2 Kings 4

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]!”

The wife of one of the sons of the prophets appealed to Elisha, “My husband, your servant, is dead, and you know that he honored the Lord. But now to pay his debts his creditor is coming to take my two sons as his slaves!”

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.”

“What can I do to help you?” asked Elisha. “Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “I, your servant, don't have anything in my house except a jar of olive oil,” she replied.

3 Elisha said, “Go to your neighbors and borrow from them as many empty jars as you can.

“Go and borrow empty jars from your neighbors—as many as possible, not just a few,” Elisha told her.

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].”

“Then go inside, shut the door behind you and your sons, and start pouring olive oil into all these jars, placing the full jars to one side.”

5 [So she did what Elisha told her to do]. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she kept filling them.

She left Elisha, went home, and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept on pouring.

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.

When all the jars were full, she told her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There aren't any jars left.” Then the olive oil stopped flowing.

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].

She went and told the man of God what had happened, and he said, “Go and sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what's left.”

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.

One day as Elisha was passing through Shunem, a wealthy woman who lived there convinced him to have a meal. After that, whenever he was passing by he would stop there to eat.

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.

She told her husband, “I'm sure that this man who regularly visits us is a holy man of God.

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].

Please let's make a small room on the roof, We can put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp in it for him. Then he can stay there whenever he visits us.”

11 One day Elisha returned to Shunem, and he went up to that room to rest.

One day Elisha arrived and went up to his room and lay down.

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],

He said to his servant Gehazi, “Ask the Shunammite woman to come here.” Gehazi called her and she came to see Elisha.

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.”

Elisha said to Gehazi, “Please tell her, ‘You have gone to a lot of trouble on our behalf. Now what can we do for you? Do you want us to speak for you to the king or the army commander?’” “I live with my own people,” she replied.

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].”

After she had left, Elisha asked, “What can we do for her?” “She doesn't have a son, and her husband is old,” Gehazi replied.

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,

Elisha said, “Ask her to come back.” So Gehazi called her, and she came stood by the door.

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!”

Elisha told her, “Around this time next year, you will be holding a son in your arms.” “No, my lord!” she responded. “Man of God, don't tell your servant lies!”

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.

But the woman did indeed become pregnant, and the next year around that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had promised her.

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].

The child grew up, but one day he when went out to see his father who was with the reapers,

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!”

he complained to his father, “My head hurts! My head hurts!” His father told one of his servants, “Carry him back to his mother.”

20 So the servant carried him home, and his mother held him on her lap. But at noontime the boy died.

The servant picked him up and took him back to his mother. The boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died.

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.

She went upstairs and laid him on the bed of the man of God. Then she shut the door behind her and left.

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].

She called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can run to the man of God and come back.”

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.”

“Why do you need to go and see him today?” he asked. “It's not the New Moon or the Sabbath.” “Don't worry about it,” she replied.

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!”

She put the saddle on the donkey and told her servant, “Let's go quickly! Don't slow down for me unless I tell you to!”

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!

So she set off, and went to the man of God who was at Mount Carmel. When he saw her way in the distance, the man of God told his servant Gehazi, “Look! There's the Shunammite woman!

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.”

Please run to meet her and ask her, ‘Is everything fine with you, your husband, and your boy?’” “Everything's fine,” she replied.

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.”

But when she got to the man of God at the mountain, she grabbed hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for she's in terrible misery, but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not explained it to me.”

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]

“Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she asked. “Didn't I tell you, ‘Don't tell me lies’?”

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].”

Elisha said to Gehazi, “Put your cloak in your belt, pick up my staff, and go! Don't even say hello to anyone you meet, and if anyone says hello you, don't reply. Place my staff on the boy's face.”

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].

But the boy's mother said, “As the Lord lives and as you live, I'm not leaving without you!” So he got up and went with her.

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.”

Gehazi ran on ahead and placed the staff on the boy's face, but there was no sound or sign of life. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy hasn't woken up.”

32 When Elisha reached the house, he saw that the boy was lying dead on his bed.

When Elisha got to the house, there was the boy, lying dead on his bed.

33 Elisha went into the room by himself and shut the door and prayed to Yahweh.

He went in, shut the door behind them both, and prayed to the Lord.

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!

Then he got on the bed and lay on top of the boy, and put his mouth on the boy's mouth, his eyes on the boy's eyes, his hands on the boy's hands. As he stretched out on him, the boy's body warmed up.

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!

Elisha got up, walked back and forth once in the room, and then got back on the bed and stretched out on him again. The boy sneezed seven times and then opened his eyes.

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!”

Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Ask the Shunammite woman to come.” So he did. When she arrived, Elisha said to her, “Here's your son. You can pick him up.”

37 She [gratefully] prostrated herself at Elisha’s feet. Then she picked up her son and carried him downstairs.

She came in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground. Then she picked up her son and left.

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.”

When Elisha went back to Gilgal, there was a famine in that area. The sons of the prophets were sitting at his feet, and he said to his servant, “Use the large pot and boil some stew for the sons of the prophets.”

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.

One of them went out into the countryside to pick herbs. He found a wild vine and picked as many wild gourds as his cloak could hold. Then he came back and chopped them up into the pot of stew. But nobody knew they were dangerous to eat.

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.

They served it to the men to eat, but when they tasted the stew they shouted, “There's death in the pot, man of God!” They couldn't eat it.

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.

Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He threw it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people to eat.” There was nothing bad to eat in the pot.

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.”

A man from Baal-shalishah came to the man of God with a sack of firstfruits—the first grain of the year, along with twenty loaves of barley bread. “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha.

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!”

“How can I serve just twenty loaves to a hundred men?” his servant asked. “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha, “for this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and there will still be some left over.’”

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.

So he served the bread to them. They ate, and had some left over, just as the Lord had said.