II Kings Chapter 4
Other Translations
darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext
1
And a woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha saying, Thy servant my husband is dead, and thou knowest that thy servant feared Jehovah; and the creditor is come to take my two children to be bondmen.
2
And Elisha said to her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thy handmaid has not anything at all in the house but a pot of oil.
3
And he said, Go, borrow for thyself vessels abroad from all thy neighbours, empty vessels; let it not be few;
4
and go in, and shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and pour out into all those vessels, and set aside what is full.
5
And she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons: they brought [the vessels] to her, and she poured out.
6
And it came to pass when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said to her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
7
And she came and told the man ofGod; and he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou [and] thy sons on the rest.
8
And it came to pass on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a wealthy woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, [that] as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.
9
And she said to her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man ofGod, who passes by us continually.
10
Let us make, I pray thee, a small upper chamber with walls, and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a seat, and a lampstand; and it shall be when he cometh to us, he shall turn in thither.
11
And it came to pass on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the upper chamber, and lay there.
12
And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And he called her, and she stood before him.
13
And he said to him, Say now to her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she said, I dwell among mine own people.
14
And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi said, Verily, she has no son, and her husband is old.
15
And he said, Call her; and he called her; and she stood in the doorway.
16
And he said, At this appointed time, when thy term is come, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, man ofGod, do not lie to thy handmaid.
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And the woman conceived, and bore a son at that appointed time in the next year as Elisha had said to her.
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And the child grew, and it came to pass one day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.
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And he said to his father, My head, my head! And he said to the servant, Carry him to his mother.
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And he carried him, and brought him to his mother; and he sat on her knees till noon, and died.
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And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man ofGod, and shut [the door] upon him, and went out.
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And she called to her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, and I will run to the man ofGod, and come again.
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And he said, Why wilt thou go to him to-day? It is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, [It is] well.
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Then she saddled the ass, and said to her servant, Drive and go forward; slack not the riding for me, except I bid thee.
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And she went and came to the man ofGod, to mount Carmel. And it came to pass when the man ofGod saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, there is the Shunammite:
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run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she said, It is well.
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And she came to the man ofGod to the mountain, and caught him by the feet; and Gehazi drew near to thrust her away; but the man ofGod said, Let her alone, for her soul is troubled within her, and Jehovah has hidden it from me, and has not told me.
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And she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?
29
And he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go thy way. If thou meet any man, salute him not, and if any salute thee, answer him not again; and lay my staff upon the face of the lad.
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And the mother of the lad said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee! And he rose up and followed her.
31
And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the lad; but there was neither voice, nor sign of attention. And he returned to meet him, and told him saying, The lad is not awaked.
32
And when Elisha came into the house, behold, the child was dead, [and] laid upon his bed.
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And he went in and shut the door upon them both, and prayed to Jehovah.
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And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands, and bent over him; and the flesh of the child grew warm.
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And he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and bent over him. And the lad sneezed seven times, and the lad opened his eyes.
36
And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. And he called her; and she came to him. And he said, Take up thy son.
37
And she came and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground; and she took up her son, and went out.
38
And Elisha came again to Gilgal. And there was a famine in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him. And he said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets.
39
Then one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it his lap full of wild colocynths, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage; for they did not know them.
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And 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, Man ofGod, there is death in the pot! And they could not eat [it].
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And he said, Then bring meal. And he cast [it] into the pot, and 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 Baal-shalishah, and brought the man ofGod bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of corn in his sack. And he said, Give to the people that they may eat.
43
And his attendant said, How shall I set this before a hundred men? And he said, Give the people that they may eat; for thus saith Jehovah: They shall eat, and shall have to spare.
44
And he set [it] before them, and they ate and left [thereof], according to the word of Jehovah.
vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)
1
Mulier autem quædam de uxoribus prophetarum clamabat ad Eliseum, dicens: Servus tuus vir meus mortuus est, et tu nosti quia servus tuus fuit timens Dominum: et ecce creditor venit ut tollat duos filios meos ad serviendum sibi.
2
Cui dixit Eliseus: Quid vis ut faciam tibi? Dic mihi, quid habes in domo tua? At illa respondit: Non habeo ancilla tua quidquam in domo mea, nisi parum olei, quo ungar.
3
Cui ait: Vade, pete mutuo ab omnibus vicinis tuis vasa vacua non pauca.
4
Et ingredere, et claude ostium tuum, cum intrinsecus fueris tu, et filii tui: et mitte inde in omnia vasa hæc: et cum plena fuerint, tolles.
