Study Desk

Now a woman of the wives of ^(C1)the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD; and ^(C2)the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves."

So Elisha said to her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" And she said, "Your servant has nothing in the house except ^(C1)a jar of oil."

Then he said, "Go, ^(F1)borrow containers ^(F2)elsewhere for yourself, empty containers from all your neighbors—do not get too few.

"Then you shall come in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour into all these containers; and you shall set aside what is full."

So she left him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they began bringing the containers to her, and she poured the oil.

When ^(C1)the containers were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another container." But he said to her, "There ^(F1)are no more containers." Then the oil stopped.

So she came and told ^(C1)the man of God. And he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest."

Now a day came when Elisha went over to ^(C1)Shunem, where there was a ^(F1)prominent woman, and she urged him to eat ^(F2)food. And so it was, as often as he passed by, that he turned in there to eat ^(F2)food.

And she said to her husband, "Behold now, I am aware that this is a holy ^(C1)man of God passing by us repeatedly.

"Please, let's ^(C1)make a little walled upper room, and let's set up a bed for him there, and a table, a chair, and a lampstand; then it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there."

Now ^(F1)one day he came there, and turned in to the upper room and ^(F2)rested.

Then he said to his servant ^(C1)Gehazi, "Call this Shunammite." And when he had called her, she stood before him.

And he said to him, "Say now to her, 'Behold, you have taken trouble for us with all this ^(F1)care; what can I do for you? ^(F2)Would you like me to speak for you to the king or to the commander of the army?'" But she ^(F3)answered, "I live among my own people."

So he said, "What then is to be done for her?" And Gehazi ^(F1)answered, "It is a fact that she has no son, and her husband is old."

He then said, "Call her." When he had called her, she stood in the doorway.

Then he said, "^(C1)At this season ^(F1)next year, you are going to embrace a son." And she said, "No, my lord, you man of God, ^(C2)do not lie to your servant."

Now the woman conceived and gave birth to a son at that season ^(F1)the next year, as Elisha had told her.

When the child was grown, the day came that he went out to his father, to the reapers.

And he said to his father, "My head, my head!" And his father said to his servant, "Carry him to his mother."

When he had carried him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her ^(F1)lap until noon, and then he died.

And she went up and ^(C1)laid him on the bed of ^(C2)the man of God, and shut the door behind him and left.

Then she called to her husband and said, "Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so that I may run to the man of God and return."

But he said, "Why are you going to him today? It is neither ^(C1)new moon nor Sabbath." So she just said, "It will be fine."

Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, "Drive the donkey and go on; do not slow down ^(F1)the pace for me unless I tell you."

So she went on and came to the man of God at ^(C1)Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, "Behold, that person there is the Shunammite.

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"Please run now to meet her and say to her, 'Is it going well for you? Is it going well for your husband? Is it going well for the child?'" Then she ^(F1)answered, "It is going well."

But she came to the man of God ^(C1)at the hill and took hold of his feet. And Gehazi came up to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone, for her soul is ^(F1)troubled within her; and the LORD has concealed it from me and has not informed me."

Then she said, "Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, '^(C1)Do not give me false hope'?"

Then he said to Gehazi, "^(F1)(C1)Get ready and ^(C2)take my staff in your hand, and go; if you meet anyone, do not ^(F2)(C3)greet him, and if anyone ^(F3)greets you, do not reply to him. And ^(C4)lay my staff on the boy's face."

The mother of the boy said, "^(C1)As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, I will not leave you." So he got up and followed her.

Then Gehazi went on ahead of them and laid the staff on the boy's face, but there was no sound or ^(F1)response. So he returned to meet him and informed him, saying, "The boy ^(C1)has not awakened."

When Elisha entered the house, behold the boy was dead, laid on his bed.

So he entered and ^(C1)shut the door behind them both, and he prayed to the LORD.

Then ^(C1)he got up on the bed and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, his hands on his hands, and he bent down on him; and the flesh of the child became warm.

Then he returned and walked in the house back and forth once, and went up and ^(C1)bent down on him; and the boy sneezed seven times, then the boy opened his eyes.

And he called Gehazi and said, "Call this Shunammite." So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, "Pick up your son."

Then she came in and fell at his feet and bowed down to the ground, and ^(C1)she picked up her son and left.

When Elisha returned to ^(C1)Gilgal, there was ^(C2)a famine in the land. ^(F1)As ^(C3)the sons of the prophets ^(C4)were sitting in front of him, he said to his servant, "^(C5)Put on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets."

Then one went out into the field to gather mallow, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds; and he came and sliced them into the pot of stew, because they did not know what they were.

So they poured it out for the men to eat. But as they were eating the stew, they cried out and said, "You man of God, there is ^(C1)death in the pot!" And they were unable to eat.

Then he said, "Bring flour." ^(C1)And he threw it into the pot, and said, "Pour it out for the people that they may eat." Then there was nothing harmful in the pot.

Now a man came from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh grain in his sack. And Elisha said, "^(C1)Give them to the people that they may eat."

But his attendant said, "How ^(C1)am I to serve this to a hundred men?" Nevertheless he said, "Give them to the people that they may eat, for this is what the LORD says: 'They shall eat and have some left over.'"

So he served it to them, and they ate and ^(C1)had some left over, in accordance with the word of the LORD.

Now ^(C1)Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man ^(F1)in the view of his master, and eminent, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but afflicted with leprosy.

Now the Arameans had gone out ^(C1)in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she ^(F1)waited on Naaman's wife.

And she said to her mistress, "If only my master were ^(F1)with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy."

And ^(F1)Naaman went in and told his master, saying, "The girl who is from the land of Israel spoke such and such."

