2 Kings

Continues the story of the divided kingdoms, their decline, and eventual exile.

Chapter 4

1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

A woman whose husband was one of the prophet's sons spoke to Elisha, "My husband, your servant, has passed away. You know he feared God. Now, a lender is coming to take my two sons as slaves."

2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.

Elisha asked the woman, "How can I help you? Tell me what you have at home." She replied, "I don't have much; only a container of oil."

3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

He said, "Go borrow empty containers from your neighbors, but don't take too many."

4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.

When you come in, close the door behind you and your sons, then pour the contents into all the containers, and put aside the ones that are already full.

5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.

So she left him, closed the door on herself and her sons, who gave her the containers, and she emptied them.

6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.

One day, when the containers were filled, she asked her son for another one. He replied that there weren't any more. Still, the oil kept flowing.

7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

Then she informed the prophet. He replied, "Sell the oil, clear your debt, and live you and your kids with the remaining amount."

8 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.

One day, Elisha went to Shunem, where he met a very kind woman. She made him eat food, and every time he visited her, she would make sure to serve him again.

9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.

She told her husband, "I see now that this is a holy person from God who always goes past us."

10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.

Let's create a small room on the wall, please. Put a bed, table, stool, and a light there. When he comes to us, he can enter it.

11 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.

One day, he arrived and entered the room, then he rested there.

12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.

He told his servant Gehazi, "Summon the woman from Shunam." When the servant did so, she appeared before them.

13 And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.

He asked him, "Tell her that she has taken great care of us. Now, what can we do for her? Does she want us to speak to the king or the army leader?" She replied, "I live with my own people."

14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.

He asked, "What should we do for her?" Gehazi replied, "She has no children and her husband is old."

15 And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.

He told them to call her, so they did. When she heard her name, she came and stood at the entrance.

16 And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.

He said, "In this time, when it's appropriate, you will have a son." But she replied, "No, my lord, holy man, please don't lie to me."

17 And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.

The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son when Elisha said it would happen, based on her age.

18 And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.

When the child grew up, one day he went to his father where the workers were harvesting.

19 And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.

He told his dad, "My head hurts!" Then he asked a boy, "Please take him to mom."

20 And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.

Then, after taking the child and bringing him to his mom, he sat on her lap until midday, and then passed away.

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.

She carried him to the bed, closed the door, and left.

22 And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.

She asked her husband to send a young man and a donkey so she could quickly go to the prophet and return.

23 And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.

He asked, "Why do you want to visit him today? It's not a new moon or a Sabbath day." She replied, "It will be fine."

24 Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.

Then she put a saddle on a donkey and told her helper, Go and drive, keep riding, don't stop unless I tell you to.

25 So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite:

So she went to the prophet on Mount Carmel. When he saw her from a distance, he told his servant, "Look, there is the woman from Shunem."

26 Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.

"Go see her now and ask if she's okay, her husband too, and the child. She replied, 'Yes, everyone is fine.'"

27 And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.

When she reached the man of God on the hill, she grabbed his feet. Gehazi tried to push her away. The man of God said, "Don't stop her; she is troubled inside, and the Lord has hidden this from me, not telling me anything about it."

28 Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?

Then she asked, Did I want your son? Didn't I tell you not to trick me?

29 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.

Then he told Gehazi, "Tie a rope around your waist, grab my stick, and go. Don't greet anyone you see, and don't respond if someone greets you. Place my stick on the child's face."

30 And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.

The mother of the child promised, "As long as God and your life exist, I won't leave you." He then got up and followed her.

31 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.

Gehazi moved ahead, placed the staff on the child's face, but there was still no sound or response. So, he returned to find him and said, "The child hasn't woken up."

32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.

When Elisha arrived at the house, he found that the child had died and was lying on his bed.

33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.

He entered, closed the door on the two of them, and prayed to God.

34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.

He climbed up and laid on the child, pressing his mouth to the child's mouth, his eyes to the child's eyes, and his hands to the child's hands. He stretched out on the child, and the child's body became warmer.

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

Then he came back, walked around inside, and lay down on the child. The child then sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

36 And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.

He told Gehazi to call a woman from Shunem. So Gehazi invited her, and when she arrived, he asked her to pick up her son.

37 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.

Then she entered, and knelt at his feet, bowing low, picked up her child, and left.

38 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.

Elisha returned to Gilgal where there was a food shortage. The sons of the prophets were with him, so he told his servant to cook a big pot of food for them all.

39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.

A person went to pick herbs in the field and discovered a wild vine. They collected many wild gourds from it and brought them back. They added the gourds to a pot of stew without realizing that they were poisonous.

40 So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.

So they served food to the men. As they ate the stew, they shouted, "Oh, man of God, there's death in the pot!" They couldn't eat any more of it.

41 But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.

He said to bring some flour. So, he added it to the pot and told them to serve it to the people so they could eat. There were no problems with the food in the pot.

42 And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.

A man from Baalshalisha arrived with a priest and gave him special grain - 20 loaves of barley and whole corn in their husks. He told him to give the food to the people so they could eat.

43 And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.

His helper asked, Should I put this out for a hundred people? He replied, Provide food for the people to eat because the Lord says, they will eat and still have some left over.

44 So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.

So he placed it in front of them, and they ate it, following the Lord's instructions.

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