| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1Now there happened to be a certain woman who had been the wife of a member of the Guild of Prophets. She cried out to Elisha, "My husband who served you has died, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. But a creditor has come to take away my children into indentured servitude!" | 1Now a wife of one of the prophets appealed to Elisha for help, saying, "Your servant, my husband is dead. You know that your servant was a loyal follower of the LORD. Now the creditor is coming to take away my two boys to be his servants." |
| 2Elisha responded, "What shall I do for you? Tell me what you have in your house." She replied, "Your servant has nothing in the entire house except for a flask of oil." | 2Elisha said to her, "What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" She answered, "Your servant has nothing in the house except a small jar of olive oil." |
| 3He told her, "Go out to all of your neighbors in the surrounding streets and borrow lots of pots from them. Don't get just a few empty vessels, either. | 3He said, "Go and ask all your neighbors for empty containers. Get as many as you can. |
| 4Then go in and shut the door behind you, taking only your children, and pour oil into all of the pots. As each one is filled, set it aside." | 4Go and close the door behind you and your sons. Pour the olive oil into all the containers; set aside each one when you have filled it." |
| 5So she left Elisha, shut the door behind her and her children, and while they kept on bringing vessels to her, she kept on pouring oil. | 5So she left him and closed the door behind her and her sons. As they were bringing the containers to her, she was pouring the olive oil. |
| 6When the last of the vessels had been filled, she told her son, "Bring me another pot!" But he replied, "There isn't even one pot left." Then the oil stopped flowing. | 6When the containers were full, she said to one of her sons, "Bring me another container." But he answered her, "There are no more." Then the olive oil stopped flowing. |
| 7After this, she went and told the man of God what had happened. So he said, "Go sell the oil, pay your debt, and you and your children will be able to live on the proceeds." | 7She went and told the prophet. He said, "Go, sell the olive oil. Repay your creditor, and then you and your sons can live off the rest of the profit." |
| 8Some time later, Elisha went to Shunem, where he met a prominent and wealthy woman who persuaded him to have a meal with her. As a result, whenever he was in the area, he stopped by to eat with her. | 8One day Elisha traveled to Shunem, where a prominent woman lived. She insisted that he stop for a meal. So whenever he was passing through, he would stop in there for a meal. |
| 9So she had a talk with her husband. "Look here! I've learned that this is a holy and godly man who comes by here on a regular basis. | 9She said to her husband, "Look, I'm sure that the man who regularly passes through here is a very special prophet. |
| 10Now then, let's build a small upper room and put a bed in it for him there, along with a table, a chair, and a lamp stand. That way, when he comes to visit, he can rest there." | 10Let's make a small private upper room and furnish it with a bed, table, chair, and lamp. When he visits us, he can stay there." |
| 11One day, Elisha came by to visit and stopped in to rest in the upper chamber. | 11One day Elisha came for a visit; he went into the upper room and rested. |
| 12He told his attendant Gehazi, "Call this Shunammite." So when he had summoned her, she stood in front of him. | 12He told his servant Gehazi, "Ask the Shunammite woman to come here." So he did so and she came to him. |
| 13Elisha told him, "Ask her, 'Look how you've gone to all this trouble to care for us! What can I do for you? Do you wish to be mentioned to the king or to the head of the army?'" She replied, "I'm at home living among my own people." | 13Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tell her, 'Look, you have treated us with such great respect. What can I do for you? Can I put in a good word for you with the king or the commander of the army?'" She replied, "I'm quite secure." |
| 14He responded, "What, then, is to be done on her behalf?" Gehazi answered, "Well, she has no son and her husband is growing old." | 14So he asked Gehazi, "What can I do for her?" Gehazi replied, "She has no son, and her husband is old." |
| 15"Call her," Elisha ordered. After he called her, she came and stood in the doorway, | 15Elisha told him, "Ask her to come here." So he did so and she came and stood in the doorway. |
| 16and he told her, "About this time next year you will be embracing a son." "No, sir! Please, as a godly man, don't mislead your servant!" | 16He said, "About this time next year you will be holding a son." She said, "No, my master! O prophet, do not lie to your servant!" |
| 17But the woman did conceive and did bear a son at that very same time the next year, just as Elisha had told her. | 17The woman did conceive, and at the specified time the next year she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her. |
| 18After the child had grown up a bit, one day he went out to visit his father, who was with the harvesters. | 18The boy grew and one day he went out to see his father who was with the harvest workers. |
| 19He told his father, "My head! My head!" So his father ordered his servant, "Carry him over to his mother!" | 19He said to his father, "My head! My head!" His father told a servant, "Carry him to his mother." |
| 20So the servant carried him over to his mother, where he rested on her lap until mid-day, and then he died. | 20So he picked him up and took him to his mother. He sat on her lap until noon and then died. |
| 21The woman went upstairs, laid him on the bed belonging to the man of God, and shut the door, leaving him behind as she left. | 21She went up and laid him down on the prophet's bed. She shut the door behind her and left. |
| 22Then she called to her husband and asked him, "Please send me one of the servants, along with one of the donkeys, so I can ride quickly to see that godly man. I'll be right back." | 22She called to her husband, "Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so I can go see the prophet quickly and then return." |
| 23He asked her, "What's the point of visiting him today? It's not a New Moon, and it isn't the Sabbath!" But she kept saying, "Things will go well." | 23He said, "Why do you want to go see him today? It is not the new moon or the Sabbath." She said, "Everything's fine." |
| 24So she saddled a donkey and told her servant, "Forward, driver! Don't slow down on my account, unless I tell you!" | 24She saddled the donkey and told her servant, "Lead on. Do not stop unless I say so." |
