EasyEnglish Bible 2018
2 Kings 4:38
38After that, Elisha went back to Gilgal. There was a famine in that region. The group of prophets came to meet with Elisha. He said to his servant, ‘Put the large pot over the fire. Cook some soup for the prophets.’
2 Kings 4:38 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.
- New International Version (NIV)Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine 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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Elisha 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 large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.”
Context of 2 Kings 4:38
36Then Elisha called Gehazi to come to him. He said, ‘Tell the boy's mother to come here.’ Gehazi did that. When the woman came, Elisha said to her, ‘Take your son.’ 37She came in to the room. She bent down low near Elisha's feet with her face towards the ground. Then she took her son and she left the room. After that, Elisha went back to Gilgal. There was a famine in that region. The group of prophets came to meet with Elisha. He said to his servant, ‘Put the large pot over the fire. Cook some soup for the prophets.’ 39One of the prophets went out into the fields to get some herbs to put in the soup. He found a wild plant and he picked some of its fruits. He filled the pockets of his coat with them. He brought the fruits back with him and he cut them into pieces. He put the pieces into the pot of soup. But he did not know what they were. 40They poured out the soup for the men to eat. But when they started to eat it, they shouted, ‘Man of God, this soup will kill us!’ They could not eat it.
Read all of 2 Kings 42 Kings 4:38 word by word
וֶאֱלִישָׁ֞ע שָׁ֤ב הַגִּלְגָּ֙לָה֙ וְהָרָעָ֣ב בָּאָ֔רֶץ וּבְנֵי֙ הַנְּבִיאִ֔ים יֹשְׁבִ֖ים לְפָנָ֑יו וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לְנַעֲר֗וֹ שְׁפֹת֙ הַסִּ֣יר הַגְּדוֹלָ֔ה וּבַשֵּׁ֥ל נָזִ֖יד לִבְנֵ֥י הַנְּבִיאִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Elishaאֱלִישָׁע'ĕlîyshâ‛ · ElishaH477
- came againשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- to Gilgalגִּלְגָּלgilgâl · GilgalH1537
- a dearthרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
- in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- and the sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- of the prophetsנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
- sittingיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- him: and he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto his servantנַ֫עַרna‛ar · youthH5288
- Setשָׁפַתshâphath · to setH8239
- on the greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- potסִירsîyr sîyrâh sirâh · potH5518
- and seetheבָּשַׁלbâshal · to boilH1310
- pottageנָזִידnâzîyd · stewH5138
Cross-references for 2 Kings 4:38
- 2 Kings 2:1The Lord was now ready to take Elijah up to heaven in a storm of wind. At this time, Elijah and Elisha were travelling from Gilgal.
- 1 Samuel 7:16Every year, he travelled to Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpah. In all those towns he was a judge for the Israelite people.
- Acts 10:38You know that God chose Jesus to do special work for him. He gave Jesus his Holy Spirit and helped him to do powerful things. Jesus came from the town of Nazareth. He travelled to many places and he did good things. The Devil had power over some people. But Jesus caused all those people to become well again. He could do those powerful things because God was with him.
- Acts 15:36After some time, Paul said to Barnabas, ‘We should go back to the towns where we already spoke the message about the Lord Jesus. Then we can visit the believers in all those places. We can see if they are doing well.’
- 2 Kings 8:1Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had made alive again, ‘Go away from here. The Lord says that there will be a famine in this country for seven years. So you and your family should go to live somewhere else during that time.’
- Leviticus 26:26The people will not have any food. A woman will bake one loaf for ten families. They will weigh it to give one part to each family. When a person eats his piece of bread, he will still be hungry.
- Deuteronomy 28:22The Lord will give you many kinds of disease. Your bodies will become weak and very hot. They will grow big and have a lot of pain. He will send great heat and there will be no rain. Your crops will all become spoiled. You will have all this pain until you die.
- 2 Samuel 21:1While David was king, there was a famine in Israel for three years. So David asked the Lord what had caused this trouble. The Lord said, ‘Saul's family is guilty of murder, because Saul killed many of the Gibeonites.’
- Jeremiah 14:1This is the Lord's message that he gave to Jeremiah about the famine:
- Ezekiel 14:13‘Son of man, the people of a whole nation may choose not to obey me. Then I would punish them because of their sins. I might stop the people getting any food to eat. Then there would be a famine that kills both people and animals.
- Luke 4:25What I tell you is true. There were many widows in the country of Israel when Elijah was alive. At that time, it did not rain for three and a half years. So people were very hungry in all the country.
- 2 Kings 2:3A group of prophets lived in Bethel. They came out to Elisha and they asked him, ‘Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?’ Elisha replied, ‘Yes, I do know that, but do not talk about it now.’
- 1 Samuel 19:20So Saul sent men to take hold of David. When the men arrived, they saw a group of prophets. Samuel was their leader. They were all prophesying. Then the Spirit of God came on Saul's men. They also started to prophesy.
- Proverbs 8:34Anyone who listens to me is in a happy place. You can wait outside my home each day, and I will teach you.
- Luke 2:46After three days, they found him in the temple. He was sitting there among the teachers. He was listening to what they were saying. He was also asking them questions.
- Luke 8:35So the people went out from these places to see what had happened. They came to Jesus. The man that the bad spirits had come out of was sitting there, beside Jesus' feet. Now he was wearing clothes and his mind was well again. When the people saw this, they were afraid.
Commentaries on 2 Kings 4:38
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 38Came again to Gilgal - He had been there before with his master, a short time prior to his translation. Set on the great pot and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets - It was in a time of dearth, and all might now stand in need of refreshment; and it appears that the prophet was led to put forth the power he had from God to make a plentiful provision for those who were present. The father of the celebrated Dr. Young, author of the Night Thoughts…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 38There was a dearth in the land - Rather, “The famine was in the land.” The seven years‘ dearth of which Elisha had prophesied (marginal reference) had begun. The sons of the prophets - See 1 Kings 20:35 note. They were sitting before him as scholars before their master, hearing his instructions.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 38-44Verses 38-44 There was a famine of bread, but not of hearing the word of God, for Elisha had the sons of the prophets sitting before him, to hear his wisdom. Elisha made hurtful food to become safe and wholesome. If a mess of pottage be all our dinner, remember that this great prophet had no better for himself and his guests. The table often becomes a snare, and that which should be for our welfare, proves a trap: this is a good reason why we should not…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 38Similar to Bethel (2 Kings 2:3) and Jericho (2 Kings 2:5, 15), Gilgal was a hub for a group of prophets (2 Kings 2:1). Elisha led these groups and sat at the head of the table during meals.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3838. there was a dearth in the land--(see on 2Ki 8:1). the sons of the prophets were sitting before him--When receiving instruction, the scholars sat under their masters. This refers to their being domiciled under the same roof (compare 2Ki 6:1). Set on the great pot--As it is most likely that the Jewish would resemble the Egyptian "great pot," it is seen by the monumental paintings to have been a large goblet, with two long legs, which stood over the fire…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 4:38
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Kings 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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