1And a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets has cried to Elisha, saying, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you have known that your servant was fearing YHWH, and the lender has come to take my two children to himself for servants.”
2And 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.”
3And he says, “Go, ask [for] vessels for yourself from outside, from all your neighbors—empty vessels—let [them] not be few;
4and you have entered, and have shut the door on you, and on your sons, and have poured it into all these vessels, and the full ones you remove.”
5And she goes from him, and shuts the door on her, and on her sons; they are bringing [them] near to her, and she is pouring [it] out,
6and it comes to pass, at the filling of the vessels, that she says to her son, “Bring another vessel near to me,” and he says to her, “There is not another vessel”; and the oil stays.
7And she comes and declares [it] to the man of God, and he says, “Go, sell the oil, and repay your loan; and you [and] your sons live off the rest.” 8And the day comes that Elisha passes over to Shunem, and there [is] a great woman, and she lays hold on him to eat bread, and it comes to pass, at the time of his passing over, he turns aside there to eat bread, 9and she says to her husband, “Now behold, I have known that he is a holy man of God, passing over by us continually; 10please let us make a little upper chamber of the wall, and we set for him there a bed, and a table, and a high seat, and a lampstand; and it has been, in his coming to us, he turns aside there.” 11And the day comes that he comes in there, and turns aside to the upper chamber, and lies there, 12and he says to his young man Gehazi, “Call for this Shunammite”; and he calls for her, and she stands before him. 13And he says to him, “Now say to her, Behold, you have troubled yourself concerning us with all this trouble; what can [I] do for you? Is it to speak for you to the king, or to the head of the host?” And she says, “I am dwelling in the midst of my people.” 14And he says, “And what can [I] do for her?” And Gehazi says, “Truly she has no son, and her husband [is] aged.” 15And he says, “Call for her”; and he calls for her, and she stands at the opening, 16and he says, “At this season, according to the time of life, you are embracing a son”; and she says, “No, my lord, O man of God, do not lie to your maidservant.” 17And the woman conceives and bears a son, at this season, according to the time of life that Elisha spoke of to her. 18And the boy grows, and the day comes that he goes out to his father, to the reapers, 19and he says to his father, “My head, my head”; and he says to the young man, “Carry him to his mother”; 20and he carries him, and brings him to his mother, and he sits on her knees until the noon, and dies. 21And she goes up, and lays him on the bed of the man of God, and shuts [the door] on him, and goes out, 22and calls to her husband and says, “Please send one of the young men and one of the donkeys to me, and I run to the man of God, and return.” 23And he says, “Why are you going to him today? [It is] neither new moon nor Sabbath!” And she says, “Peace [to you]!” 24And she saddles the donkey and says to her young man, “Lead, and go, do not restrain riding for me, except I have commanded [so] to you.” 25And she goes, and comes to the man of God, to the hill of Carmel, and it comes to pass, at the man of God’s seeing her from within view, that he says to his young man Gehazi, “Behold, this Shunammite; 26now please run to meet her, and say to her, Is there peace to you? Is there peace to your husband? Is there peace to the boy?” And she says, “Peace.” 27And she comes to the man of God, to the hill, and lays hold on his feet, and Gehazi comes near to thrust her away, and the man of God says, “Leave her alone, for her soul [is] bitter to her, and YHWH has hidden [it] from me, and has not declared [it] to me.” 28And she says, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me?” 29And he says to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go; when you meet a man, you do not greet him; and when a man greets you, you do not answer him; and you have laid my staff on the face of the youth.” 30And the mother of the youth says, “YHWH lives, and your soul lives—if I leave you”; and he rises and goes after her. 31And Gehazi has passed on before them, and lays the staff on the face of the youth, and there is no voice, and there is no attention, and he turns back to meet him, and declares to him, saying, “The youth has not awoken.” 32And Elisha comes into the house, and behold, the youth is dead, laid on his bed, 33and he goes in and shuts the door on them both, and prays to YHWH. 34And he goes up, and lies down on the boy, and puts his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands, and stretches himself on him, and the flesh of the boy becomes warm; 35and he turns back and walks in the house, once here and once there, and goes up and stretches himself on him, and the youth sneezes until seven times, and the youth opens his eyes. 36And he calls to Gehazi and says, “Call to this Shunammite”; and he calls her, and she comes to him, and he says, “Lift up your son.” 37And she goes in, and falls at his feet, and bows herself to the earth, and lifts up her son, and goes out. 38And Elisha has turned back to Gilgal, and the famine [is] in the land, and the sons of the prophets are sitting before him, and he says to his young man, “Set on the great pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” 39And one goes out to the field to gather herbs, and finds a vine of the field, and gathers gourds of the field from it—the fullness of his garment—and comes in and splits [them] into the pot of stew, for they did not know [them]; 40and they pour out for the men to eat, and it comes to pass at their eating of the stew, that they have cried out, and say, “Death [is] in the pot, O man of God!” And they have not been able to eat. 41And he says, “Then bring a meal”; and he casts into the pot and says, “Pour out for the people, and they eat”; and there was no bad thing in the pot. 42And a man has come from Ba‘al-Shalishah, and brings to the man of God bread of first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of grain in its husk, and he says, “Give to the people, and they eat.” 43And his minister says, “How do I give this before one hundred men?” And he says, “Give to the people, and they eat, for thus said YHWH: Eat and leave”; 44and he gives before them, and they eat and leave, according to the word of YHWH. |