| 25So out she went and eventually she arrived at Mount Carmel to visit the man of God. When the man of God noticed her from a distance, he told his attendant Gehazi, "Look! There's the woman from Shunem! | 25So she went to visit the prophet at Mount Carmel. When he saw her at a distance, he said to his servant Gehazi, "Look, it's the Shunammite woman. |
| 26Please run out quickly and greet her. Ask her, 'Are things going well with you? Are things going well with your husband? Are things going well with your child?'" She answered Gehazi, "Things are going well." | 26Now, run to meet her and ask her, 'Are you well? Are your husband and the boy well?'" She told Gehazi, "Everything's fine." |
| 27As she came near the man of God on the mountain, she grabbed his feet. When Gehazi intervened to push her away, the man of God said, "Leave her alone! She is deeply troubled! The LORD has concealed the thing from me, and hasn't informed me." | 27But when she reached the prophet on the mountain, she grabbed hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to push her away, but the prophet said, "Leave her alone, for she is very upset. The LORD has kept the matter hidden from me; he didn't tell me about it." |
| 28Then she asked, "Did I ask my lord for a son? Didn't I beg you, 'Don't mislead me?'" | 28She said, "Did I ask my master for a son? Didn't I say, 'Don't mislead me?'" |
| 29At this he told Gehazi, "Get ready to run! Take my staff in your hand, and get on the road. Don't greet anyone you meet. If anyone greets you, don't respond. Just go lay my staff on the youngster's face." | 29Elisha told Gehazi, "Tuck your robes into your belt, take my staff, and go! Don't stop to exchange greetings with anyone! Place my staff on the child's face." |
| 30At this, the youngster's mother replied, "As long as you and the LORD live, I'm not leaving you!" So he got up and followed her. | 30The mother of the child said, "As certainly as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So Elisha got up and followed her back. |
| 31Meanwhile, Gehazi went on ahead of them and placed the staff on the youngster's face, but when there was no sound or reaction, he returned, met Elisha, and told him, "The youngster has shown no sign of awakening." | 31Now Gehazi went on ahead of them. He placed the staff on the child's face, but there was no sound or response. When he came back to Elisha he told him, "The child did not wake up." |
| 32When Elisha entered the house, there was the youngster, dead and laid out on Elisha's bed! | 32When Elisha arrived at the house, there was the child lying dead on his bed. |
| 33So he entered, shut the door behind them both, and prayed to the LORD. | 33He went in by himself and closed the door. Then he prayed to the LORD. |
| 34Then he approached the child and lay down with his mouth near the child's, with his eyes near those of the child, and taking the child's hands in his. As Elisha stretched himself on the child, the child's flesh began to grow warm. | 34He got up on the bed and spread his body out over the boy; he put his mouth on the boy's mouth, his eyes over the boy's eyes, and the palms of his hands against the boy's palms. He bent down over him, and the boy's skin grew warm. |
| 35Then he went downstairs, walked around back and forth inside the house once, went back up to his upper chamber, and stretched himself over the child again. The young man sneezed seven times and then opened his eyes. | 35Elisha went back and walked around in the house. Then he got up on the bed again and bent down over him. The child sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. |
| 36He called out to Gehazi, "Go get the Shunammite woman!" So he called her. When she came in to see Elisha, he told her, "Take back your son!" | 36Elisha called to Gehazi and said, "Get the Shunammite woman." So he did so and she came to him. He said to her, "Take your son." |
| 37Then she approached him, fell at his feet, bowing low to the ground, took back her son, and went out. | 37She came in, fell at his feet, and bowed down. Then she picked up her son and left. |
| 38Elisha returned to Gilgal during a time of famine in the land. While the Guild of Prophets were having a meal with him, he instructed his attendant, "Put a large pot on the fire and boil some stew for the Guild of Prophets." | 38Now Elisha went back to Gilgal, while there was famine in the land. Some of the prophets were visiting him and he told his servant, "Put the big pot on the fire and boil some stew for the prophets." |
| 39Somebody went out into the fields to grab some herbs, found a wild vine, and gathered a lap full of wild gourds, which he came and sliced up into the stew pot, but nobody else knew. | 39Someone went out to the field to gather some herbs and found a wild vine. He picked some of its fruit, enough to fill up the fold of his robe. He came back, cut it up, and threw the slices into the stew pot, not knowing they were harmful. |
| 40When they served the men, they began to eat the stew. But they cried out, "That pot of stew is deadly, you man of God!" So they couldn't eat the stew. | 40The stew was poured out for the men to eat. When they ate some of the stew, they cried out, "Death is in the pot, O prophet!" They could not eat it. |
| 41But he replied, "Bring me some flour." He tossed it into the pot and said, "Serve the people so they can eat." Then there was nothing harmful in the pot. | 41He said, "Get some flour." Then he threw it into the pot and said, "Now pour some out for the men so they may eat." There was no longer anything harmful in the pot. |
| 42Later on, a man arrived from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God some bread as a first fruit offering. He had 20 loaves of barley and ripe ears of corn in his sack. So Elisha said, "Give them to the people so they can eat." | 42Now a man from Baal Shalisha brought some food for the prophet--twenty loaves of bread made from the firstfruits of the barley harvest, as well as fresh ears of grain. Elisha said, "Set it before the people so they may eat." |
| 43Elisha's attendant asked, "What? Will this serve 100 men?" But he replied, "Distribute it to the people so they can eat, because this is what the LORD says: 'They will eat and have a surplus!'" | 43But his attendant said, "How can I feed a hundred men with this?" He replied, "Set it before the people so they may eat, for this is what the LORD says, 'They will eat and have some left over.'" |
| 44So he served them, and they ate and had some left over, just as the LORD had indicated. | 44So he set it before them; they ate and had some left over, just as the LORD predicted. |
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