The Widow’s Oil 1 UST One day the widow of one of the young prophets came to Elisha and pleaded with him. She told him,“My husband, who was one of the prophets you were training, has died. You know very well that he revered Yahweh greatly. But now someone who lent him money has come and is demanding repayment.{ I can not pay him back, so} he is threatening to take away two of my children as slaves{ as his payment}!” BSB BSB: Now 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 UST Elisha replied,“What can I do to help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” She replied,“I only have a container of olive oil.” BSB BSB: “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 UST Elisha said,“Go out to your neighbors and borrow from them as many empty containers as you can. BSB BSB: “Go,” said Elisha, “borrow empty jars from all your neighbors. Do not gather just a few.
4 UST Bring the containers home. Once you and your children are inside the house, shut the door. Then pour olive oil from your container into the containers you have borrowed. When each one is full, set it aside and start filling another one.” BSB BSB: Then go inside, shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour oil into all these jars, setting the full ones aside.”
5 UST So she left Elisha{ and borrowed as many containers as she could from her neighbors}. Then she gathered her children inside her house and shut the door. Her children kept bringing the containers to her, and she kept pouring the oil from her container into them. BSB BSB: So she left him, and after she had shut the door behind her and her sons, they kept bringing jars to her, and she kept pouring.
6 UST When she had filled a certain container{, her children did not bring her another one}. So she called to one of her sons,“Bring me another container!” But he answered,“There are no more containers!” Right then the olive oil stopped flowing. BSB BSB: When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another.” But he replied, “There are no more jars.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
7 UST She went to Elisha and told him what had happened. He told her,“Now go and sell the oil. With the money you get, repay what you owe. There will be enough money left over for you to keep buying food for yourself and your children.” BSB BSB: She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt. Then you and your sons can live on the remainder.”
The Shunammite Woman (Matthew 10:40–42)
8 UST One day Elisha went to the city of Shunem. There was a wealthy woman who lived there{ with her husband}. That day she insisted that Elisha come to her house for a meal.{ So he did, and after that,} every time Elisha was in Shunem, he went to her house to eat a meal. BSB BSB: One day Elisha went to Shunem, and a prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to have a meal. So whenever he would pass by, he would stop there to eat.
9 UST One day the woman told her husband,“Please listen to me. I am sure that the man who often comes here is a holy prophet. BSB BSB: Then the woman said to her husband, “Behold, now I know that the one who often comes our way is a holy man of God.
10 UST Let us please build a small room for him on our flat roof. Let us put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lampstand in it. If we do that, whenever he comes here, he will have a place to stay.” BSB BSB: Please let us make a small room upstairs and put in it a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp for him. Then when he comes to us, he can stay there.”
11 UST One day Elisha came to Shunem and went up to that room to rest. BSB BSB: One day Elisha came to visit and went to his upper room to lie down.
12 UST He told his servant Gehazi,“Tell the Shunamite woman{ who lives here} that I want to speak with her.” So Gehazi went to get her. She came and stood just outside Elisha’ s room. BSB BSB: And he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call the Shunammite woman.” And when he had called her, she stood before him,
13 UST Elisha told Gehazi,“Tell her that we are both grateful for all the kind things that she has done for us. Then ask her what we can do for her. Ask whether she has a complaint that we may bring to the king or the army commander on her behalf.”{ When Gehazi told her that,} she replied,“I am living peacefully with my friends and neighbors{ and have no complaint against any of them}.” BSB BSB: and Elisha said to Gehazi, “Now tell her, ‘Look, you have gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’” “I have a home among my own people,” she replied.
14 UST { After she left,} Elisha asked,“So what we can do for her?” Gehazi answered,“Well, she has no son, and her husband is now too old to have children.” BSB BSB: So he asked, “Then what should be done for her?” “Well, she has no son,” Gehazi replied, “and her husband is old.”
15 UST Elisha told Gehazi,“Ask her to come back again.” So Gehazi went to get her. She came and stood in front of the open doorway of Elisha’ s room. BSB BSB: “Call her,” said Elisha. So Gehazi called her, and she stood in the doorway.
