2 Kings 4:20-40

20 And he took him in to his mother, and she took him on her knees and kept him there till the middle of the day, when his life went from him.

21 Then she went up and put him on the bed of the man of God, shutting the door on him, and went out.

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

23 And he said, Why are you going to him today? it is not a new moon or a Sabbath. But she said, It is well.

24 Then she made the ass ready and said to her servant, Keep driving on; do not make a stop without orders from me.

25 So she went, and came to Mount Carmel, to the man of God. And when the man of God saw her coming in his direction, he said to Gehazi, his servant, See, there is the Shunammite;

26 Go quickly to her, and on meeting her say to her, Are you well? and your husband and the child, are they well? And she said in answer, All is well.

27 And when she came to where the man of God was on the hill, she put her hands round his feet; and Gehazi came near with the purpose of pushing her away; but the man of God said, Let her be, for her soul is bitter in her; and the Lord has kept it secret from me, and has not given me word of it.

28 Then she said, Did I make a request to my lord for a son? did I not say, Do not give me false words?

29 Then he said to Gehazi, Make yourself ready, and take my stick in your hand, and go: if you come across anyone on the way, give him no blessing, and if anyone gives you a blessing, give him no answer. And put my stick on the child's face.

30 But the mother of the child said, As the Lord is living and as your soul is living, I will not go back without you. So he got up and went with her.

31 And Gehazi went on before them and put the stick on the child's face; but there was no voice, and no one gave attention. So he went back, and meeting him gave him the news, saying, The child is not awake.

32 And when Elisha came into the house he saw the child dead, stretched on his bed.

33 So he went in, and shutting the door on the two of them, made prayer to the Lord.

34 Then he got up on the bed, stretching himself out on the child, and put his mouth on the child's mouth, his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands; and the child's body became warm.

35 Then he came back, and after walking once through the house and back, he went up, stretching himself out on the child seven times; and the child's eyes became open.

36 And he gave orders to Gehazi, and said, Send for the Shunammite. And she came in answer to his voice. And he said, Take up your son.

37 And she came in, and went down on her face to the earth at his feet; then she took her son in her arms and went out.

38 And Elisha went back to Gilgal, now there was very little food in the land; and the sons of the prophets were seated before him. And he said to his servant, Put the great pot on the fire, and make soup for the sons of the prophets.

39 And one went out into the field to get green plants and saw a vine of the field, and pulling off the fruit of it till the fold of his robe was full, he came back and put the fruit, cut up small, into the pot of soup, having no idea what it was.

40 Then they gave the men soup from the pot. And while they were drinking the soup, they gave a cry, and said, O man of God, there is death in the pot; and they were not able to take any more food.

2 Kings 4:20-40 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 4

This chapter treats of the miracles of Elisha, of his multiplying a poor widow's pot of oil for the payment of her husband's debts, 2Ki 4:1-7 of obtaining a son for a Shunamitish woman, who had been very hospitable to him, 2Ki 4:8-17, of his raising up her son to life when dead, 2Ki 4:18-37, of his curing the deadly pottage made of wild gourds, 2Ki 4:38-41, and of his feeding one hundred men with twenty barley loaves, 2Ki 4:42-44.