4One day the wife of a man from the guild of prophets called out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead. You well know what a good man he was, devoted to GOD. And now the man to whom he was in debt is on his way to collect by taking my two children as slaves."H6817H259H802H802H1121H5030H477H559H5650H376H4191H3045H5650H3373H3068H5383H935H3947H8147H3206H5650

2Elisha said, "I wonder how I can be of help. Tell me, what do you have in your house?" "Nothing," she said. "Well, I do have a little oil."H477H559H6213H5046H3426H1004H559H8198H1004H610H8081

3"Here's what you do," said Elisha. "Go up and down the street and borrow jugs and bowls from all your neighbors. And not just a few—all you can get.H559H3212H7592H3627H2351H7934H7386H3627H4591

4Then come home and lock the door behind you, you and your sons. Pour oil into each container; when each is full, set it aside."H935H5462H1817H1121H3332H3627H5265H4392

5She did what he said. She locked the door behind her and her sons; as they brought the containers to her, she filled them.H3212H5462H1817H1157H1121H1992H5066H3332

6When all the jugs and bowls were full, she said to one of her sons, "Another jug, please." He said, "That's it. There are no more jugs." Then the oil stopped.H3627H4390H559H1121H5066H3627H559H3627H8081H5975

7She went and told the story to the man of God. He said, "Go sell the oil and make good on your debts. Live, both you and your sons, on what's left."H935H5046H376H430H559H3212H4376H8081H7999H5386H2421H1121H3498

8One day Elisha passed through Shunem. A leading lady of the town talked him into stopping for a meal. And then it became his custom: Whenever he passed through, he stopped by for a meal.H3117H477H5674H7766H1419H802H2388H398H3899H1767H5674H5493H398H3899

9"I'm certain," said the woman to her husband, "that this man who stops by with us all the time is a holy man of God.H559H376H3045H6918H376H430H5674H8548

10Why don't we add on a small room upstairs and furnish it with a bed and desk, chair and lamp, so that when he comes by he can stay with us?"H6213H6996H5944H7023H7760H4296H7979H3678H4501H935H5493

11And so it happened that the next time Elisha came by he went to the room and lay down for a nap.H3117H935H5493H5944H7901

12Then he said to his servant Gehazi, "Tell the Shunammite woman I want to see her." He called her and she came to him.H559H1522H5288H7121H7767H7121H5975H6440

13Through Gehazi Elisha said, "You've gone far beyond the call of duty in taking care of us; what can we do for you? Do you have a request we can bring to the king or to the commander of the army?" She replied, "Nothing. I'm secure and satisfied in my family."H559H559H2729H2731H6213H3426H1696H4428H8269H6635H559H3427H8432H5971

14Elisha conferred with Gehazi: "There's got to be something we can do for her. But what?" Gehazi said, "Well, she has no son, and her husband is an old man."H559H6213H1522H559H61H1121H376H2204

15"Call her in," said Elisha. He called her and she stood at the open door.H559H7121H7121H5975H6607

16Elisha said to her, "This time next year you're going to be nursing an infant son." "O my master, O Holy Man," she said, "don't play games with me, teasing me with such fantasies!"H559H4150H6256H2416H2263H1121H559H113H376H430H3576H8198

17The woman conceived. A year later, just as Elisha had said, she had a son.H802H2029H3205H1121H4150H477H1696H6256H2416

18The child grew up. One day he went to his father, who was working with the harvest hands,H3206H1431H3117H3318H1H7114

19complaining, "My head, my head!" His father ordered a servant, "Carry him to his mother."H559H1H7218H7218H559H5288H5375H517

20The servant took him in his arms and carried him to his mother. He lay on her lap until noon and died.H5375H935H517H3427H1290H6672H4191

21She took him up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut him in alone, and left.H5927H7901H4296H376H430H5462H3318

22She then called her husband, "Get me a servant and a donkey so I can go to the Holy Man; I'll be back as soon as I can."H7121H376H559H7971H259H5288H259H860H7323H376H430H7725

23"But why today? This isn't a holy day—it's neither New Moon nor Sabbath." She said, "Don't ask questions; I need to go right now. Trust me."H559H1980H3117H2320H7676H559H7965

24She went ahead and saddled the donkey, ordering her servant, "Take the lead—and go as fast as you can; I'll tell you if you're going too fast."H2280H860H559H5288H5090H3212H6113H7392H559

25And so off she went. She came to the Holy Man at Mount Carmel. The Holy Man, spotting her while she was still a long way off, said to his servant Gehazi, "Look out there; why, it's the Shunammite woman!H3212H935H376H430H2022H3760H376H430H7200H559H1522H5288H1975H7767

