2 Kings, 4

1. The wife of a member of the prophetic brotherhood appealed to Elisha. 'Your servant my husband is dead,' she said, 'and you know how your servant revered Yahweh. A creditor has now come to take my two children and make them his slaves.'

1. Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Eli'sha, "Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant feared the LORD, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves."

2. Elisha said, 'What can I do for you? Tell me, what have you got in the house?' 'Your servant has nothing in the house,' she replied, 'except a flask of oil.'

2. And Eli'sha said to her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?" And she said, "Your maidservant has nothing in the house, except a jar of oil."

3. Then he said, 'Go outside and borrow jars from all your neighbours, empty jars and not too few.

3. Then he said, "Go outside, borrow vessels of all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few.

4. When you come back, shut the door on yourself and your sons, and pour the oil into all these jars, putting each aside when it is full.'

4. Then go in, and shut the door upon yourself and your sons, and pour into all these vessels; and when one is full, set it aside."

5. So she left him; and she shut the door on herself and her sons; they passed her the jars and she went on pouring.

5. So she went from him and shut the door upon herself and her sons; and as she poured they brought the vessels to her.

6. When the jars were full, she said to her son, 'Pass me another jar.' 'There are no more,' he replied. Then the oil stopped flowing.

6. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel." And he said to her, "There is not another." Then the oil stopped flowing.

7. She went and told the man of God, who said, 'Go and sell the oil and redeem your pledge; you and your children can live on the remainder.'

7. She came and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest."

8. One day as Elisha was on his way to Shunem, a woman of rank who lived there pressed him to stay and eat there. After this he always broke his journey for a meal when he passed that way.

8. One day Eli'sha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food.

9. She said to her husband, 'Look, I am sure the man who is constantly passing our way must be a holy man of God.

9. And she said to her husband, "Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who is continually passing our way.

10. Let us build him a small walled room, and put him a bed in it, and a table and chair and lamp; whenever he comes to us he can rest there.'

10. Let us make a small roof chamber with walls, and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there."

11. One day when he came, he retired to the upper room and lay down.

11. One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there.

12. He said to his servant Gehazi, 'Call our Shunammite.' He called her and when she appeared, Elisha said,

12. And he said to Geha'zi his servant, "Call this Shu'nammite." When he had called her, she stood before him.

13. 'Tell her this: "Look, you have gone to all this trouble for us, what can we do for you? Is there anything you would like said for you to the king or to the commander of the army?" ' But she replied, 'I live with my own people about me.'

13. And he said to him, "Say now to her, See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?" She answered, "I dwell among my own people."

14. 'What can I do for you then?' he asked. Gehazi replied, 'Well, she has no son and her husband is old.'

14. And he said, "What then is to be done for her?" Geha'zi answered, "Well, she has no son, and her husband is old."

15. Elisha said, 'Call her.' The servant called her and she stood at the door.

15. He said, "Call her." And when he had called her, she stood in the doorway.

16. 'This time next year', he said, 'you will hold a son in your arms.' But she said, 'No, my lord, do not deceive your servant.'

16. And he said, "At this season, when the time comes round, you shall embrace a son." And she said, "No, my lord, O man of God; do not lie to your maidservant."

17. But the woman did conceive, and she gave birth to a son at the time that Elisha had said she would.

17. But the woman conceived, and she bore a son about that time the following spring, as Eli'sha had said to her.

18. The child grew up; one day he went to his father who was with the reapers,

18. When the child had grown, he went out one day to his father among the reapers.

19. and exclaimed to his father, 'Oh, my head! My head!' The father told a servant to carry him to his mother.

19. And he said to his father, "Oh, my head, my head!" The father said to his servant, "Carry him to his mother."

20. He lifted him up and took him to his mother, and the boy lay on her lap until midday, when he died.

20. And when he had lifted him, and brought him to his mother, the child sat on her lap till noon, and then he died.

21. She went upstairs, laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door on him and went out.

21. And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.

22. She called her husband and said, 'Send me one of the servants with a donkey. I must hurry to the man of God and back.'

22. Then she called to her husband, and said, "Send me one of the servants and one of the asses, that I may quickly go to the man of God, and come back again."

23. 'Why go to him today?' he asked. 'It is not New Moon or Sabbath.' But she replied, 'Never mind.'

23. And he said, "Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath." She said, "It will be well."

24. She had the donkey saddled and said to her servant, 'Lead on, go! Do not draw rein until I give the order.'

24. Then she saddled the ass, and she said to her servant, "Urge the beast on; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you."

