2 Kings 4:3

3 And he said to her: Go, borrow of all thy neighbours empty vessels, not a few.

2 Kings 4:3 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 4:3

Then he said, go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy
neighbours
For he perceived that she had none:

even empty vessels;
which they might more readily lend her:

borrow not a few;
but as many as she could get; the prophet, under a divine impulse, was directed to say this to her, foreseeing, by a spirit of prophecy, that a large quantity of oil would be given her.

2 Kings 4:3 In-Context

1 Now a certain woman of the wives of the prophets, cried to Eliseus, saying: Thy servant, my husband, is dead, and thou knowest that thy servant was one that feared God, and behold the creditor is come to take away my two sons to serve him.

2 And Eliseus said to her: What wilt thou have me do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in thy house? And she answered: I, thy handmaid, have nothing in my house but a little oil, to anoint me.

3 And he said to her: Go, borrow of all thy neighbours empty vessels, not a few.

4 And go in, and shut thy door, when thou art within, and thy sons: and pour out thereof into all those vessels: and when they are full, take them away.

5 So the woman went, and shut the door upon her, and upon her sons: they brought her the vessels, and she poured in.