2 Kings 4, Additional Reading Jeremiah 2

Sunday, May 11, 2025
 

The Widow’s Oil

4 Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to [a]Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord; and 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?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels at large for yourself from all your neighbors, even empty vessels; do not get a few. 4 And you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full.” 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they were bringing the vessels to her and she poured. 6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not one vessel more.” And the oil stopped. 7 Then she came and told 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.”

The Shunammite Woman

8 Now there came a day when Elisha passed over to Shunem, where there was a [b]prominent woman, and she persuaded him to eat [c]food. And so it was, as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat [d]food. 9 She said to her husband, “Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God passing by us continually. 10 Please, let us make a little walled upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.”

11 [e]One day he came there and turned in to the upper chamber and [f]rested. 12 Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” And when he had called her, she stood before him. 13 He said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Behold, you have been [g]careful for us with all this [h]care; what can I do for you? Would you be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the army?’” And she [i]answered, “I live among my own people.” 14 So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi [j]answered, “Truly she has no son and her husband is old.” 15 He said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16 Then he said, “At this season [k]next year you will embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God, do not lie to your maidservant.”

17 The woman conceived and bore a son at that season [l]the next year, as Elisha had said to her.

The Shunammite’s Son

18 When the child was grown, the day came that he went out to his father to the reapers. 19 He said to his father, “My head, my head.” And he said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her [m]lap until noon, and then died. 21 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door behind him and went out. 22 Then she called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and return.” 23 He said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath.” And she said, “It will be well.” 24 Then she saddled a donkey and said to her servant, “Drive and go forward; do not slow down [n]the pace for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she went and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel.

When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, [o]there is the Shunammite. 26 Please 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 [p]answered, “It is well.” 27 When she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to push her away; but the man of God said, “Let her alone, for her soul is [q]troubled within her; and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.” 28 Then she said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?”

29 Then he said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins and take my staff in your hand, and go your way; if you meet any man, do not salute him, and if anyone salutes you, do not answer him; and lay my staff on the lad’s face.” 30 The mother of the lad said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” And he arose and followed her. 31 Then Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff on the lad’s face, but there was no sound or [r]response. So he returned to meet him and told [s]him, “The lad has not awakened.”

32 When Elisha came into the house, behold the lad was dead and laid on his bed. 33 So he entered and shut the door behind them both and prayed to the Lord. 34 And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth and his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands, and he stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child became warm. 35 Then he returned and walked in the house once back and forth, and went up and stretched himself on him; and the lad sneezed seven times and the lad opened his eyes. 36 He called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Take up your son.” 37 Then she went in and fell at his feet and bowed herself to the ground, and she took up her son and went out.

The Poisonous Stew

38 When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. [t]As the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” 39 Then one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, for they did not know what they were. 40 So they poured it out for the men to eat. And as they were eating of the stew, they cried out and said, “O man of God, there is death in the pot.” And they were unable to eat. 41 But he said, “Now bring meal.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Pour it out for the people that they may eat.” Then there was no harm in the pot.

42 Now a man came from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat.” 43 His attendant said, “What, will I set this before a hundred men?” But he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have 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.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 4:1 Lit Elisha, saying
  2. 2 Kings 4:8 Lit great
  3. 2 Kings 4:8 Lit bread
  4. 2 Kings 4:8 Lit bread
  5. 2 Kings 4:11 Lit Now a day came that
  6. 2 Kings 4:11 Lit lay there
  7. 2 Kings 4:13 Lit fearful
  8. 2 Kings 4:13 Lit fear
  9. 2 Kings 4:13 Lit said
  10. 2 Kings 4:14 Lit said
  11. 2 Kings 4:16 Lit when the time revives
  12. 2 Kings 4:17 Lit when the time revived
  13. 2 Kings 4:20 Lit knees
  14. 2 Kings 4:24 Lit riding
  15. 2 Kings 4:25 Lit this Shunammite
  16. 2 Kings 4:26 Lit said
  17. 2 Kings 4:27 Lit bitter
  18. 2 Kings 4:31 Lit attentiveness
  19. 2 Kings 4:31 Lit him, saying
  20. 2 Kings 4:38 Lit And
 
 

Judah’s Apostasy

2 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord,

“I remember concerning you the [a]devotion of your youth,
The love of your betrothals,
Your following after Me in the wilderness,
Through a land not sown.
3 “Israel was holy to the Lord,
The first of His harvest.
All who ate of it became guilty;
Evil came upon them,” declares the Lord.’”

