2 Kings 4

The Widow’s Oil

1Now a woman of the wives of 1the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord; and 2the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except 3a jar of oil.” 3Then he said, “Go, 4borrow containers 5elsewhere for yourself, empty containers from all your neighbors--do not get too few. 4Then you shall come in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour into all these containers; and you shall set aside what is full.” 5So she left him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they began bringing the containers to her, and she poured the oil. 6When 6the containers were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.” But he said to her, “There 7are no more containers.” Then the oil stopped. 7So she came and told 8the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”

The Shunammite Woman

8Now a day came when Elisha went over to 9Shunem, where there was a 10prominent woman, and she urged him to eat 11food. And so it was, as often as he passed by, that he turned in there to eat 12food. 9And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I am aware that this is a holy 13man of God passing by us repeatedly. 10Please, let’s 14make a little walled upper room, and let’s set up a bed for him there, and a table, a chair, and a lampstand; then it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.”

11Now 15one day he came there, and turned in to the upper room and 16rested. 12Then he said to his servant 17Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite.” And when he had called her, she stood before him. 13And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Behold, you have taken trouble for us with all this 18care; what can I do for you? 19Would you like me to speak for you to the king or to the commander of the army?’” But she 20answered, “I live among my own people.” 14So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi 21answered, “It is a fact that she has no son, and her husband is old.” 15He then said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16Then he said, “22At this season 23next year, you are going to embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, you man of God, 24do not lie to your servant.”

17Now the woman conceived and gave birth to a son at that season 25the next year, as Elisha had told her.

The Shunammite’s Son

18When the child was grown, the day came that he went out to his father, to the reapers. 19And he said to his father, “My head, my head!” And his father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20When he had carried him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her 26lap until noon, and then he died. 21And she went up and 27laid him on the bed of 28the man of God, and shut the door behind him and left. 22Then she called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so that I may run to the man of God and return.” 23But he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither 29new moon nor Sabbath.” So she just said, “It will be fine.” 24Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Drive the donkey and go on; do not slow down 30the pace for me unless I tell you.” 25So she went on and came to the man of God at 31Mount Carmel.

When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, that person there is the Shunammite. 26Please run now to meet her and say to her, ‘Is it going well for you? Is it going well for your husband? Is it going well for the child?’” Then she 32answered, “It is going well.” 27But she came to the man of God 33at the hill and took hold of his feet. And Gehazi came up to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is 34troubled within her; and the Lord has concealed it from me and has not informed me.” 28Then she said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘35Do not give me false hope’?”

29Then he said to Gehazi, “3637Get ready and 38take my staff in your hand, and go; if you meet anyone, do not 3940greet him, and if anyone 41greets you, do not reply to him. And 42lay my staff on the boy’s face.” 30The mother of the boy said, “43As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her. 31Then Gehazi went on ahead of them and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or 44response. So he returned to meet him and informed him, saying, “The boy 45has not awakened.”

32When Elisha entered the house, behold the boy was dead, laid on his bed. 33So he entered and 46shut the door behind them both, and he prayed to the Lord. 34Then 47he got up on the bed and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, his hands on his hands, and he bent down on him; and the flesh of the child became warm. 35Then he returned and walked in the house back and forth once, and went up and 48bent down on him; and the boy sneezed seven times, then the boy opened his eyes. 36And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” 37Then she came in and fell at his feet and bowed down to the ground, and 49she picked up her son and left.

The Poisonous Stew

38When Elisha returned to 50Gilgal, there was 51a famine in the land. 52As 53the sons of the prophets 54were sitting in front of him, he said to his servant, “55Put on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” 39Then one went out into the field to gather mallow, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds; and he came and sliced them into the pot of stew, because they did not know what they were. 40So they poured it out for the men to eat. But as they were eating the stew, they cried out and said, “You man of God, there is 56death in the pot!” And they were unable to eat. 41Then he said, “Bring flour.” 57And he threw it into the pot, and said, “Pour it out for the people that they may eat.” Then there was nothing harmful in the pot.

42Now a man came from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh grain in his sack. And Elisha said, “58Give them to the people that they may eat.” 43But his attendant said, “How 59am I to serve this to a hundred men?” Nevertheless he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat, for this is what the Lord says: ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’” 44So he served it to them, and they ate and 60had some left over, in accordance with the word of the Lord.