2 Kings 4

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	NEW JERUSALEM
1 A certain woman, the widow of one of the guild prophets, complained to Elisha: "My husband, your servant, is dead. You know that he was a God-fearing man, yet now his creditor has come to take my two children as his slaves."	1 The wife of a member of the prophetic brotherhood appealed to Elisha. 'Your servant my husband isdead,' she said, 'and you know how your servant revered Yahweh. A creditor has now come to take my twochildren and make them his slaves.'
2 "How can I help you?" Elisha answered her. "Tell me what you have in the house." "This servant of yours has nothing in the house but a jug of oil," she replied.	2 Elisha said, 'What can I do for you? Tel me, what have you got in the house?' 'Your servant has nothingin the house,' she replied, 'except a flask of oil.'
3 "Go out," he said, "borrow vessels from all your neighbors--as many empty vessels as you can.	3 Then he said, 'Go outside and borrow jars from al your neighbours, empty jars and not too few.
4 Then come back and close the door on yourself and your children; pour the oil into all the vessels, and as each is filled, set it aside."	4 When you come back, shut the door on yourself and your sons, and pour the oil into all these jars,putting each aside when it is ful .'
5 She went and did so, closing the door on herself and her children. As they handed her the vessels, she would pour in oil.	5 So she left him; and she shut the door on herself and her sons; they passed her the jars and she wenton pouring.
6 When all the vessels were filled, she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel." "There is none left," he answered her. And then the oil stopped.	6 When the jars were full, she said to her son, 'Pass me another jar.' 'There are no more,' he replied. Thenthe oil stopped flowing.
7 She went and told the man of God, who said, "Go and sell the oil to pay off your creditor; with what remains, you and your children can live."	7 She went and told the man of God, who said, 'Go and sel the oil and redeem your pledge; you and yourchildren can live on the remainder.'
8 One day Elisha came to Shunem, where there was a woman of influence, who urged him to dine with her. Afterward, whenever he passed by, he used to stop there to dine.	8 One day as Elisha was on his way to Shunem, a woman of rank who lived there pressed him to stay andeat there. After this he always broke his journey for a meal when he passed that way.
9 So she said to her husband, "I know that he is a holy man of God. Since he visits us often,	9 She said to her husband, 'Look, I am sure the man who is constantly passing our way must be a holyman of God.
10 let us arrange a little room on the roof and furnish it for him with a bed, table, chair, and lamp, so that when he comes to us he can stay there."	10 Let us build him a smal wal ed room, and put him a bed in it, and a table and chair and lamp;whenever he comes to us he can rest there.'
11 Sometime later Elisha arrived and stayed in the room overnight.	11 One day when he came, he retired to the upper room and lay down.
12 Then he said to his servant Gehazi, "Call this Shunammite woman." He did so, and when she stood before Elisha,	12 He said to his servant Gehazi, 'Cal our Shunammite.' He cal ed her and when she appeared, Elishasaid,
13 he told Gehazi, "Say to her, 'You have lavished all this care on us; what can we do for you? Can we say a good word for you to the king or to the commander of the army?'" She replied, "I am living among my own people."	13 'Tell her this: "Look, you have gone to al this trouble for us, what can we do for you? Is there anythingyou would like said for you to the king or to the commander of the army?" ' But she replied, 'I live with my ownpeople about me.'
14 Later Elisha asked, "Can something be done for her?" "Yes!" Gehazi answered. "She has no son, and her husband is getting on in years."	14 'What can I do for you then?' he asked. Gehazi replied, 'Wel , she has no son and her husband is old.'
15 "Call her," said Elisha. When she had been called, and stood at the door,	15 Elisha said, 'Call her.' The servant cal ed her and she stood at the door.
16 Elisha promised, "This time next year you will be fondling a baby son." "Please, my lord," she protested, "you are a man of God; do not deceive your servant."	16 'This time next year', he said, 'you wil hold a son in your arms.' But she said, 'No, my lord, do not deceive your servant.'
17 Yet the woman conceived, and by the same time the following year she had given birth to a son, as Elisha had promised.	17 But the woman did conceive, and she gave birth to a son at the time that Elisha had said she would.
18 The day came when the child was old enough to go out to his father among the reapers.	18 The child grew up; one day he went to his father who was with the reapers,
19 "My head hurts!" he complained to his father. "Carry him to his mother," the father said to a servant.	19 and exclaimed to his father, 'Oh, my head! My head!' The father told a servant to carry him to hismother.
20 The servant picked him up and carried him to his mother; he stayed with her until noon, when he died in her lap.	20 He lifted him up and took him to his mother, and the boy lay on her lap until midday, when he died.
21 The mother took him upstairs and laid him on the bed of the man of God. Closing the door on him, she went out	21 She went upstairs, laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door on him and went out.
22 and called to her husband, "Let me have a servant and a donkey. I must go quickly to the man of God, and I will be back."	22 She cal ed her husband and said, 'Send me one of the servants with a donkey. I must hurry to the manof God and back.'
23 "Why are you going to him today?" he asked. "It is neither the new moon nor the sabbath." But she bade him good-bye,	23 'Why go to him today?' he asked. 'It is not New Moon or Sabbath.' But she replied, 'Never mind.'
