^{1 Ref} Now a certain woman, the wife of one of the sons of the prophets, came crying to Elisha and said, Your servant my husband is dead; and to your knowledge he was a worshipper of the Lord; but now, the creditor has come to take my two children as servants in payment of his debt.

^{2 Ref} Then Elisha said to her, What am I to do for you? say now, what have you in the house? And she said, Your servant has nothing in the house but a pot of oil.

^{3 Ref} Then he said, Go out to all your neighbours and get vessels, a very great number of them.

^{4 Ref} Then go in, and, shutting the door on yourself and your sons, put oil into all these vessels, putting on one side the full ones.

^{5 Ref} So she went away, and when the door was shut on her and her sons, they took the vessels to her and she put oil into them.

^{6 Ref} And when all the vessels were full, she said to her son, Get me another vessel. And he said, There are no more. And the flow of oil was stopped.

^{7 Ref} So she came to the man of God and gave him word of what she had done. And he said, Go and get money for the oil and make payment of your debt, and let the rest be for the needs of yourself and your sons.

^{8 Ref} Now there came a day when Elisha went to Shunem, and there was a woman of high position living there, who made him come in and have a meal with her. And after that, every time he went by, he went into her house for a meal.

^{9 Ref} And she said to her husband, Now I see that this is a holy man of God, who comes by day after day.

^{10 Ref} So let us make a little room on the wall; and put a bed there for him, and a table and a seat and a light; so that when he comes to us, he will be able to go in there.

¹¹ Now one day, when he had gone there, he went into the little room and took his rest there.

^{12 Ref} And he said to Gehazi, his servant, Send for this Shunammite. So in answer to his voice she came before him.

^{13 Ref} And he said to him, Now say to her, See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? will you have any request made for you to the king or the captain of the army? But she said, I am living among my people.

^{14 Ref} So he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi made answer, Still there is this, she has no son and her husband is old.

¹⁵ Then he said, Send for her. And in answer to his voice she took her place at the door.

^{16 Ref} And Elisha said, At this time in the coming year you will have a son in your arms. And she said, No, my lord, O man of God, do not say what is false to your servant.

^{17 Ref} Then the woman became with child and gave birth to a son at the time named, in the year after, as Elisha had said to her.

^{18 Ref} Now one day, when the child was older, he went out to his father to where the grain was being cut.

^{19 Ref} And he said to his father, My head, my head! And the father said to a servant, Take him in to his mother.

^{20 Ref} And he took him in to his mother, and she took him on her knees and kept him there till the middle of the day, when his life went from him.

^{21 Ref} Then she went up and put him on the bed of the man of God, shutting the door on him, and went out.

^{22 Ref} And she said to her husband, Send me one of the servants and one of the asses so that I may go quickly to the man of God and come back again.

^{23 Ref} And he said, Why are you going to him today? it is not a new moon or a Sabbath. But she said, It is well.

^{24 Ref} Then she made the ass ready and said to her servant, Keep driving on; do not make a stop without orders from me.

^{25 Ref} So she went, and came to Mount Carmel, to the man of God. And when the man of God saw her coming in his direction, he said to Gehazi, his servant, See, there is the Shunammite;

^{26 Ref} Go quickly to her, and on meeting her say to her, Are you well? and your husband and the child, are they well? And she said in answer, All is well.

^{27 Ref} And when she came to where the man of God was on the hill, she put her hands round his feet; and Gehazi came near with the purpose of pushing her away; but the man of God said, Let her be, for her soul is bitter in her; and the Lord has kept it secret from me, and has not given me word of it.

^{28 Ref} Then she said, Did I make a request to my lord for a son? did I not say, Do not give me false words?

^{29 Ref} Then he said to Gehazi, Make yourself ready, and take my stick in your hand, and go: if you come across anyone on the way, give him no blessing, and if anyone gives you a blessing, give him no answer. And put my stick on the child's face.

^{30 Ref} But the mother of the child said, As the Lord is living and as your soul is living, I will not go back without you. So he got up and went with her.

^{31 Ref} And Gehazi went on before them and put the stick on the child's face; but there was no voice, and no one gave attention. So he went back, and meeting him gave him the news, saying, The child is not awake.

^{32 Ref} And when Elisha came into the house he saw the child dead, stretched on his bed.

^{33 Ref} So he went in, and shutting the door on the two of them, made prayer to the Lord.

^{34 Ref} Then he got up on the bed, stretching himself out on the child, and put his mouth on the child's mouth, his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands; and the child's body became warm.

^{35 Ref} Then he came back, and after walking once through the house and back, he went up, stretching himself out on the child seven times; and the child's eyes became open.

^{36 Ref} And he gave orders to Gehazi, and said, Send for the Shunammite. And she came in answer to his voice. And he said, Take up your son.

^{37 Ref} And she came in, and went down on her face to the earth at his feet; then she took her son in her arms and went out.

^{38 Ref} And Elisha went back to Gilgal, now there was very little food in the land; and the sons of the prophets were seated before him. And he said to his servant, Put the great pot on the fire, and make soup for the sons of the prophets.

