1
One of the wives of the prophets came and cried to Elisha, saying, “Your servant, my husband, is dead; and you know that your servant feared the LORD. But now the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”
2
Elisha said to her, “What shall 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.”
3
Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from outside, from all your neighbors—empty vessels, and not too few.
4
Then go in, shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all those vessels. Set aside each one that is full.”
5
So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they brought the vessels to her, and she kept pouring.
6
When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” But he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
7
Then she came and told the man of God. He said, “Go, sell the oil, pay your debt, and live on the rest, you and your sons.”
8
One day Elisha went to Shunem. There was a wealthy woman there who urged him to eat bread. And whenever he passed by, he would stop there to eat.
9
She said to her husband, “Behold, I know that this man who always comes our way is a holy man of God.
10
Let us make a small upper room with walls, and let us put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he may go in there.”
11
One day he came there, and he went into the upper room and lay down there.
12
Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call the Shunammite woman.” So he called her, and she stood before Gehazi.
13
Elisha had said to Gehazi, “Say to her, ‘Behold, you have taken all this trouble for us. What can I do for you? Is there anything I should speak about on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.”
14
Then Elisha said, “What then can be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.”
15
Then Elisha said, “Call her.” And when she had been called, the woman stood in the doorway.
16
Elisha said, “At this time next year, you will be holding a son.” But the woman answered, “No, my lord, man of God; do not lie to your servant!”
17
The woman conceived and bore a son at that same time the following year, as Elisha had said to her.
18
When the child had grown older, one day he went out to his father among the reapers.
19
Suddenly he cried out to his father, “Oh, my head, my head!” And his father said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.”
20
So he picked him up and brought him to his mother. He sat on his mother’s lap until noon, and then he died.
21
Then she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door, and went out, so that the child was alone in the room.
22
After that she called her husband and said, “Send me one of the servants and a female donkey, so that I may quickly go to the man of God and return again.”
23
Her husband said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the new moon nor the Sabbath.” She answered, “Do not worry.”
24
Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on and go forward; do not hold me back on the journey unless I tell you.”
25
So the woman set out and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her from afar, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Look, there is the Shunammite woman!
26
Run now to meet her and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?'” And she answered, “It is well.”
27
When she came to the mountain, she caught hold of the feet of the man of God, but Gehazi came near to push her away. Then the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is bitter within her; the LORD has hidden this from me and has not told me.”
28
Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me with empty hope’?”
29
So Elisha said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins, 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 child.”
30
But the mother of the child said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So Elisha arose and followed the woman.
31
Now Gehazi had gone on ahead of them and had laid the staff on the child, but there was no sound and no sign of life. So he returned to meet Elisha and told him, saying, “The child has not awakened.”
32
When Elisha came into the house, behold, the child was dead and lying on his bed.
33
So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD.
34
Then he lay upon the child, putting his mouth on the child’s mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and as he stretched himself out upon him, the child’s body grew warm.
35
Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up and stretched himself out upon him again. And the child sneezed seven times, and opened his eyes.
36
Then Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” So he called her, and she came to him. And Elisha said, “Take up your son.”
37
Then she went in, fell at Elisha’s feet, and bowed herself to the ground. Then she took up her son and went out.
38
Elisha returned to Gilgal when there was a famine in the land. And as the company of the prophets was sitting before him, he said to his servant, “Set on the large pot, and boil stew for the company of the prophets.”
39
Then one of them went out into the field to gather herbs, and he found a wild vine and gathered from it wild gourds, filling his garment. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, for they did not know them.
40
Then they served some to the men to eat. But as soon as they had eaten of the stew, they cried out and said, “There is death in the pot, O man of God!” And they could not eat it.
41
But Elisha said, “Bring flour.” And he threw it into the pot and said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” Then there was nothing harmful in the pot.
42
A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and fresh grain in his sack. And Elisha said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.”
43
But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” He answered, “Give it to the people, that they may eat, for thus says the LORD: They shall eat, and there shall be some left over.”
44
So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.
🍞🧯👶 Summary of 2 Kings 4 – Elisha’s Miracles: Oil, Child, Food, and Poison
2 Kings 4 shows God’s power through Elisha in the daily life of His people. Elisha performs a series of four great miracles that display provision, power over life and death, and power over poison. Behind all of it, we see that God cares about real human needs, from debt, children, and hunger, to rescue from danger.
📌 1. The Widow’s Oil Multiplied (verses 1–7)
➡️ A widow of one of the prophets came to Elisha — her husband had left debt, and the creditor wanted to take her children as slaves
➡️ Elisha asked: “What do you have in the house?”
➡️ She had only a little oil in a jar
➡️ Elisha told her to gather empty vessels, then pour the oil into them — the oil kept flowing until all the vessels were full
➡️ She sold the oil and paid off her debt
🎯 God is able to bless what is small and make it abundant when there is obedience and faith
📌 2. The Shunammite Woman’s Son Raised to Life (verses 8–37)
➡️ A wealthy woman of Shunem provided a room for Elisha
➡️ Elisha wanted to repay her kindness and foretold the birth of a son
➡️ Some years later, the child died suddenly
➡️ The woman immediately went to seek Elisha — full of faith
➡️ Elisha finally came and brought the child back to life by praying and lying upon the child’s body
🎯 God’s power raises dead hope to life, even literally
📌 3. The Poisoned Stew Is Healed (verses 38–41)
➡️ During the famine in Gilgal, the sons of the prophets made stew from wild plants, not knowing that it was poisonous
➡️ They cried out: “Death is in the pot, O man of God!”
➡️ Elisha threw flour into the pot, and the stew became safe to eat
🎯 The Lord can purify what is harmful, even from unintentional mistakes
📌 4. The Bread Is Multiplied (verses 42–44)
➡️ A man came bringing 20 barley loaves and fresh grain
➡️ Elisha told them to distribute it to 100 men
➡️ His servant doubted, but Elisha said: “People will eat and there will still be some left!”
➡️ And it was so, all ate and there was still some left
🎯 This directly recalls the miracle of Jesus — the Lord is an abundant provider
📖 Main Teaching
- The Lord cares about our daily needs: debts, children, food
- God’s power is made known through obedience and faith, even when resources seem insufficient
- The Lord not only heals, but also raises up
- The Lord is able to purify what is corrupted and protect from dangers we do not notice
- Giving to the Lord does not lessen, but rather multiplies blessing
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
“Seek first the kingdom of God… and all these things shall be added.”
➡️ The widow and the woman of Shunem put the Lord first, and He met their needs
Jesus took five loaves and two fish… all ate and were satisfied, and there was still some left
➡️ Just as Elisha multiplied the bread — Jesus is the true provider
“He who raised Christ will also give life to your bodies…”
➡️ The power of resurrection in the New Testament had already been shown beforehand by Elisha
“He who supplies seed to the sower will also supply food and multiply it…”
➡️ The Lord not only gives, but also multiplies and makes enough
🕊️ “What do you have in the house?” – 2 Kings 4:2
🕊️ “Do not ask for more vessels.” – 2 Kings 4:6
🕊️ “There is no more hope… but you came.” – 2 Kings 4:28
🕊️ “Death in this pot, O man of God!” – 2 Kings 4:40
🕊️ “They shall eat, and there will still be some left.” – 2 Kings 4:43