25. She set off and made her way to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her in the distance, he said to his servant Gehazi, 'Look, here comes our Shunammite!

25. So she set out, and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Geha'zi his servant, "Look, yonder is the Shu'nammite;

26. Now run and meet her and ask her, "Are you well? Is your husband well? Your child well?" ' 'Yes,' she replied.

26. run at once to meet her, and say to her, Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?" And she answered, "It is well."

27. When she came to the man of God there on the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi stepped forward to push her away, but the man of God said, 'Leave her; there is bitterness in her soul and Yahweh has hidden it from me, he has not told me.'

27. And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Geha'zi came to thrust her away. But the man of God said, "Let her alone, for she is in bitter distress; and the LORD has hidden it from me, and has not told me."

28. She said, 'Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say: Don't deceive me?'

28. Then she said, "Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, Do not deceive me?"

29. Elisha said to Gehazi, 'Hitch up your clothes, take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, do not greet him; if anyone greets you, do not answer him. You are to stretch out my staff over the child.'

29. He said to Geha'zi, "Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go. If you meet any one, do not salute him; and if any one salutes you, do not reply; and lay my staff upon the face of the child."

30. But the child's mother said, 'As Yahweh lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.' Then he stood up and followed her.

30. Then the mother of the child said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So he arose and followed her.

31. Gehazi had gone ahead of them and had stretched out the staff over the child, but there was no sound or response. He went back to meet Elisha and told him. 'The child has not woken up,' he said.

31. Geha'zi went on ahead and laid the staff upon the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life. Therefore he returned to meet him, and told him, "The child has not awaked."

32. Elisha then went to the house, and there on his bed lay the child, dead.

32. When Eli'sha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed.

33. He went in and shut the door on the two of them and prayed to Yahweh.

33. So he went in and shut the door upon the two of them, and prayed to the LORD.

34. Then he climbed on to the bed and stretched himself on top of the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes to his eyes, and his hands on his hands, and as he lowered himself on to him, the child's flesh grew warm.

34. Then he went up and lay upon the child, putting his mouth upon his mouth, his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands; and as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm.

35. Then he got up and walked to and fro inside the house, and then climbed on to the bed again and lowered himself on to the child seven times in all; then the child sneezed and opened his eyes.

35. Then he got up again, and walked once to and fro in the house, and went up, and stretched himself upon him; the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

36. He then summoned Gehazi. 'Call our Shunammite,' he said. He called her. When she came to him, he said, 'Pick up your son.'

36. Then he summoned Geha'zi and said, "Call this Shu'nammite." So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, "Take up your son."

37. She went in and, falling at his feet, prostrated herself on the floor and then picked up her son and went out.

37. She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground; then she took up her son and went out.

38. Elisha went back to Gilgal while there was famine in the country. As the brotherhood of prophets were sitting with him, he said to his servant, 'Put the large pot on the fire and cook some soup for the brotherhood.'

38. And Eli'sha came again to Gilgal when there was a famine in the land. And as the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he said to his servant, "Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets."

39. One of them went into the fields to gather herbs and came on some wild vine, off which he gathered enough gourds to fill his lap. On his return, he cut them up into the pot of soup; they did not know what they were.

39. One of them went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and cut them up into the pot of pottage, not knowing what they were.

40. They then poured the soup out for the men to eat, but they had no sooner tasted the soup than they cried, 'Man of God, there is death in the pot!' And they could not eat it.

40. And they poured out for the men to eat. But while they were eating of the pottage, they cried out, "O man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it.

41. 'Bring some meal then,' Elisha said. This he threw into the pot, and said, 'Pour out, for the company to eat!' And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

41. He said, "Then bring meal." And he threw it into the pot, and said, "Pour out for the men, that they may eat." And there was no harm in the pot.

42. A man came from Baal-Shalishah, bringing the man of God bread from the first-fruits, twenty barley loaves and fresh grain still in the husk. 'Give it to the company to eat,' Elisha said.

42. A man came from Ba'al-shal'ishah, bringing the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Eli'sha said, "Give to the men, that they may eat."

43. But his servant replied, 'How can I serve this to a hundred men?' 'Give it to the company to eat,' he insisted, 'for Yahweh says this, "They will eat and have some left over." '

43. But his servant said, "How am I to set this before a hundred men?" So he repeated, "Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, `They shall eat and have some left.'"

44. He served them; they ate and had some left over, as Yahweh had said.

44. So he set it before them. And they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the LORD.