24 and when the donkey was saddled, said to her servant: "Lead on! Do not stop my donkey unless I tell you to."	24 She had the donkey saddled and said to her servant, 'Lead on, go! Do not draw rein until I give theorder.'
25 She kept going till she reached the man of God on Mount Carmel. When he spied her at a distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi: "There is the Shunammite!	25 She set off and made her way to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her inthe distance, he said to his servant Gehazi, 'Look, here comes our Shunammite!
26 Hurry to meet her, and ask if all is well with her, with her husband, and with the boy." "Greetings," she replied.	26 Now run and meet her and ask her, "Are you wel ? Is your husband well? Your child well?" ' 'Yes,' shereplied.
27 But when she reached the man of God on the mountain, she clasped his feet. Gehazi came near to push her away, but the man of God said: "Let her alone, she is in bitter anguish; the LORD hid it from me and did not let me know."	27 When she came to the man of God there on the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi steppedforward to push her away, but the man of God said, 'Leave her; there is bitterness in her soul and Yahweh hashidden it from me, he has not told me.'
28 "Did I ask my lord for a son?" she cried out. "Did I not beg you not to deceive me?"	28 She said, 'Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say: Don't deceive me?'
29 "Gird your loins," Elisha said to Gehazi, "take my staff with you and be off; if you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff upon the boy."	29 Elisha said to Gehazi, 'Hitch up your clothes, take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, donot greet him; if anyone greets you, do not answer him. You are to stretch out my staff over the child.'
30 But the boy's mother cried out: "As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not release you." So he started to go back with her.	30 But the child's mother said, 'As Yahweh lives and as you yourself live, I wil not leave you.' Then hestood up and followed her.
31 Meanwhile, Gehazi had gone on ahead and had laid the staff upon the boy, but there was no sound or sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and informed him that the boy had not awakened.	31 Gehazi had gone ahead of them and had stretched out the staff over the child, but there was no soundor response. He went back to meet Elisha and told him. 'The child has not woken up,' he said.
32 When Elisha reached the house, he found the boy lying dead.	32 Elisha then went to the house, and there on his bed lay the child, dead.
33 He went in, closed the door on them both, and prayed to the LORD.	33 He went in and shut the door on the two of them and prayed to Yahweh.
34 Then he lay upon the child on the bed, placing his mouth upon the child's mouth, his eyes upon the eyes, and his hands upon the hands. As Elisha stretched himself over the child, the body became warm.	34 Then he climbed on to the bed and stretched himself on top of the child, putting his mouth on hismouth, his eyes to his eyes, and his hands on his hands, and as he lowered himself on to him, the child's fleshgrew warm.
35 He arose, paced up and down the room, and then once more lay down upon the boy, who now sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.	35 Then he got up and walked to and fro inside the house, and then climbed on to the bed again andlowered himself on to the child seven times in al ; then the child sneezed and opened his eyes.
36 Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, "Call the Shunammite." She came at his call, and Elisha said to her, "Take your son."	36 He then summoned Gehazi. 'Cal our Shunammite,' he said. He cal ed her. When she came to him, hesaid, 'Pick up your son.'
37 She came in and fell at his feet in gratitude; then she took her son and left the room.	37 She went in and, fal ing at his feet, prostrated herself on the floor and then picked up her son and wentout.
38 When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. Once, when the guild prophets were seated before him, he said to his servant, "Put the large pot on, and make some vegetable stew for the guild prophets."	38 Elisha went back to Gilgal while there was famine in the country. As the brotherhood of prophets weresitting with him, he said to his servant, 'Put the large pot on the fire and cook some soup for the brotherhood.'
39 Someone went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine, from which he picked a clothful of wild gourds. On his return he cut them up into the pot of vegetable stew without anybody's knowing it.	39 One of them went into the fields to gather herbs and came on some wild vine, off which he gatheredenough gourds to fil his lap. On his return, he cut them up into the pot of soup; they did not know what theywere.
40 The stew was poured out for the men to eat, but when they began to eat it, they exclaimed, "Man of God, there is poison in the pot!" And they could not eat it.	40 They then poured the soup out for the men to eat, but they had no sooner tasted the soup than theycried, 'Man of God, there is death in the pot!' And they could not eat it.
41 "Bring some meal," Elisha said. He threw it into the pot and said, "Serve it to the people to eat." And there was no longer anything harmful in the pot.	41 'Bring some meal then,' Elisha said. This he threw into the pot, and said, 'Pour out, for the company toeat!' And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
42 A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing the man of God twenty barley loaves made from the first fruits, and fresh grain in the ear. "Give it to the people to eat," Elisha said.	42 A man came from Baal-Shalishah, bringing the man of God bread from the first-fruits, twenty barleyloaves and fresh grain stil in the husk. 'Give it to the company to eat,' Elisha said.
43 But his servant objected, "How can I set this before a hundred men?" "Give it to the people to eat," Elisha insisted. "For thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and there shall be some left over.'"	43 But his servant replied, 'How can I serve this to a hundred men?' 'Give it to the company to eat,' heinsisted, 'for Yahweh says this, "They wil eat and have some left over." '
44 And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the LORD had said.	44 He served them; they ate and had some left over, as Yahweh had said.