5
Ivit itaque mulier, et clausit ostium super se, et super filios suos: illi offerebant vasa, et illa infundebat.
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Cumque plena fuissent vasa, dixit ad filium suum: Affer mihi adhuc vas. Et ille respondit: Non habeo. Stetitque oleum.
7
Venit autem illa, et indicavit homini Dei. Et ille, Vade, inquit, vende oleum, et redde creditori tuo: tu autem, et filii tui vivite de reliquo.
8
Facta est autem quædam dies, et transibat Eliseus per Sunam: erat autem ibi mulier magna, quæ tenuit eum ut comederet panem: cumque frequenter inde transiret, divertebat ad eam ut comederet panem.
9
Quæ dixit ad virum suum: Animadverto quod vir Dei sanctus est iste, qui transit per nos frequenter.
10
Faciamus ergo ei cœnaculum parvum, et ponamus ei in eo lectulum, et mensam, et sellam, et candelabrum, ut cum venerit ad nos, maneat ibi.
11
Facta est ergo dies quædam, et veniens divertit in cœnaculum, et requievit ibi.
12
Dixitque ad Giezi puerum suum: Voca Sunamitidem istam. Qui cum vocasset eam, et illa stetisset coram eo,
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dixit ad puerum suum: Loquere ad eam: Ecce, sedule in omnibus ministrasti nobis, quid vis ut faciam tibi? numquid habes negotium, et vis ut loquar regi, sive principi militiæ? Quæ respondit: In medio populi mei habito.
14
Et ait: Quid ergo vult ut faciam ei? Dixitque Giezi: Ne quæras: filium enim non habet, et vir eius senex est.
15
Præcepit itaque ut vocaret eam: quæ cum vocata fuisset, et stetisset ante ostium,
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dixit ad eam: In tempore isto, et in hac eadem hora, si vita comes fuerit, habebis in utero filium. At illa respondit: Noli quæso, domine mi, vir Dei, noli mentiri ancillæ tuæ.
17
Et concepit mulier, et peperit filium in tempore, et in hora eadem, qua dixerat Eliseus.
18
Crevit autem puer. Et cum esset quædam dies, et egressus isset ad patrem suum, ad messores,
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ait patri suo: Caput meum doleo, caput meum doleo. At ille dixit puero: Tolle, et duc eum ad matrem suam.
20
Qui cum tulisset, et duxisset eum ad matrem suam, posuit eum illa super genua sua usque ad meridiem, et mortuus est.
21
Ascendit autem, et collocavit eum super lectulum hominis Dei, et clausit ostium: et egressa,
22
vocavit virum suum, et ait: Mitte mecum, obsecro, unum de pueris, et asinam, ut excurram usque ad hominem Dei, et revertar.
23
Qui ait illi: Quam ob causam vadis ad eum? hodie non sunt Calendæ, neque Sabbatum. Quæ respondit: Vadam:
24
Stravitque asinam, et præcepit puero: Mina, et propera, ne mihi moram facias in eundo: et hoc age quod præcipio tibi.
25
Profecta est igitur, et venit ad virum Dei in montem Carmeli: cumque vidisset eam vir Dei econtra, ait ad Giezi puerum suum: Ecce Sunamitis illa.
26
Vade ergo in occursum eius, et dic ei: Recte ne agitur circa te, et circa virum tuum, et circa filium tuum? Quæ respondit: Recte.
27
Cumque venisset ad virum Dei in montem, apprehendit pedes eius: et accessit Giezi ut amoveret eam. Et ait homo Dei: Dimitte illam: anima enim eius in amaritudine est, et Dominus celavit a me, et non indicavit mihi.
28
Quæ dixit illi: Numquid petivi filium a Domino meo? numquid non dixi tibi: Ne illudas me?
29
Et ille ait ad Giezi: Accinge lumbos tuos, et tolle baculum meum in manu tua, et vade. Si occurrerit tibi homo, non salutes eum: et si salutaverit te quispiam, non respondeas illi: et pones baculum meum super faciem pueri.
30
Porro mater pueri ait: Vivit dominus, et vivit anima tua, non dimittam te. Surrexit ergo, et secutus est eam.
31
Giezi autem præcesserat ante eos, et posuerat baculum super faciem pueri, et non erat vox, neque sensus: reversusque est in occursum eius, et nunciavit ei, dicens: Non surrexit puer.
