| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the LORD. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.” | 1Now a wife of one of the prophets appealed to Elisha for help, saying, "Your servant, my husband is dead. You know that your servant was a loyal follower of the LORD. Now the creditor is coming to take away my two boys to be his servants." |
| 2“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. | 2Elisha 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." |
| 3And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. | 3He said, "Go and ask all your neighbors for empty containers. Get as many as you can. |
| 4Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.” | 4Go and close the door behind you and your sons. Pour the olive oil into all the containers; set aside each one when you have filled it." |
| 5So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. | 5So she left him and closed the door behind her and her sons. As they were bringing the containers to her, she was pouring the olive oil. |
| 6Soon every container was full to the brim! “Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons. “There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing. | 6When the containers were full, she said to one of her sons, "Bring me another container." But he answered her, "There are no more." Then the olive oil stopped flowing. |
| 7When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.” Elisha and the Woman from Shunem | 7She went and told the prophet. He said, "Go, sell the olive oil. Repay your creditor, and then you and your sons can live off the rest of the profit." |
| 8One day Elisha went to the town of Shunem. A wealthy woman lived there, and she urged him to come to her home for a meal. After that, whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for something to eat. | 8One day Elisha traveled to Shunem, where a prominent woman lived. She insisted that he stop for a meal. So whenever he was passing through, he would stop in there for a meal. |
| 9She said to her husband, “I am sure this man who stops in from time to time is a holy man of God. | 9She said to her husband, "Look, I'm sure that the man who regularly passes through here is a very special prophet. |
| 10Let’s build a small room for him on the roof and furnish it with a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp. Then he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by.” | 10Let's make a small private upper room and furnish it with a bed, table, chair, and lamp. When he visits us, he can stay there." |
| 11One day Elisha returned to Shunem, and he went up to this upper room to rest. | 11One day Elisha came for a visit; he went into the upper room and rested. |
| 12He said to his servant Gehazi, “Tell the woman from Shunem I want to speak to her.” When she appeared, | 12He told his servant Gehazi, "Ask the Shunammite woman to come here." So he did so and she came to him. |
| 13Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tell her, ‘We appreciate the kind concern you have shown us. What can we do for you? Can we put in a good word for you to the king or to the commander of the army?’” “No,” she replied, “my family takes good care of me.” | 13Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tell her, 'Look, you have treated us with such great respect. What can I do for you? Can I put in a good word for you with the king or the commander of the army?'" She replied, "I'm quite secure." |
| 14Later Elisha asked Gehazi, “What can we do for her?” Gehazi replied, “She doesn’t have a son, and her husband is an old man.” | 14So he asked Gehazi, "What can I do for her?" Gehazi replied, "She has no son, and her husband is old." |
| 15“Call her back again,” Elisha told him. When the woman returned, Elisha said to her as she stood in the doorway, | 15Elisha told him, "Ask her to come here." So he did so and she came and stood in the doorway. |
| 16“Next year at this time you will be holding a son in your arms!” “No, my lord!” she cried. “O man of God, don’t deceive me and get my hopes up like that.” | 16He said, "About this time next year you will be holding a son." She said, "No, my master! O prophet, do not lie to your servant!" |
| 17But sure enough, the woman soon became pregnant. And at that time the following year she had a son, just as Elisha had said. | 17The woman did conceive, and at the specified time the next year she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her. |
| 18One day when her child was older, he went out to help his father, who was working with the harvesters. | 18The boy grew and one day he went out to see his father who was with the harvest workers. |
| 19Suddenly he cried out, “My head hurts! My head hurts!” His father said to one of the servants, “Carry him home to his mother.” | 19He said to his father, "My head! My head!" His father told a servant, "Carry him to his mother." |
| 20So the servant took him home, and his mother held him on her lap. But around noontime he died. | 20So he picked him up and took him to his mother. He sat on her lap until noon and then died. |
| 21She carried him up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and left him there. | 21She went up and laid him down on the prophet's bed. She shut the door behind her and left. |
| 22She sent a message to her husband: “Send one of the servants and a donkey so that I can hurry to the man of God and come right back.” | 22She called to her husband, "Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so I can go see the prophet quickly and then return." |
| 23“Why go today?” he asked. “It is neither a new moon festival nor a Sabbath.” But she said, “It will be all right.” | 23He said, "Why do you want to go see him today? It is not the new moon or the Sabbath." She said, "Everything's fine." |
| 24So she saddled the donkey and said to the servant, “Hurry! Don’t slow down unless I tell you to.” | 24She saddled the donkey and told her servant, "Lead on. Do not stop unless I say so." |
| 25As she approached the man of God at Mount Carmel, Elisha saw her in the distance. He said to Gehazi, “Look, the woman from Shunem is coming. | 25So she went to visit the prophet at Mount Carmel. When he saw her at a distance, he said to his servant Gehazi, "Look, it's the Shunammite woman. |
