Elisha Helps a Widow and Her Sons

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 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 said, “Go and ask all your neighbors for empty containers. Get as many as you can. 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 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 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. 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.”

Elisha Gives Life to a Boy

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. 9She said to her husband, “Look, I’m sure that the man who regularly passes through here is a very special prophet. 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 for a visit; he went into the upper room and rested. 12He told his servant Gehazi, “Ask the Shunammite woman to come here.” So he did so and she came to him. 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.” 14So he asked Gehazi, “What can I do for her?” Gehazi replied, “She has no son, and her husband is old.” 15Elisha told him, “Ask her to come here.” So he did so and she came and stood in the doorway. 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!” 17The woman did conceive, and at the specified time the next year she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.

18The boy grew and one day he went out to see his father who was with the harvest workers. 19He said to his father, “My head! My head!” His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20So he picked him up and took him to his mother. He sat on her lap until noon and then died. 21She went up and laid him down on the prophet’s bed. She shut the door behind her and left. 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 said, “Why do you want to go see him today? It is not the new moon or the Sabbath.” She said, “Everything’s fine.” 24She saddled the donkey and told her servant, “Lead on. Do not stop unless I say so.”

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. 26Now, run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you well? Are your husband and the boy well?’” She told Gehazi, “Everything’s fine.” 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.” 28She said, “Did I ask my master for a son? Didn’t I say, ‘Don’t mislead me?’” 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.” 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.

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 arrived at the house, there was the child lying dead on his bed. 33He went in by himself and closed the door. Then he prayed to the Lord. 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. 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. 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.” 37She came in, fell at his feet, and bowed down. Then she picked up her son and left.

Elisha Makes a Meal Edible

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.” 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. 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. 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.

Elisha Miraculously Feeds a Hundred People

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.” 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 set it before them; they ate and had some left over, just as the Lord predicted.