2 Kings 4:40

40 Therefore they poured in to fellows to eat; and when they had tasted of the seething, they cried out, and said, Death is in the pot! death is in the pot! thou man of God. And they might not eat it. (And so they poured it out for the fellows to eat; but when they had tasted the broth, or the stew, they cried out, and said, Death is in the pot! death is in the pot, O man of God! And they could not eat it.)

2 Kings 4:40 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 4:40

So they poured out for the men to eat
When the pottage was boiled, they poured it out into dishes or basins, for the sons of the prophets 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;
poison, the cause of death; the pottage was so exceeding bitter, that they concluded there must be some poisonous herb in it; and coloquintida is so bitter, that it is called "the gall of the earth":

and they could not eat thereof:
they stopped eating, it being so very disagreeable, and, as they supposed, dangerous.

2 Kings 4:40 In-Context

38 And Elisha turned again into Gilgal. Forsooth hunger was in the land, and the sons of (the) prophets dwelled before him. And Elisha said to one of his servants, Set thou a great pot (on the fire), and seethe thou pottage to the sons of (the) prophets . (And Elisha returned to Gilgal. And there was a famine in the land. And when the sons of the prophets sat before him, Elisha said to one of his servants, Put thou a great pot on the fire, and boil thou some broth, or some stew, for these sons of the prophets.)

39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs of the field; and he found as it were a wild vine, and he gathered thereof gourds of the field. And he [full-]filled his mantle, and he turned again, and shredded those into the pot of pottage; for he knew not what it was (And he filled his mantle, or his cloak, full, and he returned, and shredded them into the pot of broth, or of stew; but he did not know what it was).

40 Therefore they poured in to fellows to eat; and when they had tasted of the seething, they cried out, and said, Death is in the pot! death is in the pot! thou man of God. And they might not eat it. (And so they poured it out for the fellows to eat; but when they had tasted the broth, or the stew, they cried out, and said, Death is in the pot! death is in the pot, O man of God! And they could not eat it.)

41 And he said, Bring ye meal. And when they had brought, he put it into the pot, and said, Pour ye out to the company, that they eat; and anything of bitterness was no more in the pot. (And he said, Bring ye some meal. And when they had brought it, he put it into the pot, and said, Pour ye it out for the group, so that everyone can eat some; and there was no longer anything of bitterness in the pot.)

42 Forsooth some man came from Baalshalisha, and bare to the man of God loaves of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and thing made of corns, in his scrip. And the man of God said, Give thou to the people, that it eat. (And some man came from Baalshalisha, and brought in his bag, to the man of God, loaves of the first fruits, yea, twenty barley loaves, and some full ears of corn. And the man of God said, Give thou to the people, so that they can eat.)