| 26Run out to meet her and ask her, ‘Is everything all right with you, your husband, and your child?’” “Yes,” the woman told Gehazi, “everything is fine.” | 26Now, run to meet her and ask her, 'Are you well? Are your husband and the boy well?'" She told Gehazi, "Everything's fine." |
| 27But when she came to the man of God at the mountain, she fell to the ground before him and caught hold of his feet. Gehazi began to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone. She is deeply troubled, but the LORD has not told me what it is.” | 27But when she reached the prophet on the mountain, she grabbed hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to push her away, but the prophet said, "Leave her alone, for she is very upset. The LORD has kept the matter hidden from me; he didn't tell me about it." |
| 28Then she said, “Did I ask you for a son, my lord? And didn’t I say, ‘Don’t deceive me and get my hopes up’?” | 28She said, "Did I ask my master for a son? Didn't I say, 'Don't mislead me?'" |
| 29Then Elisha said to Gehazi, “Get ready to travel ; take my staff and go! Don’t talk to anyone along the way. Go quickly and lay the staff on the child’s face.” | 29Elisha told Gehazi, "Tuck your robes into your belt, take my staff, and go! Don't stop to exchange greetings with anyone! Place my staff on the child's face." |
| 30But the boy’s mother said, “As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, I won’t go home unless you go with me.” So Elisha returned with her. | 30The mother of the child said, "As certainly as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So Elisha got up and followed her back. |
| 31Gehazi hurried on ahead and laid the staff on the child’s face, but nothing happened. There was no sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, “The child is still dead.” | 31Now Gehazi went on ahead of them. He placed the staff on the child's face, but there was no sound or response. When he came back to Elisha he told him, "The child did not wake up." |
| 32When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, lying there on the prophet’s bed. | 32When Elisha arrived at the house, there was the child lying dead on his bed. |
| 33He went in alone and shut the door behind him and prayed to the LORD. | 33He went in by himself and closed the door. Then he prayed to the LORD. |
| 34Then he lay down on the child’s body, placing his mouth on the child’s mouth, his eyes on the child’s eyes, and his hands on the child’s hands. And as he stretched out on him, the child’s body began to grow warm again! | 34He got up on the bed and spread his body out over the boy; he put his mouth on the boy's mouth, his eyes over the boy's eyes, and the palms of his hands against the boy's palms. He bent down over him, and the boy's skin grew warm. |
| 35Elisha got up, walked back and forth across the room once, and then stretched himself out again on the child. This time the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes! | 35Elisha went back and walked around in the house. Then he got up on the bed again and bent down over him. The child sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. |
| 36Then Elisha summoned Gehazi. “Call the child’s mother!” he said. And when she came in, Elisha said, “Here, take your son!” | 36Elisha called to Gehazi and said, "Get the Shunammite woman." So he did so and she came to him. He said to her, "Take your son." |
| 37She fell at his feet and bowed before him, overwhelmed with gratitude. Then she took her son in her arms and carried him downstairs. Miracles during a Famine | 37She came in, fell at his feet, and bowed down. Then she picked up her son and left. |
| 38Elisha now returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. One day as the group of prophets was seated before him, he said to his servant, “Put a large pot on the fire, and make some stew for the rest of the group.” | 38Now Elisha went back to Gilgal, while there was famine in the land. Some of the prophets were visiting him and he told his servant, "Put the big pot on the fire and boil some stew for the prophets." |
| 39One of the young men went out into the field to gather herbs and came back with a pocketful of wild gourds. He shredded them and put them into the pot without realizing they were poisonous. | 39Someone went out to the field to gather some herbs and found a wild vine. He picked some of its fruit, enough to fill up the fold of his robe. He came back, cut it up, and threw the slices into the stew pot, not knowing they were harmful. |
| 40Some of the stew was served to the men. But after they had eaten a bite or two they cried out, “Man of God, there’s poison in this stew!” So they would not eat it. | 40The stew was poured out for the men to eat. When they ate some of the stew, they cried out, "Death is in the pot, O prophet!" They could not eat it. |
| 41Elisha said, “Bring me some flour.” Then he threw it into the pot and said, “Now it’s all right; go ahead and eat.” And then it did not harm them. | 41He said, "Get some flour." Then he threw it into the pot and said, "Now pour some out for the men so they may eat." There was no longer anything harmful in the pot. |
| 42One day a man from Baal-shalishah brought the man of God a sack of fresh grain and twenty loaves of barley bread made from the first grain of his harvest. Elisha said, “Give it to the people so they can eat.” | 42Now a man from Baal Shalisha brought some food for the prophet--twenty loaves of bread made from the firstfruits of the barley harvest, as well as fresh ears of grain. Elisha said, "Set it before the people so they may eat." |
| 43“What?” his servant exclaimed. “Feed a hundred people with only this?” But Elisha repeated, “Give it to the people so they can eat, for this is what the LORD says: Everyone will eat, and there will even be some left over!” | 43But his attendant said, "How can I feed a hundred men with this?" He replied, "Set it before the people so they may eat, for this is what the LORD says, 'They will eat and have some left over.'" |
| 44And when they gave it to the people, there was plenty for all and some left over, just as the LORD had promised. | 44So he set it before them; they ate and had some left over, just as the LORD predicted. |
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