16 UST Elisha told her,“By this time next year you will be holding your infant son in your arms.” But she protested,“Sir, please do not deceive me by saying things like that. After all, you are a prophet!” BSB BSB: And Elisha declared, “At this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she said. “Do not lie to your maidservant, O man of God.”
17 UST But a few months later, the woman became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son at that time the following year, just as Elisha had predicted. BSB BSB: But the woman did conceive, and at that time the next year she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.
Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son (Acts 20:7–12)
18 UST As the boy was growing up, one day his father was working with the men who were harvesting his grain. The boy went out to the field to be with his father. BSB BSB: And the child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the harvesters.
19 UST Suddenly the boy exclaimed,“My head hurts very badly!” His father told one of his servants,“Carry him home to his mother.” BSB BSB: “My head! My head!” he complained to his father. So his father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.”
20 UST So the servant carried him home, and his mother held him on her lap all that morning. But then the boy died. BSB BSB: After the servant had picked him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died.
21 UST She carried him up to Elisha’ s room and laid him on the bed. She left him there and went out and closed the door. BSB BSB: And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God. Then she shut the door and went out.
22 UST Then she asked her husband{ without telling him that their son had died},“Please send me one of the servants and a donkey. I want to go quickly to the prophet. I will also come back quickly.” BSB BSB: And the woman called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may go quickly to the man of God and return.”
23 UST Her husband responded,“Why do you want to go to the prophet today? This is not the day when we celebrate the new moon festival, and it is not the Sabbath{, so he will not be leading any religious ceremonies that you can attend}.” She replied,“Please just let me go,”{ and he agreed.} BSB BSB: “Why would you go to him today?” he replied. “It is not a New Moon or a Sabbath.” “Everything is all right,” she said.
24 UST So a servant came and saddled the donkey for her. She told her servant,“Get the donkey moving, and let us go. Do not slow down to make it easier for me to ride unless I tell you to do so!” BSB BSB: Then she saddled the donkey and told her servant, “Drive onward; do not slow the pace for me unless I tell you.”
25 UST So they traveled as quickly as they could to Mount Carmel, where Elisha was. When Elisha saw her in the distance, he told Gehazi,“Look, here comes that Shunammite woman! BSB BSB: So she set out and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, there is the Shunammite woman.
26 UST Run to her and ask her if everything is all right with her and her husband and with her child!”{ So Gehazi ran to her and asked her,} but she told him that she did not want to stop to answer his questions. BSB BSB: Please run out now to meet her and ask, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’” And she answered, “Everything is all right.”
27 UST When she came to where Elisha was, she bowed down and grasped Elisha’ s feet{ to show that she desperately wanted him to do something for her}. Gehazi came over to push her away, but Elisha told him,“Let her stay here! She is feeling great distress about something, but Yahweh has not told me at all what it is.” BSB BSB: When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she clung to his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is in deep distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.”
28 UST Then she told Elisha,“Sir, I never asked you to enable me to have a son. In fact, when you told me that I would have a son, I asked you not to deceive me.” BSB BSB: Then she said, “Did I ask you for a son, my lord? Didn’t I say, ‘Do not deceive me?’”
29 UST Then Elisha{ realized that something must have happened to her son, so he} told Gehazi,“Tuck your cloak into your belt{ so that you can run fast}. Take my staff with you and go to her home. Do not stop to talk to anyone on the way.{ Go quickly to where her son is and} lay the staff on the child’ s face{ so that Yahweh may cause him to become alive again}.” BSB BSB: So Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tie up your garment, take my staff in your hand, and go! If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer him. Then lay my staff on the boy’s face.”
30 UST But the boy’ s mother said,“I swear by Yahweh and your own life that I will not leave here and go home until you agree to come with me.” So Elisha returned with her to her home. BSB BSB: And the mother of the boy said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.
