International Standard Version

Christian Standard 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!"

1One of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, has died. You know that your servant feared the LORD. Now the creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves.”

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 asked her, “What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house? ” She said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of 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.

3Then he said, “Go out and borrow empty containers from all your neighbors. Do not get just a few.

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."

4Then go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour oil into all these containers. Set the full ones to one side.”

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. After she had shut the door behind her and her sons, they kept bringing her containers, and she kept pouring.

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 they were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.” But he replied, “There aren’t any more.” Then the oil stopped.

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 man of God, and he said, “Go sell the oil and pay your debt; you and your sons can live on the rest.”

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 went to Shunem. A prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to eat some food. So whenever he passed by, he stopped there to eat.

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.

9Then she said to her husband, “I know that the one who often passes by here is a holy man of God,

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."

10so let’s make a small, walled-in upper room and put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp there for him. Whenever he comes, he can stay there.”

11One day, Elisha came by to visit and stopped in to rest in the upper chamber.

11One day he came there and stopped at the upstairs room to lie down.

12He told his attendant Gehazi, "Call this Shunammite." So when he had summoned her, she stood in front of him.

12He ordered his attendant Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her and she stood before 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."

13Then he said to Gehazi, “Say to her, ‘Look, you’ve gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army? ’ ” She answered, “I am living among my own people.”

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, “Then what should be done for her? ” Gehazi answered, “Well, 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,

15“Call her,” Elisha said. So Gehazi called her, and she 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!"

16Elisha said, “At this time next year you will have a son in your arms.” Then she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, 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 conceived and gave birth to a son at the same time the following year, as Elisha had promised her.

18After the child had grown up a bit, one day he went out to visit his father, who was with the harvesters.

18The child grew and one day went out to his father and the harvesters.

19He told his father, "My head! My head!" So his father ordered his servant, "Carry him over to his mother!"

19Suddenly he complained to his father, “My head! My head! ” His father told his 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. The child 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 on the bed of the man of God, shut him in, 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 summoned her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so I can hurry to the man of God and come back again.”

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."

23But he said, “Why go to him today? It’s not a New Moon or a Sabbath.” She replied, “Everything is all right.”

24So she saddled a donkey and told her servant, "Forward, driver! Don't slow down on my account, unless I tell you!"

24Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Go fast; don’t slow the pace for me unless I tell you.”

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 came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to his attendant Gehazi, “Look, there’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."

26Run out to meet her and ask, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your son all right? ’ ” And she answered, “Everything’s all right.”

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."

27When she came up to the man of God at the mountain, she clung to his feet. Gehazi came to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone ​--​she is in severe anguish, and the LORD has hidden it from me. He hasn’t told me.”

28Then she asked, "Did I ask my lord for a son? Didn't I beg you, 'Don't mislead me?'"

28Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Didn’t I say, ‘Do not lie to 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."

29So Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tuck your mantle under your belt, take my staff with you, and go. If you meet anyone, don’t stop to greet him, and if a man greets you, don’t answer him. Then place my staff on the boy’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 boy’s mother said to Elisha, “As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.

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."

31Gehazi went ahead of them and placed the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or sign of life, so he went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy didn’t wake up.”

32When Elisha entered the house, there was the youngster, dead and laid out on Elisha's bed!

32When Elisha got to the house, he discovered the boy lying dead on his bed.

33So he entered, shut the door behind them both, and prayed to the LORD.

33So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and 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.

34Then he went up and lay on the boy: he put mouth to mouth, eye to eye, hand to hand. While he bent down over him, the boy’s flesh became 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 got up, went into the house, and paced back and forth. Then he went up and bent down over him again. The boy 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 Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” He called her and she came. Then Elisha said, “Pick up your son.”

37Then she approached him, fell at his feet, bowing low to the ground, took back her son, and went out.

37She came, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; 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."

38When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. The sons of the prophets were sitting before him. He said to his attendant, “Put on the large pot and make stew for the sons of 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.

39One went out to the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine from which he gathered as many wild gourds as his garment would hold. Then he came back and cut them up into the pot of stew, but they were unaware of what they were.

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.

40They served some for the men to eat, but when they ate the stew they cried out, “There’s death in the pot, man of God! ” And they were unable to 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.

41Then Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Serve it for the people to eat.” And there was nothing bad 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."

42A man from Baal-shalishah came to the man of God with his sack full of twenty loaves of barley bread from the first bread of the harvest. Elisha said, “Give it to the people to 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 Elisha’s attendant asked, “What? Am I to set this before a hundred men? ” “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said, “for this is what the LORD says: ‘They will eat, and they will 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, and as the LORD had promised, they ate and had some left over.

The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.