26Quickly now. Ask her, 'Is something wrong? Are you all right? Your husband? Your child?'" She said, "Everything's fine."H7323H7125H559H7965H7965H376H7965H3206H559H7965

27But when she reached the Holy Man at the mountain, she threw herself at his feet and held tightly to him. Gehazi came up to pull her away, but the Holy Man said, "Leave her alone—can't you see that she's in distress? But GOD hasn't let me in on why; I'm completely in the dark."H935H376H430H2022H2388H7272H1522H5066H1920H376H430H559H7503H5315H4843H3068H5956H5046

28Then she spoke up: "Did I ask for a son, master? Didn't I tell you, 'Don't tease me with false hopes'?"H559H7592H1121H113H559H7952

29He ordered Gehazi, "Don't lose a minute—grab my staff and run as fast as you can. If you meet anyone, don't even take time to greet him, and if anyone greets you, don't even answer. Lay my staff across the boy's face."H559H1522H2296H4975H3947H4938H3027H3212H4672H376H1288H376H1288H6030H7760H4938H6440H5288

30The boy's mother said, "As sure as GOD lives and you live, you're not leaving me behind." And so Gehazi let her take the lead, and followed behind.H517H5288H559H3068H2416H5315H2416H5800H6965H3212H310

31But Gehazi arrived first and laid the staff across the boy's face. But there was no sound—no sign of life. Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and said, "The boy hasn't stirred."H1522H5674H6440H7760H4938H6440H5288H6963H7182H7725H7125H5046H559H5288H6974

32Elisha entered the house and found the boy stretched out on the bed dead.H477H935H1004H5288H4191H7901H4296

33He went into the room and locked the door—just the two of them in the room—and prayed to GOD.H935H5462H1817H8147H6419H3068

34He then got into bed with the boy and covered him with his body, mouth on mouth, eyes on eyes, hands on hands. As he was stretched out over him like that, the boy's body became warm.H5927H7901H3206H7760H6310H6310H5869H5869H3709H3709H1457H1320H3206H2552

35Elisha got up and paced back and forth in the room. Then he went back and stretched himself upon the boy again. The boy started sneezing—seven times he sneezed!—and opened his eyes.H7725H3212H1004H259H2008H259H2008H5927H1457H5288H2237H7651H6471H5288H6491H5869

36He called Gehazi and said, "Get the Shunammite woman in here!" He called her and she came in. Elisha said, "Embrace your son!"H7121H1522H559H7121H7767H7121H935H559H5375H1121

37She fell at Elisha's feet, face to the ground in reverent awe. Then she embraced her son and went out with him.H935H5307H7272H7812H776H5375H1121H3318

38Elisha went back down to Gilgal. There was a famine there. While he was consulting with the guild of prophets, he told his servant, "Put a large pot on the fire and cook up some stew for the prophets."H477H7725H1537H7458H776H1121H5030H3427H6440H559H5288H8239H1419H5518H1310H5138H1121H5030

39One of the men went out into the field to get some herbs; he came across a wild vine and picked gourds from it, filling his gunnysack. He brought them back, sliced them up, and put them in the stew, even though no one knew what kind of plant it was.H259H3318H7704H3950H219H4672H7704H1612H3950H7704H6498H899H4393H935H6398H5518H5138H3045

40The stew was then served up for the men to eat. They started to eat, and then exclaimed, "Death in the pot, O man of God! Death in the pot!" Nobody could eat it.H3332H582H398H398H5138H6817H559H376H430H4194H5518H3201H398

41Elisha ordered, "Get me some meal." Then he sprinkled it into the stew pot. "Now serve it up to the men," he said. They ate it, and it was just fine—nothing wrong with that stew!H559H3947H7058H7993H5518H559H3332H5971H398H1697H7451H5518

42One day a man arrived from Baal Shalishah. He brought the man of God twenty loaves of fresh baked bread from the early harvest, along with a few apples from the orchard. Elisha said, "Pass it around to the people to eat."H935H376H1190H935H376H430H3899H1061H6242H3899H8184H3759H6861H559H5414H5971H398

43His servant said, "For a hundred men? There's not nearly enough!" Elisha said, "Just go ahead and do it. GOD says there's plenty."H8334H559H5414H6440H3967H376H559H5414H5971H398H559H3068H398H3498

44And sure enough, there was. He passed around what he had—they not only ate, but had leftovers.H5414H6440H398H3498H1697H3068