Then the king of Aram said, "Go ^(F1)now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So he departed and ^(C1)took with him ten ^(F2)talents of silver, six thousand ^(F3)shekels of gold, and ten ^(C2)changes of clothes.

And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, ^(F1)which said, "And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, so that you may cure him of his leprosy."

But when the king of Israel read the letter, ^(C1)he tore his clothes and said, "^(C2)Am I God, to kill and to keep alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But ^(C3)consider now, and see how he is seeking ^(F1)a quarrel against me."

Now it happened, when Elisha ^(C1)the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, "Why did you tear your clothes? Just have him come to me, and he shall learn that there is a prophet in Israel."

So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots, and stood at the doorway of Elisha's house.

And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "^(C1)Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean."

But Naaman was furious and went away, and he said, "Behold, I ^(F1)thought, 'He will certainly come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the site and cure the ^(F2)leprosy.'

"Are ^(F1)Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, not better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and ^(C1)went away in a rage.

^(C1)Then his servants approached and spoke to him, ^(F1)saying, "^(C2)My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?"

So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, in accordance with the word of the man of God; and ^(C1)his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and ^(C2)he was clean.

Then he returned to the man of God ^(F1)with all his company, and came and stood before him. And he said, "Behold now, ^(C1)I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; so please ^(C2)accept a ^(F2)gift from your servant now."

But he said, "^(C1)As surely as the LORD lives, before whom I stand, ^(C2)I will accept nothing." And he urged him to accept it, but he refused.

Then Naaman said, "If not, please let your servant be given two mules' load of ^(C1)earth; for your servant will no longer offer a burnt offering nor a sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD.

"Regarding this matter may the LORD forgive your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and ^(C1)he leans on my hand and I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when I bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the LORD please forgive your servant in this matter."

He said to him, "^(C1)Go in peace." So he went some distance from him.

But ^(C1)Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, ^(F1)thought, "Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, ^(F2)by not accepting from his hand what he brought. ^(C2)As the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him."

So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, "Is everything well?"

And he said, "^(C1)Everything is well. My master has sent me, saying, 'Behold, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from ^(C2)the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and ^(C3)two changes of clothes.'"

Naaman said, "^(C1)Be sure to take two talents." And he urged him, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes, and gave them to two of his servants; and they carried them before him.

When he came to the ^(F1)hill, he took them from their hand and ^(C1)deposited them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed.

But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, "Where have you been, Gehazi?" And he said, "^(C1)Your servant went nowhere."

Then he said to him, "Did my heart not go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? ^(C1)Is it a time to accept money and to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, oxen, and male and female slaves?

"Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your ^(F1)descendants forever." So he went out from his presence ^(C1)afflicted with leprosy, as white as snow.

Now ^(C1)the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "Behold now, the place ^(F1)before you where we are living is too cramped for us.

"Please let us go to the Jordan, and let us each take from there a beam, and let us construct a place there for ourselves, to live there." So he said, "Go."

Then one of them said, "Please agree and go with your servants." And he said, "I will go."

So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees.

But it happened that as one of them was ^(F1)cutting down a beam, ^(F2)the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, "Oh, my master! It was borrowed!"

Then the man of God said, "Where did it fall?" And when he showed him the place, ^(C1)he cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float.

Then he said, "Pick it up for yourself." So he reached out his hand and took it.

Now the king of Aram was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, "In such and such a place shall be my camp."

But ^(C1)the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, saying, "Be careful that you do not pass this place, because the Arameans are coming down there."

And the king of Israel sent scouts to the place about which the man of God had told him; so he warned him, so that he was on his guard there, ^(F1)more than once or twice.

Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this matter; and he called his servants and said to them, "Will you not tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?"

One of his servants said, "No, my lord, the king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom."

So he said, "Go and see where he is, so that I may send men and take him." And it was told to him, saying, "Behold, he is in ^(C1)Dothan."

So he sent horses and chariots and a substantial army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, "This is hopeless, my master! ^(F1)What are we to do?"

And he said, "^(C1)Do not be afraid, for ^(C2)those who are with us are ^(F1)greater than those who are with them."

Then Elisha prayed and said, "^(C1)LORD, please, open his eyes so that he may see." And the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of ^(C2)horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, "Please strike this ^(F1)people with blindness." So He ^(C1)struck them with blindness in accordance with the word of Elisha.

Then Elisha said to them, "This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek." And he brought them to Samaria.

When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, "^(C1)LORD, open the eyes of these men, so that they may see." So the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.

Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, "^(C1)My father, shall I ^(F1)kill them? Shall I ^(F1)kill them?"

But he ^(F1)answered, "You shall not ^(F2)kill them. Would you ^(F2)(C1)kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? ^(C2)Set bread and water before them, so that they may eat and drink, and go to their master."

So he provided a large feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And ^(C1)the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.

Now it came about after this, that ^(C1)Ben-hadad the king of Aram gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.

So there was a severe ^(C1)famine in Samaria; and behold, they kept besieging it until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a ^(F1)kab of dove's dung for five shekels of silver.

And as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, "Help, my lord the king!"

But he said, "^(F1)If the LORD does not help you, from where am I to help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?"

Then the king said to her, "^(C1)What ^(F1)is on your mind?" And she said, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son so that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'

"^(C1)So we cooked my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, 'Give your son, so that we may eat him'; but she has hidden her son."

When the king heard the woman's words, ^(C1)he tore his clothes—and he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth ^(F1)underneath on his ^(F2)body.

Then he said, "May ^(C1)God do so to me and more so, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat ^(F1)remains on him today."

Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and ^(C1)the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man from his presence; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, "Do you ^(C2)see how this son of a murderer has sent a man to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and ^(F1)hold the door shut against him. Is the sound of his master's feet not behind him?"

While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, "^(C1)Behold, this evil is from the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer?"