31 UST Gehazi hurried quickly to the woman’ s house ahead of them. When he arrived there, he laid the staff on the boy’ s face. But he did not say anything, and he did not react when Gehazi spoke to him. So Gehazi went back and met Elisha, who was on his way to Shunem. He told him,“The boy did not become alive again.” BSB BSB: Gehazi went on ahead of them and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So he went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened.”
32 UST When Elisha arrived at the house, he found the boy lying dead on the bed in his room{ where his mother had put him}. BSB BSB: When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his bed.
33 UST Elisha went into the room by himself and shut the door. Then he prayed to Yahweh. BSB BSB: So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD.
34 UST Then he climbed onto the bed and lay down on top of the boy’ s body. He put his mouth on the boy’ s mouth. Then he put his eyes on the boy’ s eyes. Then he put his hands on the boy’ s hands. He stretched his body out over the boy’ s body. After that, the boy’ s body started to become warm. BSB BSB: Then Elisha got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eye to eye, and hand to hand. As he stretched himself out over him, the boy’s body became warm.
35 UST Elisha went back down to the house and walked around for a while. Then he went back up to the room. He stretched his body out over the boy’ s body again. The boy sneezed seven times, and then he opened his eyes! BSB BSB: Elisha turned away and paced back and forth across the room. Then he got on the bed and stretched himself out over the boy again, and the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.
36 UST Then Elisha summoned Gehazi. He told him,“Call the boy’ s mother.” So Gehazi went and got her, and when she came to the room, Elisha told her,“You may take your son.” BSB BSB: Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” So he called her and she came. Then Elisha said, “Pick up your son.”
37 UST She came into the room and bowed down low in front of Elisha{ to honor him and thank him}. Then she picked up her son and took him back into her house. BSB BSB: She came in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.
Elisha Purifies the Poisonous Stew 38 UST Then Elisha returned to Gilgal. At that time, there was a famine in that area. One day many young prophets had gathered to hear Elisha’ s teaching. He told his servant,“Put a large pot on the fire and make some stew for these men.” BSB BSB: When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. As the sons of the prophets were sitting at his feet, he said to his attendant, “Put on the large pot and boil some stew for the sons of the prophets.”
39 UST One of the prophets went outside to look for wild vegetables{ to add to the stew}. He found a wild vine that had many gourds on it. He collected as many as he could hold in the fold of his robe and brought them back. No one there knew that those gourds were poisonous, so he cut them up and added them to the stew. BSB BSB: One of them went out to the field to gather herbs, and he found a wild vine from which he gathered as many wild gourds as his garment could hold. Then he came back and cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were.
40 UST Those who prepared the stew served it to the prophets. But after the prophets had tasted it,{ they knew something bad was in it, so} they cried out,“Sir, there is something in this stew that would kill us{ if we ate more of it}!” So they could not eat it. BSB BSB: And they poured it out for the men to eat, but when they tasted the stew they cried out, “There is death in the pot, O man of God!” And they could not eat it.
41 UST Elisha said,“Bring me some flour.”{ They brought him some, and} he threw it in the pot. Then he said,“Go ahead and serve this. The prophets can now eat it safely.” So they ate it, and it did not harm them. BSB BSB: Then Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Pour it out for the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
Feeding a Hundred Men (Matthew 15:29–39; Mark 8:1–10)
42 UST One day a man from the city of Baal Shalishah brought Elisha an offering from the first grain he harvested that year. He brought 20 loaves of barley bread and a sack of fresh grain. Elisha told his servant,“Give this food to the group of prophets so that they will have something to eat.” BSB BSB: Now a man from Baal-shalishah came to the man of God with a sack of twenty loaves of barley bread from the first ripe grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha.
43 UST But his servant responded,“I will not be able to feed a hundred prophets with only that much food.” But Elisha replied,“Serve it as a meal to the prophets, because Yahweh says that there will be enough food for everyone. In fact, there will be more than enough!” BSB BSB: But his servant asked, “How am I to set twenty loaves before a hundred men?” “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha, “for this is what the LORD says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’”
44 UST So he served the food to the prophets. They all ate as much they wanted, and there was more than enough food. That was just what Yahweh had promised would happen. BSB BSB: So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.
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