Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.” New Living Translation “What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” “Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied. English Standard Version And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” Berean Standard Bible “How can I help you?” asked Elisha. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” King James Bible And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. New King James Version So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” New American Standard Bible So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” NASB 1995 Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” NASB 1977 And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” Legacy Standard Bible And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your servant-woman has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” Amplified Bible Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have [of value] in the house?” She said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a [small] jar of [olive] oil.” Christian Standard Bible Elisha 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.” Holman Christian Standard Bible Elisha 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.” American Standard Version And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me; what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thy handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil. Contemporary English Version "Maybe there's something I can do to help," Elisha said. "What do you have in your house?" "Sir, I have nothing but a small bottle of olive oil." English Revised Version And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me; what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. GOD'S WORD® Translation Elisha asked her, "What should I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?" She answered, "I have nothing in the house except a jar of olive oil." Good News Translation "What shall I do for you?" he asked. "Tell me, what do you have at home?" "Nothing at all, except a small jar of olive oil," she answered. International Standard Version Elisha 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." Majority Standard Bible ?How can I help you?? asked Elisha. ?Tell me, what do you have in the house?? She answered, ?Your servant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.? NET Bible Elisha 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." New Heart English Bible Elisha said to her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me: what do you have in the house?" She said, "Your handmaid has nothing in the house, except a pot of oil." Webster's Bible Translation And Elisha said to her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thy handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. World English Bible Elisha said to her, “What should I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She said, “Your servant has nothing in the house, except a pot of oil.” Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionAnd Elisha says to her, “What do I do for you? Declare to me, what do you have in the house?” And she says, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a pot of oil.” Young's Literal Translation And Elisha saith unto her, 'What do I do for thee? declare to me, what hast thou in the house?' and she saith, 'Thy maid-servant hath nothing in the house except a pot of oil.' Smith's Literal Translation And Elisha will say to her, What shall I do for thee? announce to me what is to thee in the house. And she will say, Not anything to thy servant in the house but a flask of oil. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleAnd Eliseus said to her: What wilt thou have me to do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in thy house? And she answered: I thy handmaid have nothing in my house but a little oil, to anoint me. Catholic Public Domain Version And Elisha said to her: “What do you want me to do for you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” And she responded, “I, your handmaid, do not have anything in my house, except a little oil, with which I may be anointed.” New American Bible Elisha answered her, “What am I to do for you? Tell me what you have in the house.” She replied, “This servant of yours has nothing in the house but a jug of oil.” New Revised Standard Version Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house, except a jar of oil.” Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleAnd Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? Tell me, what have you in the house? And she said, Your handmaid has nothing in the house except a pot of oil. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated And Elisha said to her: “What shall I do for you? Show me what is with you in the house.” And she said, “Your Maidservant has nothing in the house except an oil flask of oil.” OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917And Elisha said unto her: 'What shall I do for thee? tell me; what hast thou in the house?' And she said: 'Thy handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.' Brenton Septuagint Translation And Elisaie said, What shall I do for thee? tell me what thou hast in the house. And she said, Thy servant has nothing in the house, except oil wherewith I anoint myself. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context The Widow's Oil1Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!” 2“How can I help you?” asked Elisha. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” 3“Go,” said Elisha, “borrow jars, even empty ones, from all your neighbors. Do not gather just a few.… Cross References 1 Kings 17:12-16 But she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.” / “Do not be afraid,” Elijah said to her. “Go and do as you have said. But first make me a small cake of bread from what you have, and bring it out to me. Afterward, make some for yourself and your son, / for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be exhausted and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain upon the face of the earth.’” ... John 6:9-13 “Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what difference will these make among so many?” / “Have the people sit down,” Jesus said. Now there was plenty of grass in that place, so the men sat down, about five thousand of them. / Then Jesus took the loaves and the fish, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. ... Matthew 14:17-21 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. / “Bring them here to Me,” Jesus said. / And He directed the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He spoke a blessing. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ... Mark 6:38-44 “Go and see how many loaves you have,” He told them. And after checking, they said, “Five—and two fish.” / Then Jesus directed them to have the people sit in groups on the green grass. / So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. ... Luke 9:13-17 But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.” / (There were about five thousand men.) He told His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” / They did so, and everyone was seated. ... Exodus 4:2-4 And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. / “Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it. / “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 1 Samuel 9:7-8 “If we do go,” Saul replied, “what can we give the man? For the bread in our packs is gone, and there is no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?” / The servant answered him again. “Look,” he said, “I have here in my hand a quarter shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way.” John 2:3-9 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.” / “Woman, what is that to you and to Me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” / His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” ... Matthew 15:34-38 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.” / And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground. / Taking the seven loaves and the fish, He gave thanks and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ... Mark 8:5-9 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied. / And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then He took the seven loaves, gave thanks and broke them, and gave them to His disciples to set before the people. And they distributed them to the crowd. / They also had a few small fish, and Jesus blessed them and ordered that these be set before them as well. ... Luke 8:3 Joanna the wife of Herod’s household manager Chuza, Susanna, and many others. These women were ministering to them out of their own means. Acts 3:6 But Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” 2 Corinthians 8:12 For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. 2 Corinthians 9:8-11 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. / As it is written: “He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” / Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness. ... Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Treasury of Scripture And Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? tell me, what have you in the house? And she said, Your handmaid has not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. What shall I 2 Kings 2:9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 2 Kings 6:26,27 And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king… Matthew 15:34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. save a pot of oil 1 Kings 17:12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. James 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? Jump to Previous Declare Elisha Eli'sha Except Handmaid Help House Jar Little Maidservant Maid-Servant Oil Pot Save ServantJump to Next Declare Elisha Eli'sha Except Handmaid Help House Jar Little Maidservant Maid-Servant Oil Pot Save Servant2 Kings 4 1. Elisha multiplies the widow's oil8. He obtains a son for the good Shunammite 18. He restores her son when dead 38. At Gilgal he heals the deadly pottage 42. He satisfies a hundred men with twenty loaves How can I help you? This phrase reflects Elisha's readiness to serve and assist those in need, embodying the role of a prophet as a servant of God. The Hebrew root for "help" (עָשָׂה, asah) implies action and creation, suggesting that Elisha is prepared to act on behalf of the widow. This mirrors the Christian call to service, where believers are encouraged to be the hands and feet of Christ, ready to respond to the needs of others with compassion and practical assistance. asked Elisha Tell me, what do you have in the house? Your servant has nothing there at all she said, 'except a small jar of olive oil.' A pot of oil.--Usually explained, vas unguentarium, an "oil-flask." Keil says that '?s-k rather denotes "anointing," unctio, and '?s-k shemen, "an anointing in (or with) oil," i.e., oil enough for an anointing. But it seems better to take the word as a verb: "save (whereby) I may anoint myself with oil" (Micah 6:15). Vulgate, "parum olei, quo ungar." The Jews, like the Greeks and Romans, anointed themselves after the bath (2Samuel 12:20). . . . Verse 2. - And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? Elisha acknowledges at once the call upon him to do something for the woman. This is, no doubt, in part, because she is a widow. Widows were, in the Law, especially commended to the attention and care of the faithful. As Bahr says, "It is a well-known feature of the Mosaic Law, one which is distinctly prominent, that it often and urgently commands to succor the widows and the fatherless, and to care for them (Exodus 22:22-24; Deuteronomy 14:29; Deuteronomy 24:17, 19; Deuteronomy 26:12; Deuteronomy 27:19). They are mentioned as representatives of the forsaken, the oppressed, and the necessitous as a class (Isaiah 10:2; Jeremiah 6:6; Jeremiah 22:3; Zechariah 7:10; Matthew 3:5; Baruch 6:37). It is especially emphasized and praised in Jehovah, that he is the Father and Judge (i.e. Protector of the rights) of the widows and the fatherless (Deuteronomy 10:18; Psalm 68:5; Psalm 146:9; Isaiah 9:17, etc.). Neglect and contempt of them are counted among the heaviest offences (Psalm 94:6; Job 22:9; Ezekiel 22:7); just as, on the other hand, compassion and care for them is a sign of the true fear of God, and of true piety. (Job 29:12; Job 31:16; Tobit 1:7; James 1:27). Elisha could also gather from the tone of the woman's address that she, like her late husband, was God-fearing. Tell me, what hast thou in the house? Hast thou anything, that is, which thou canst soil, and so pay the debt? And she said, Thins handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil; literally, save an anointing of oil; i.e. so much oil as will suffice for one anointing of my person.Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew “Howמָ֣ה (māh) Interrogative Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what can I אֶֽעֱשֶׂה־ (’e·‘ĕ·śeh-) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular Strong's 6213: To do, make help you?” לָּ֔ךְ (lāḵ) Preposition | second person feminine singular Strong's Hebrew asked וַיֹּ֨אמֶר (way·yō·mer) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 559: To utter, say Elisha. אֱלִישָׁע֙ (’ĕ·lî·šā‘) Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's 477: Elisha -- 'God is salvation', a well-known Israelite prophet “Tell me, הַגִּ֣ידִי (hag·gî·ḏî) Verb - Hifil - Imperative - feminine singular Strong's 5046: To be conspicuous what מַה־ (mah-) Interrogative Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what do you have יֶּשׁ־ (yeš-) Adverb Strong's 3426: Being, substance, existence, is in the house?” בַּבָּ֑יִת (bab·bā·yiṯ) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 1004: A house She answered, וַתֹּ֗אמֶר (wat·tō·mer) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular Strong's 559: To utter, say “Your servant לְשִׁפְחָתְךָ֥ (lə·šip̄·ḥā·ṯə·ḵā) Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular Strong's 8198: Maid, maidservant has nothing אֵ֣ין (’ên) Adverb Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle in the house בַּבַּ֔יִת (bab·ba·yiṯ) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 1004: A house but אִם־ (’im-) Conjunction Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not a jar אָס֥וּךְ (’ā·sūḵ) Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 610: Anointed, an oil-flask of oil.” שָֽׁמֶן׃ (šā·men) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 8081: Grease, liquid, richness Links 2 Kings 4:2 NIV2 Kings 4:2 NLT 2 Kings 4:2 ESV 2 Kings 4:2 NASB 2 Kings 4:2 KJV 2 Kings 4:2 BibleApps.com 2 Kings 4:2 Biblia Paralela 2 Kings 4:2 Chinese Bible 2 Kings 4:2 French Bible 2 Kings 4:2 Catholic Bible OT History: 2 Kings 4:2 Elisha said to her What shall (2Ki iiKi ii ki 2 kg 2kg) |