Second Kings Chapter 4 1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha saying, Your servant my husband is dead. And you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the lender has come to take my two children to himself for slaves.2 Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house? And she said, Your handmaid has not a thing in the house except a pot of oil.3 He said, Go, borrow vessels for yourself from outside, from your neighbors, empty vessels. Do not let them be few.4 You shall go in and shut the door on you and your sons. And you shall pour out into all those vessels. And you shall set aside the full ones.5 She went from him and shut the door on her and on her sons. They brought to her, and she poured out.6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, Bring me another vessel. And he said to her, There is not a vessel left. And the oil stopped.7 She came and told the man of God. He said, Go. Sell the oil and pay your debt and you and your children shall live from the rest.8 The day came when Elisha passed over to Shunem. A great woman was there. She laid hold on him to eat bread. As often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat bread.9 She said to her husband, Behold now, I see that this is a holy man of God who passes by us continually.10 Please, let us make a little room on the wall. Let us set a bed for him there and a table and a stool and a lampstand. When he comes to us, he will turn in there.11 The day came when he came in there, and turned into the room and lay there.12 He said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. He called her and she stood before him.13 He said to him, Say now to her, Behold, you have been thoughtful for us with all this care. What is to be done for you? Would you be spoken for to the king or to the commander of the army? She answered, I live among my own people.14 He said, What then is to be done for her? Gehazi answered, Truly, she has no child and her husband is old.15 He said, Call her. He called her and she stood in the door.16 He said, At this time, according to the time of life, you will embrace a son. She said, No, my lord, O man of God, do not lie to your handmaid.17 But the woman conceived and gave birth to a son at that time that Elisha had said to her, according to the time of life.18 The boy grew and the day came that he went to his father to the reapers.19 He said to his father, my head, my head. He said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.20 He carried him and brought him to his mother and he sat on her knees until noon and died.21 She laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door and went out.22 She called to her husband and said, Please send one of the young men and one of the donkeys so that I may run to the man of God and come again.23 He said, Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath. She said, It is well.24 She saddled a donkey and said to her servant, Drive forward. Do not hold back your riding for me unless I tell you.25 She came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her at a distance+, he said to Gehazi his servant, See the Shunammite.26 Run to meet her and say to her, Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the boy? She answered, It is well.27 She came to the man of God to the hill and caught him by the feet. Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, Let her alone for her soul is troubled within her. The Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.28 She said, Did I desire a son from my lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me?29 Then he said to Gehazi, Bind up your loins and take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet any man, do not greet him. If any greet you, do not answer him again. Lay my staff on the face of the child.30 The mother of the child said, As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. He arose and followed her.31 Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff on the face of the child. But there was no voice nor hearing. He turned back to meet him and told him saying, The boy has not awakened.32 Elisha had come to the house. Behold, the boy was dead and laid out on his bed.33 He went in and shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord.34 Then he laid on the boy and put his mouth on his mouth and his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands and stretched himself on the boy, the flesh of the boy became warm.35 He returned and walked in the house to and fro and stretched himself on him again and the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.36 Then he called to Gehazi and said, Call the Shunammite. He called her and she came in to him. he said, Take up your son.37 She went in and fell at his feet and bowed to the ground and took up her son and went out.38 Elisha came again to Gilgal and there was a famine in the land. The sons of the prophets were sitting before him and he said to his servant, Put on the great pot and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets.39 One went out into the field to gather herbs, found a vine of the field, and gathered gourds from it in the field. With the lap of his garment full, he came in and shredded them into the pot of pottage. For they did not know them.40 So they poured out for the men to eat. As they were eating of the pottage they cried out and said, O man of God, There is death in the pot and they could not eat.41 He said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot. And he said, Pour out for the people, and they may eat. And there was no evil thing in the pot.42 A man came from Baalshalisha and brought the man of God bread from the firstfruits, 20 loaves of barley and full ears of grain in his sack. And he said, Give to the people that they may eat.43 His servant said, What? Should I set this before 100 men? He said again, Give to the people so that they may eat, for thus says the Lord, They shall eat and leave some.44 He set before them, and they ate, and left some of it, according to the Word of the Lord.
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