^{39 Ref} And one went out into the field to get green plants and saw a vine of the field, and pulling off the fruit of it till the fold of his robe was full, he came back and put the fruit, cut up small, into the pot of soup, having no idea what it was.

^{40 Ref} Then they gave the men soup from the pot. And while they were drinking the soup, they gave a cry, and said, O man of God, there is death in the pot; and they were not able to take any more food.

^{41 Ref} But he said, Get some meal. And he put it into the pot, and said, Now give it to the people so that they may have food. And there was nothing bad in the pot.

^{42 Ref} Now a man came from Baal-shalishah with an offering of first-fruits for the man of God, twenty barley cakes and garden fruit in his bag. And he said, Give these to the people for food.

^{43 Ref} But his servant said, How am I to put this before a hundred men? But he said, Give it to the people for food; for the Lord says, There will be food for them and some over.

⁴⁴ So he put it before them, and they had a meal and there was more than enough, as the Lord had said.

^{1 Ref} Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets to Elisha, saying, Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant did fear Yahweh: and the creditor is come to take to him my two children to be bondservants.

^{2 Ref} Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? tell me; what have you in the house? She said, Your handmaid has nothing in the house, except a pot of oil.

^{3 Ref} Then he said, Go, borrow you vessels abroad of all your neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

^{4 Ref} You shall go in, and shut the door on you and on your sons, and pour out into all those vessels; and you shall set aside that which is full.

^{5 Ref} So she went from him, and shut the door on her and on her sons; they brought [the vessels] to her, and she poured out.

^{6 Ref} It happened, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, Bring me yet a vessel. He said to her, There isn't another vessel. The oil stayed.

^{7 Ref} Then she came and told the man of God. He said, Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt, and live you and your sons of the rest.

^{8 Ref} It fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. So it was, that as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat bread.

^{9 Ref} She said to her husband, See now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, that passes by us continually.

^{10 Ref} Let us make, Please, a little chamber on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a seat, and a lamp stand: and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he shall turn in there.

¹¹ It fell on a day, that he came there, and he turned into the chamber and lay there.

^{12 Ref} He said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. When he had called her, she stood before him.

^{13 Ref} He said to him, Say now to her, Behold, you have been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for you? would you be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? She answered, I dwell among my own people.

^{14 Ref} He said, What then is to be done for her? Gehazi answered, Most assuredly she has no son, and her husband is old.

¹⁵ He said, Call her. When he had called her, she stood in the door.

^{16 Ref} He said, At this season, when the time comes round, you shall embrace a son. She said, No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your handmaid.

^{17 Ref} The woman conceived, and bore a son at that season, when the time came round, as Elisha had said to her.

^{18 Ref} When the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.

^{19 Ref} He said to his father, My head, my head. He said to his servant, Carry him to his mother.

^{20 Ref} When he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees until noon, and then died.

^{21 Ref} She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut [the door] on him, and went out.

^{22 Ref} She called to her husband, and said, Please send me one of the servants, and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.

^{23 Ref} He said, Why will you go to him today? it is neither new moon nor Sabbath. She said, It shall be well.

^{24 Ref} Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; don't slacken me the riding, except I bid you.

^{25 Ref} So she went, and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel. It happened, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is the Shunammite:

^{26 Ref} please run now to meet her, and ask her, Is it well with you? is it well with your husband? is it well with the child? She answered, It is well.

^{27 Ref} When she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, Let her alone: for her soul is vexed within her; and Yahweh has hid it from me, and has not told me.

^{28 Ref} Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? Didn't I say, Do not deceive me?

^{29 Ref} Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go your way: if you meet any man, Don't greet him; and if anyone greets you, don't answer him again: and lay my staff on the face of the child.

^{30 Ref} The mother of the child said, As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. He arose, and followed her.

^{31 Ref} Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Therefore he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, The child has not awakened.

^{32 Ref} When Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid on his bed.

^{33 Ref} He went in therefore, and shut the door on them both, and prayed to Yahweh.

^{34 Ref} He went up, and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands: and he stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child grew warm.

^{35 Ref} Then he returned, and walked in the house once back and forth; and went up, and stretched himself on him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

^{36 Ref} He called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. When she was come in to him, he said, Take up your son.

^{37 Ref} Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground; and she took up her son, and went out.

^{38 Ref} Elisha came again to Gilgal. There was a dearth 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 stew for the sons of the prophets.

^{39 Ref} One went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered of it wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of stew; for they didn't recognize them.

^{40 Ref} So they poured out for the men to eat. It happened, as they were eating of the stew, that they cried out, and said, man of God, there is death in the pot. They could not eat of it.

^{41 Ref} But he said, Then bring meal. He cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. There was no harm in the pot.

^{42 Ref} There came a man from Baal Shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. He said, Give to the people, that they may eat.

^{43 Ref} His servant said, What, should I set this before a hundred men? But he said, Give the people, that they may eat; for thus says Yahweh, They shall eat, and shall leave of it.

⁴⁴ So he set it before them, and they ate, and left of it, according to the word of Yahweh.