite woman.(U) 26 Run out to meet her and ask, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your son all right?’”

And she answered, “Everything’s all right.”

27 When she came up to the man of God at the mountain, she clung to his feet.(V) Gehazi came to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone—she is in severe anguish,(W) and the Lord has hidden it from me. He hasn’t told me.”

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

29 So Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tuck your mantle(Y) under your belt, take my staff with you, and go. If you meet anyone, don’t stop to greet him, and if a man greets you, don’t answer him.(Z) Then place my staff on the boy’s face.”

30 The boy’s mother said to Elisha, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”(AA) So he got up and followed her.

31 Gehazi went ahead of them and placed the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or sign of life, so he went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy didn’t wake up.”(AB)

32 When Elisha got to the house, he discovered the boy lying dead on his bed.(AC) 33 So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord.(AD) 34 Then he went up and lay on the boy:(AE) he put mouth to mouth, eye to eye, hand to hand. While he bent down over him, the boy’s flesh became warm.(AF) 35 Elisha got up, went into the house, and paced back and forth. Then he went up and bent down over him again. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.(AG)

36 Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” He called her and she came. Then Elisha said, “Pick up your son.” 37 She came, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; she picked up her son and left.(AH)

The Deadly Stew

38 When Elisha returned to Gilgal,(AI) there was a famine(AJ) in the land. The sons of the prophets(AK) were sitting at his feet.[a](AL) He said to his attendant, “Put on the large pot and make stew for the sons of the prophets.”

39 One went out to the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine from which he gathered as many wild gourds as his garment would hold. Then he came back and cut them up into the pot of stew, but they were unaware of what they were.

40 They served some for the men to eat, but when they ate the stew they cried out, “There’s death in the pot,(AM) man of God!” And they were unable to eat it.

41 Then Elisha said, “Get some meal.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Serve it for the people to eat.” And there was nothing bad in the pot.(AN)

The Multiplied Bread

42 A man from Baal-shalishah(AO) came to the man of God with his sack full of 20 loaves of barley bread from the first bread of the harvest. Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.”(AP)

43 But Elisha’s attendant asked, “What? Am I to set 20 loaves before 100 men?”(AQ)

“Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said, “for this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat, and they will have some left over.’” 44 So he gave it to them, and as the Lord had promised, they ate and had some left over.(AR)

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 4:38 Lit sitting before him

The Widow’s Olive Oil

The wife of a man from the company(A) of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor(B) is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”(C)

Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

She went and told the man of God,(D) and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

The Shunammite’s Son Restored to Life

One day Elisha went to Shunem.(E) And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 10 Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay(F) there whenever he comes to us.”

11 One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.”(G) So he called her, and she stood before him. 13 Elisha said to him, “Tell her, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’”

She replied, “I have a home among my own people.”

14 “What can be done for her?” Elisha asked.

Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.”

15 Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 “About this time(H) next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.”

“No, my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!”

17 But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.

18 The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers.(I) 19 He said to his father, “My head! My head!”

His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. 21 She went up and laid him on the bed(J) of the man of God, then shut the door and went out.

22 She called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return.”

23 “Why go to him today?” he asked. “It’s not the New Moon(K) or the Sabbath.”

“That’s all right,” she said.

24 She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on; don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.(L)

When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, “Look! There’s the Shunammite! 26 Run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’”

“Everything is all right,” she said.

27 When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress,(M) but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why.”

28 “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?”

29 Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tuck your cloak into your belt,(N) take my staff(O) in your hand and run. Don’t greet anyone you meet, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy’s face.”

30 But the child’s mother said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.

31 Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened.”

32 When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch.(P) 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed(Q) to the Lord. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched(R) himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times(S) and opened his eyes.(T)

36 Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” And he did. When she came, he said, “Take your son.”(U) 37 She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.

Death in the Pot

38 Elisha returned to Gilgal(V) and there was a famine(W) in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these prophets.”

39 One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine and picked as many of its gourds as his garment could hold. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. 40 The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.

41 Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He put it into the pot and said, “Serve it to the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.(X)

Feeding of a Hundred

42 A man came from Baal Shalishah,(Y) bringing the man of God twenty loaves(Z) of barley bread(AA) baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said.

43 “How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked.

But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat.(AB) For this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.(AC)’” 44 Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.