32
Ingressus est ergo Eliseus domum, et ecce puer mortuus iacebat in lectulo eius:
33
ingressusque clausit ostium super se, et super puerum: et oravit ad Dominum.
34
Et ascendit, et incubuit super puerum: posuitque os suum super os eius, et oculos suos super oculos eius, et manus suas super manus eius: et incurvavit se super eum, et calefacta est caro pueri.
35
At ille reversus, deambulavit in domo, semel huc atque illuc: et ascendit, et incubuit super eum: et oscitavit puer septies, aperuitque oculos.
36
At ille vocavit Giezi, et dixit ei: Voca Sunamitidem hanc. Quæ vocata, ingressa est ad eum. Qui ait: Tolle filium tuum.
37
Venit illa, et corruit ad pedes eius, et adoravit super terram: tulitque filium suum, et egressa est,
38
et Eliseus reversus est in Galgala. Erat autem fames in terra, et filii prophetarum habitabant coram eo. dixitque uni de pueris suis: Pone ollam grandem, et coque pulmentum filiis prophetarum.
39
Et egressus est unus in agrum ut colligeret herbas agrestes: invenitque quasi vitem silvestrem, et collegit ex ea colocynthidas agri, et implevit pallium suum, et reversus concidit in ollam pulmenti: nesciebat enim quid esset.
40
Infuderunt ergo sociis, ut comederent: cumque gustassent de coctione, clamaverunt, dicentes: Mors in olla vir Dei. Et non potuerunt comedere.
41
At ille, Afferte, inquit, farinam. Cumque tulissent, misit in ollam, et ait: Infunde turbæ, ut comedant. Et non fuit amplius quidquam amaritudinis in olla.
42
Vir autem quidam venit de Baalsalisa deferens viro Dei panes primitiarum, viginti panes hordeaceos, et frumentum novum in pera sua. At ille dixit: Da populo, ut comedat.
43
Responditque ei minister eius: Quantum est hoc, ut apponam centum viris? Rursum ille ait: Da populo, ut comedat: hæc enim dicit Dominus: Comedent, et supererit.
44
Posuit itaque coram eis: qui comederunt, et superfuit iuxta verbum Domini.
ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8
1
And a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets hath cried unto Elisha, saying, `Thy servant, my husband, is dead, and thou hast known that thy servant was fearing Jehovah, and the lender hath come to take my two children to him for servants.'
2
And Elisha saith unto her, `What do I do for thee? declare to me, what hast thou in the house?' and she saith, `Thy maid-servant hath nothing in the house except a pot of oil.'
3
And he saith, `Go, ask for thee vessels from without, from all thy neighbours--empty vessels--let <FI>them<Fi> not be few;
4
and thou hast entered, and shut the door upon thee, and upon thy sons, and hast poured out into all these vessels, and the full ones thou dost remove.'
5
And she goeth from him, and shutteth the door upon her, and upon her sons; they are bringing nigh unto her, and she is pouring out,
6
and it cometh to pass, at the filling of the vessels, that she saith unto her son, `Bring nigh unto me a vessel more,' and he saith unto her, `There is not a vessel more;' and the oil stayeth.
7
And she cometh and declareth to the man of God, and he saith, `Go, sell the oil, and repay thy loan; and thou <FI>and<Fi> thy sons do live of the rest.'
8
And the day cometh that Elisha passeth over unto Shunem, and there <FI>is<Fi> a great woman, and she layeth hold on him to eat bread, and it cometh to pass, at the time of his passing over, he turneth aside thither to eat bread,
9
and she saith unto her husband, `Lo, I pray thee, I have known that a holy man of God he is, passing over by us continually;
10
let us make, I pray thee, a little upper chamber of the wall, and we set for him there a bed, and a table, and a high seat, and a candlestick; and it hath been, in his coming in unto us, he doth turn aside thither.'
11
And the day cometh, that he cometh in thither, and turneth aside unto the upper chamber, and lieth there,
12
and he saith unto Gehazi his young man, `Call for this Shunammite;' and he calleth for her, and she standeth before him.
13
And he saith to him, `Say, I pray thee, unto her, Lo, thou hast troubled thyself concerning us with all this trouble; what--to do for thee? is it to speak for thee unto the king, or unto the head of the host?' and she saith, `In the midst of my people I am dwelling.'
14
And he saith, `And what--to do for her?' and Gehazi saith, `Verily she hath no son, and her husband <FI>is<Fi> aged.'
