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2 Kings 4

Common English Bible CEB

1 Now there was a woman who had been married to a member of a group of prophets. She appealed to Elisha, saying, "My husband, your servant, is dead. You know how he feared the LORD. But now someone he owed money to has come to take my two children away as slaves."

2 Elisha said to her, "What can I do for you? Tell me what you still have left in the house." She said, "Your servant has nothing at all in the house except a small jar of oil."

3 He said, "Go out and borrow containers from all your neighbors. Get as many empty containers as possible.

4 Then go in and close the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all those containers. Set each one aside when it's full."

5 She left Elisha and closed the door behind her and her sons. They brought her containers as she kept on pouring.

6 When she had filled the containers, she said to her son, "Bring me another container." He said to her, "There aren't any more." Then the oil stopped flowing,

7 and she reported this to the man of God. He said, "Go! Sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what remains."

8 One day Elisha went to Shunem. A rich woman lived there. She urged him to eat something, so whenever he passed by, he would stop in to eat some food.

9 She said to her husband, "Look, I know that he is a holy man of God and he passes by regularly.

10 Let's make a small room on the roof. We'll set up a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp for him there. Then when he comes to us, he can stay there."

11 So one day Elisha came there, headed to the room on the roof, and lay down.

12 He said to his servant Gehazi, "Call this Shunammite woman." Gehazi called her, and she stood before him.

13 Elisha then said to Gehazi, "Say to her, ‘Look, you've gone to all this trouble for us. What can I do for you? Is there anything I can say on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?'" She said, "I'm content to live at home with my own people."

14 Elisha asked, "So what can be done for her?" Gehazi said, "Well, she doesn't have a son, and her husband is old."

15 Elisha said, "Call her." So Gehazi called her, and she stood at the door.

16 Elisha said, "About this time next year, you will be holding a son in your arms." But she said, "No, man of God, sir; don't lie to your servant."

17 But the woman conceived and gave birth to a son at about the same time the next year. This was what Elisha had promised her.

18 The child grew up. One day he ran to his father, who was with the harvest workers.

19 He said to his father, "Oh, my head! My head!" The father said to a young man, "Carry him to his mother."

20 So he picked up the boy and brought him to his mother. The boy sat on her lap until noon. Then he died.

21 She went up and laid him down on the bed for the man of God. Then she went out and closed the door.

22 She called her husband and said, "Send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys so that I can hurry to the man of God and come back."

23 Her husband said, "Why are you going to him today? It's not a new moon or sabbath." She said, "Don't worry about it."

24 She saddled the donkey, then said to her young servant, "Drive the donkey hard. Don't let me slow down unless I tell you."

25 So she went off and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. As soon as the man of God saw her from a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, "Look, it's the Shunammite woman!

26 Run out to meet her and ask her, ‘Are things okay with you, your husband, and your child?'" She said, "Things are okay."

27 When she got to the man of God at the mountain, she grabbed his feet. Gehazi came up to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone! She is distraught, but the LORD has hidden the reason from me and hasn't told me why."

28 She said, "Did I ask you for a son, sir? Didn't I say, ‘Don't raise my hopes'?"

29 Elisha said to Gehazi, "Get ready, take my staff, and go! If you encounter anyone, don't stop to greet them. If anyone greets you, don't reply. Put my staff on the boy's face."

30 But the boy's mother said, "I swear by your life and by the LORD's life, I won't leave you!" So Elisha got up and followed her.

31 Gehazi went on ahead of them. He set the staff on the young boy's face, but there was no sound or response. So he went back to meet Elisha and told him, "The boy didn't wake up."

32 Elisha came into the house and saw the boy lying dead on his bed.

33 He went in and closed the door behind the two of them. Then he prayed to the LORD.

34 He got up on the bed and lay down on top of the child, putting his mouth on the boy's mouth, his eyes on the boy's eyes, his hands on the boy's hands. And as he bent over him, the child's skin grew warm.

35 Then Elisha got down and paced back and forth in the house. Once again he got up on the bed and bent over the boy, at which point the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

36 Elisha called for Gehazi and said, "Call the Shunammite woman." Gehazi called her, and she came to Elisha. He told her, "Pick up your son."

37 She came and fell at his feet, facedown on the ground. Then she picked up her son and left.

38 When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. A group of prophets was sitting before him. He said to his servant, "Put on the big pot and cook some stew for the prophets."

39 So one of them went out to the field to gather plants; he found a wild vine and gathered wild gourds from it, filling his garment. He came and cut them up into the pot of stew, but no one knew what they were.

40 The stew was served to the men, but as they started to eat it, they cried out and said, "There is death in that pot, man of God!" They couldn't eat it.

41 Elisha said, "Get some flour." He threw it into the pot and said, "Serve the people so they can eat." At that point, there was nothing bad left in the pot.

42 A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God some bread from the early produce—twenty loaves of barley bread and fresh grain from his bag. Elisha said, "Give it to the people so they can eat."

43 His servant said, "How can I feed one hundred men with this?" Elisha said, "Give it to the people so they can eat! This is what the LORD says: ‘Eat and there will be leftovers.'"

44 So the servant gave the food to them. They ate and had leftovers, in agreement with the LORD's word.

The Message Bible MSG

1 One day the wife of a man from the guild of prophets called out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead. You well know what a good man he was, devoted to God. And now the man to whom he was in debt is on his way to collect by taking my two children as slaves."

