2 Kings 4:38-44

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 .

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.

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

2 Kings 4:38-44 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. harm: Heb. evil thing
• [b]. the husk...: or, his scrip, or, garment