15
And he saith, `Call for her;' and he calleth for her, and she standeth at the opening,
16
and he saith, `At this season, according to the time of life, thou art embracing a son;' and she saith, `Nay, my lord, O man of God, do not lie unto thy maid-servant.'
17
And the woman conceiveth and beareth a son, at this season, according to the time of life, that Elisha spake of unto her.
18
And the lad groweth, and the day cometh that he goeth out unto his father, unto the reapers,
19
and he saith unto his father, `My head, my head;' and he saith unto the young man, `Bear him unto his mother;'
20
and he beareth him, and bringeth him in unto his mother, and he sitteth on her knees till the noon, and dieth.
21
And she goeth up, and layeth him on the bed of the man of God, and shutteth <FI>the door<Fi> upon him, and goeth out,
22
and calleth unto her husband, and saith, `Send, I pray thee, to me, one of the young men, and one of the asses, and I run unto the man of God, and return.'
23
And he saith, `Wherefore art thou going unto him to-day? --neither new moon nor sabbath!' and she saith, `Peace <FI>to thee<Fi> !'
24
And she saddleth the ass, and saith unto her young man, `Lead, and go, do not restrain riding for me, except I have said <FI>so<Fi> to thee.'
25
And she goeth, and cometh in unto the man of God, unto the hill of Carmel, and it cometh to pass, at the man of God's seeing her from over-against, that he saith unto Gehazi his young man, `Lo, this Shunammite;
26
now, run, I pray thee, to meet her, and say to her, Is there peace to thee? is there peace to thy husband? is there peace to the lad?' and she saith, `Peace.'
27
And she cometh in unto the man of God, unto the hill, and layeth hold on his feet, and Gehazi cometh nigh to thrust her away, and the man of God saith, `Let her alone, for her soul <FI>is<Fi> bitter to her, and Jehovah hath hidden <FI> it<Fi> from me, and hath not declared <FI>it<Fi> to me.'
28
And she saith, `Did I ask a son from my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?'
29
And he saith to Gehazi, `Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go; when thou dost meet a man, thou dost not salute him; and when a man doth salute thee, thou dost not answer him; and thou hast laid my staff on the face of the youth.'
30
And the mother of the youth saith, `Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth--if I leave thee;' and he riseth and goeth after her.
31
And Gehazi hath passed on before them, and layeth the staff on the face of the youth, and there is no voice, and there is no attention, and he turneth back to meet him, and declareth to him, saying, `The youth hath not awaked.'
32
And Elisha cometh in to the house, and lo, the youth is dead, laid on his bed,
33
and he goeth in and shutteth the door upon them both, and prayeth unto Jehovah.
34
And he goeth up, and lieth down on the lad, and putteth his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands, and stretcheth himself upon him, and the flesh of the lad becometh warm;
35
and he turneth back and walketh in the house, once hither and once thither, and goeth up and stretcheth himself upon him, and the youth sneezeth till seven times, and the youth openeth his eyes.
36
And he calleth unto Gehazi, and saith, `Call unto this Shunammite;' and he calleth her, and she cometh in unto him, and he saith, `Lift up thy son.'
37
And she goeth in, and falleth at his feet, and boweth herself to the earth, and lifteth up her son, and goeth out.
38
And Elisha hath turned back to Gilgal, and the famine <FI>is<Fi> in the land, and the sons of the prophets are sitting before him, and he saith to his young man, `Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets.'
39
And one goeth out unto the field to gather herbs, and findeth a vine of the field, and gathereth of it gourds of the field--the fulness of his garment--and cometh in and splitteth <FI>them<Fi> into the pot of pottage, for they knew <FI> them<Fi> not;
40
and they pour out for the men to eat, and it cometh to pass at their eating of the pottage, that they have cried out, and say, `Death <FI>is<Fi> in the pot, O man of God!' and they have not been able to eat.
41
And he saith, `Then bring ye meal;' and he casteth into the pot, and saith, `Pour out for the people, and they eat;' and there was no evil thing in the pot.
42
And a man hath come from Baal-Shalishah, and bringeth in to the man of God bread of first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in its husk, and he saith, `Give to the people, and they eat.'
43
And his minister saith, `What--do I give this before a hundred men?' and he saith, `Give to the people, and they eat, for thus said Jehovah, Eat and leave;'
44
and he giveth before them, and they eat and leave, according to the word of Jehovah.
Explanations by Age Level
Explain Like I'm 5
A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!
Explain Like I'm 10
Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.
Explain Like I'm 15
Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).