2 Elisha said, "I wonder how I can be of help. Tell me, what do you have in your house?" "Nothing," she said. "Well, I do have a little oil."

3 "Here's what you do," said Elisha. "Go up and down the street and borrow jugs and bowls from all your neighbors. And not just a few - all you can get.

4 Then come home and lock the door behind you, you and your sons. Pour oil into each container; when each is full, set it aside."

5 She did what he said. She locked the door behind her and her sons; as they brought the containers to her, she filled them.

6 When all the jugs and bowls were full, she said to one of her sons, "Another jug, please." He said, "That's it. There are no more jugs." Then the oil stopped.

7 She went and told the story to the man of God. He said, "Go sell the oil and make good on your debts. Live, both you and your sons, on what's left."

8 One day Elisha passed through Shunem. A leading lady of the town talked him into stopping for a meal. And then it became his custom: Whenever he passed through, he stopped by for a meal.

9 "I'm certain," said the woman to her husband, "that this man who stops by with us all the time is a holy man of God.

10 Why don't we add on a small room upstairs and furnish it with a bed and desk, chair and lamp, so that when he comes by he can stay with us?"

11 And so it happened that the next time Elisha came by he went to the room and lay down for a nap.

12 Then he said to his servant Gehazi, "Tell the Shunammite woman I want to see her." He called her and she came to him.

13 Through Gehazi Elisha said, "You've gone far beyond the call of duty in taking care of us; what can we do for you? Do you have a request we can bring to the king or to the commander of the army?" She replied, "Nothing. I'm secure and satisfied in my family."

14 Elisha conferred with Gehazi: "There's got to be something we can do for her. But what?" Gehazi said, "Well, she has no son, and her husband is an old man."

15 "Call her in," said Elisha. He called her and she stood at the open door.

16 Elisha said to her, "This time next year you're going to be nursing an infant son." "O my master, O Holy Man," she said, "don't play games with me, teasing me with such fantasies!"

17 The woman conceived. A year later, just as Elisha had said, she had a son.

18 The child grew up. One day he went to his father, who was working with the harvest hands,

19 complaining, "My head, my head!" His father ordered a servant, "Carry him to his mother."

20 The servant took him in his arms and carried him to his mother. He lay on her lap until noon and died.

21 She took him up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut him in alone, and left.

22 She then called her husband, "Get me a servant and a donkey so I can go to the Holy Man; I'll be back as soon as I can."

23 "But why today? This isn't a holy day - it's neither New Moon nor Sabbath." She said, "Don't ask questions; I need to go right now. Trust me."

24 She went ahead and saddled the donkey, ordering her servant, "Take the lead - and go as fast as you can; I'll tell you if you're going too fast."

25 And so off she went. She came to the Holy Man at Mount Carmel.

26 Quickly now. Ask her, 'Is something wrong? Are you all right? Your husband? Your child?'" She said, "Everything's fine."

27 But when she reached the Holy Man at the mountain, she threw herself at his feet and held tightly to him. Gehazi came up to pull her away, but the Holy Man said, "Leave her alone - can't you see that she's in distress? But God hasn't let me in on why; I'm completely in the dark."

28 Then she spoke up: "Did I ask for a son, master? Didn't I tell you, 'Don't tease me with false hopes'?"

29 He ordered Gehazi, "Don't lose a minute - grab my staff and run as fast as you can. If you meet anyone, don't even take time to greet him, and if anyone greets you, don't even answer. Lay my staff across the boy's face."

30 The boy's mother said, "As sure as God lives and you live, you're not leaving me behind." And so Gehazi let her take the lead, and followed behind.

31 But Gehazi arrived first and laid the staff across the boy's face. But there was no sound - no sign of life. Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and said, "The boy hasn't stirred."

32 Elisha entered the house and found the boy stretched out on the bed dead.

33 He went into the room and locked the door - just the two of them in the room - and prayed to God.

34 He then got into bed with the boy and covered him with his body, mouth on mouth, eyes on eyes, hands on hands. As he was stretched out over him like that, the boy's body became warm.

35 Elisha got up and paced back and forth in the room. Then he went back and stretched himself upon the boy again. The boy started sneezing - seven times he sneezed! - and opened his eyes.

36 He called Gehazi and said, "Get the Shunammite woman in here!" He called her and she came in. Elisha said, "Embrace your son!"

37 She fell at Elisha's feet, face to the ground in reverent awe. Then she embraced her son and went out with him.

38 Elisha went back down to Gilgal. There was a famine there. While he was consulting with the guild of prophets, he told his servant, "Put a large pot on the fire and cook up some stew for the prophets."

39 One of the men went out into the field to get some herbs; he came across a wild vine and picked gourds from it, filling his gunnysack. He brought them back, sliced them up, and put them in the stew, even though no one knew what kind of plant it was.

40 The stew was then served up for the men to eat. They started to eat, and then exclaimed, "Death in the pot, O man of God! Death in the pot!" Nobody could eat it.

41 Elisha ordered, "Get me some meal." Then he sprinkled it into the stew pot. "Now serve it up to the men," he said. They ate it, and it was just fine - nothing wrong with that stew!

42 One day a man arrived from Baal Shalishah. He brought the man of God twenty loaves of fresh baked bread from the early harvest, along with a few apples from the orchard. Elisha said, "Pass it around to the people to eat."

43 His servant said, "For a hundred men? There's not nearly enough!" Elisha said, "Just go ahead and do it. God says there's plenty."

44 And sure enough, there was. He passed around what he had - they not only ate, but had leftovers.