2 Kings 4 - LSB Bible Online

2 Kings 4

The Widow’s Oil

Now a certain woman of the wives of ^athe sons of the prophets cried out to ¹Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared Yahweh; and ^bthe creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2 And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your servant-woman has nothing in the house except ^aa jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go, ask for vessels for yourself, from those outside, from all your neighbors, even empty vessels; do not get a few. 4 And you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full.” 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they were bringing the vessels to her and she poured. 6 Now it happened that when ^athe vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not one vessel more.” And the oil stopped. 7 Then she came and told ^athe 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 Will Bear a Son

8 Now there came a day when Elisha passed over to ^aShunem, where there was a ¹prominent woman, and she prevailed upon him to eat ²food. Now it happened, as often as he passed by, that he turned in there to eat ²food. 9 And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I know that this is a holy ^aman of God passing by us continually. 10 Please, let us ^amake a little walled upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it will be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.”
11 Now it happened that one day he came there and turned in to the upper chamber, and there he ¹lay down. 12 Then he said to ^aGehazi his young man, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him. 13 And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Behold, you have been ¹careful for us with all this ²care; what can I do for you? Would you be spoken for to the king or to the commander of the army?’” And she ³answered, “I live among my own people.” 14 So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi ¹answered, “Truly she has no son, and her husband is old.” 15 And he said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 Then he said, “^aAt this season ¹next year you will embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God, ^bdo not lie to your servant-woman.”
17 Then the woman conceived and bore a son at that season ¹the next year, as Elisha had said to her.

A Dead Boy Opens His Eyes

18 Then the child was grown. And the day came that he went out to his father to the reapers. 19 And he said to his father, “My head, my head.” And he said to ¹his young man, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 Then he carried him and brought him to his mother, and he sat on her knees until noon, and then died. 21 Then she went up and ^alaid him on the bed of ^bthe man of God and shut the door behind him and went out. 22 And she called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and return.” 23 And he said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither ^anew moon nor sabbath.” And she said, “It is well.” 24 Then she saddled a donkey and said to her young man, “Drive and go; do not hold back the pace of the ride for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she went and came to the man of God to ^aMount Carmel.
Now it happened that when the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his young man, “Behold, ¹there is the Shunammite. 26 Please run now 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 ¹answered, “It is well.” 27 Then she came to the man of God ^ato the hill and took hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to push her away; but the man of God said, “Let her alone, for her soul is bitter within her; and Yahweh has hidden it from me and has not told me.” 28 Then she said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘^aDo not deceive me’?”
29 Then he said to Gehazi, “^aGird up your loins and ^btake my staff in your hand, and go; if you meet anyone, do not ¹^cgreet him, and if anyone ¹greets you, do not answer him; and ^dlay my staff on the boy’s face.” 30 But the mother of the boy said, “^aAs Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you.” And he arose and followed her. 31 Now Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or ¹response. So he returned to meet him and told him, saying, “The boy ^ahas not awakened.”
32 Then Elisha came into the house, and behold, the boy was dead and laid on his bed. 33 So he entered and ^ashut the door behind them both and prayed to Yahweh. 34 And ^ahe went up and lay on the child and put his mouth on his mouth and his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands, and he stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child became warm. 35 Then he returned and walked in the house once back and forth, and went up and ^astretched himself on him; and the boy sneezed seven times and the boy opened his eyes. 36 Then he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. Then she came in to him, and he said, “Take up your son.” 37 Then she came in and fell at his feet and bowed herself to the ground, and ^ashe took up her son and went out.

The Death in the Stew

38 Now Elisha returned to ^aGilgal, and there was ^ba famine in the land. ¹As ^cthe sons of the prophets ^dwere sitting before him, he said to his young man, “^ePut on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” 39 Then one went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine and gathered from it wild gourds filling his cloak and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, for they did not know what they were. 40 So they poured it out for the men to eat. And it happened that as they were eating of the stew, they cried out and said, “O man of God, there is ^adeath in the pot.” And they were unable to eat. 41 But he said, “Now bring flour.” ^aHe threw it into the pot and said, “Pour it out for the people that they may eat.” Then there was no harm in the pot.
42 Now a man came from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And he said, “^aGive them to the people that they may eat.” 43 And his attendant said, “What, ^awill I give this before one hundred men?” But he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat, for thus says Yahweh, ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’” 44 So he gave it before them, and they ate and ^ahad some left over, according to the word of Yahweh.

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