1Now a wife of one of the prophets cried to Elisha, “My husband who served you is dead; and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two sons as his slaves.” 2And Elisha said to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “I have nothing in the house at all, except a pot of oil.” 3Then he said, “Go around and borrow empty jars from all your neighbors; as many as you can get. 4And when you return home, shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour from your pot of oil into all those jars, and set aside those that are full.” 5So she left him, and shut the door behind her and her sons, who had brought the borrowed jars to her; and she started pouring. 6And when all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another jar.” And he said, “There are no more jars left.” And the oil stopped flowing. 7Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil, pay your debt, and you and your children can live on the rest.”

8And one day, Elisha went to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived; and she urged him to stay for a meal. And so, whenever he passed by that way, he turned in there to eat. 9And she told her husband, “Look, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. 10Let us make a little room and set up a bed, table, stool, and lampstand in it for him. And then when he comes by, he can stay in there.” 11And then one day, when he passed by, he turned into that room to lie down. 12And he told Gehazi, his servant, “Call the Shunammite woman.” And when he had called her, she stood before him. 13And he told Gehazi, “Tell her, ‘Look, you have shown us all this kind care; what can be done for you? Would you be spoken for to the king, or to the commander of the army?’” And she answered, “I have a home among my own people.” 14And Elisha said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi answered, “She has no child, and her husband is old.” 15And he said, “Call her.” And then she came and stood in the doorway. 16And he said, “About this time next year, you shall hold and embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to me.” 17But the woman did conceive, and bore a son according to the set time that Elisha had told her.

18And when the child was older, one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. 19And he cried to his father, “My head, my head!” And his father told a lad, “Take him to his mother.” 20And when the lad brought him to his mother, she held him on her lap until noon; then he died. 21And she went up, laid him on the bed of Elisha, went out and shut the door. 22Then she called, and said to her husband, “Send me one of the young men, and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God, and then return.” 23And he said, “Why would you go to him today? It is not a new moon, nor Sabbath.” And she said, “That’s all right.” 24Then she saddled the donkey, and told her servant, “Hurry! Do not slow down for me, unless I ask you to.”

25So she went to Mount Carmel to the man of God. And when the man of God saw her coming from afar, he said to Gehazi, his servant, “Look, yonder is that Shunammite. 26Run to meet her, and ask, ‘Is all well with you, with your husband, and with the child?’” And she answered Gehazi, “It is well.” 27But when she reached the man of God at the mountain, she grabbed his feet. And Gehazi came over to push her away; but Elisha said, “Let her alone; for her soul is in bitter distress; and the LORD has not told me why.” 28Then she said, “Did I ask you for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not raise my hopes?’” 29Then Elisha told Gehazi, “Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand, and run. If you meet anyone, do not stop to greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him; and lay my staff upon the face of the child.” 30And the mother of the child said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not go home unless you go with me.” And so, Elisha rose, and followed her.

31And Gehazi ran on ahead of them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi came back to meet Elisha, and said, “The child has not awakened.” 32And when Elisha reached the house, the child was lying upon his bed, dead. 33Elisha went in and shut the door on the two of them, and prayed to the LORD. 34And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon the child’s mouth, and his eyes upon the child’s eyes, and his hands upon the child’s hands; and he stretched himself upon the child: and the flesh of the child became warm. 35Then Elisha left his room, paced back and forth in the house, and then went back up, and stretched himself upon the child again; and the child sneezed seven times, and opened his eyes. 36And then Elisha called Gehazi, and said, “Call the Shunammite.” So Gehazi went and called her. And when she came, he said, “Here, take your son.” 37Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took her son, and went out.

38And Elisha returned to Gilgal. And there was a famine in the land; and a group of the prophets was seated before him. And he said to his servant, “Set a large pot on, and boil pottage for these prophets.” 39And one of them went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild and unfamiliar vine, and he gathered a lap full of wild gourds from it, came and shredded them into the pot; but they did not know what those gourds were. 40So they served the stew to the men to eat. And, as they began eating, they cried out, “Oh man of God, there is poison in the pot.” And they could not eat it. 41But Elisha said, “Bring me some meal (flour).” And he threw it into the pot; and said, “Serve it to them, and let them eat.” And now there was no harm in the pot.

42And a man came from Baal-shalisha, bringing to Elisha twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first fruits, and full ears of grain in its husk. And Elisha said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” 43And his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” Elisha repeated, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat, and shall have some left over.’” 44So he set it before them, and they ate, and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.