4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord,

“What injustice did your fathers find in Me,
That they went far from Me
And walked after emptiness and became empty?
6 “They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who led us through the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and of pits,
Through a land of drought and of [b]deep darkness,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no man dwelt?’
7 “I brought you into the fruitful land
To eat its fruit and its good things.
But you came and defiled My land,
And My inheritance you made an abomination.
8 “The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the law did not know Me;
The [c]rulers also transgressed against Me,
And the prophets prophesied by Baal
And walked after things that did not profit.

9 “Therefore I will yet contend with you,” declares the Lord,
“And with your sons’ sons I will contend.
10 “For cross to the coastlands of [d]Kittim and see,
And send to Kedar and observe closely
And see if there has been such a thing as this!
11 “Has a nation changed gods
When they were not gods?
But My people have changed their glory
For that which does not profit.
12 “Be appalled, O heavens, at this,
And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.
13 “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The fountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That can hold no water.

14 “Is Israel a slave? Or is he a homeborn servant?
Why has he become a prey?
15 “The young lions have roared at him,
They have [e]roared loudly.
And they have made his land a waste;
His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.
16 “Also the [f]men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
Have [g]shaved the crown of your head.
17 “Have you not done this to yourself
By your forsaking the Lord your God
When He led you in the way?
18 “But now what are you doing on the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of the [h]Nile?
Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,
To drink the waters of the [i]Euphrates?
19 “Your own wickedness will correct you,
And your apostasies will reprove you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter
For you to forsake the Lord your God,
And the dread of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord [j]God of hosts.

20 “For long ago [k]I broke your yoke
And tore off your bonds;
But you said, ‘I will not serve!’
For on every high hill
And under every green tree
You have lain down as a harlot.
21 “Yet I planted you a choice vine,
A completely faithful seed.
How then have you turned yourself before Me
Into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?
22 “Although you wash yourself with lye
And [l]use much soap,
The stain of your iniquity is before Me,” declares the Lord [m]God.
23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way in the valley!
Know what you have done!
You are a swift young camel entangling her ways,
24 A wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,
That sniffs the wind in her passion.
In the time of her [n]heat who can turn her away?
All who seek her will not become weary;
In her month they will find her.
25 “Keep your feet from being unshod
And your throat from thirst;
But you said, ‘It is [o]hopeless!
No! For I have loved strangers,
And after them I will walk.’

26 “As the thief is shamed when he is discovered,
So the house of Israel is shamed;
They, their kings, their princes
And their priests and their prophets,
27 Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their back to Me,
And not their face;
But in the time of their [p]trouble they will say,
‘Arise and save us.’
28 “But where are your gods
Which you made for yourself?
Let them arise, if they can save you
In the time of your [q]trouble;
For according to the number of your cities
Are your gods, O Judah.

29 “Why do you contend with Me?
You have all transgressed against Me,” declares the Lord.
30 “In vain I have struck your sons;
They accepted no chastening.
Your sword has devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.
31 “O generation, heed the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a land of thick darkness?
Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam;
We will no longer come to You’?
32 “Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have forgotten Me
Days without number.
33 “How well you prepare your way
To seek love!
Therefore even [r]the wicked women
You have taught your ways.
34 “Also on your skirts is found
The lifeblood of the innocent poor;
You did not find them breaking in.
But in spite of all these things,
35 Yet you said, ‘I am innocent;
Surely His anger is turned away from me.’
Behold, I will enter into judgment with you
Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 “Why do you go around so much
Changing your way?
Also, you will be put to shame by Egypt
As you were put to shame by Assyria.
37 “From this place also you will go out
With your hands on your head;
For the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,
And you will not prosper with them.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 2:2 Or lovingkindness
  2. Jeremiah 2:6 Or the shadow of death
  3. Jeremiah 2:8 Lit shepherds
  4. Jeremiah 2:10 I.e. Cyprus and other islands
  5. Jeremiah 2:15 Lit given their voice
  6. Jeremiah 2:16 Or sons
  7. Jeremiah 2:16 Lit grazed
  8. Jeremiah 2:18 Heb Shihor
  9. Jeremiah 2:18 Lit River
  10. Jeremiah 2:19 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  11. Jeremiah 2:20 Or you
  12. Jeremiah 2:22 Lit cause to be great to you
  13. Jeremiah 2:22 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  14. Jeremiah 2:24 Lit occasion
  15. Jeremiah 2:25 Or desperate
  16. Jeremiah 2:27 Or evil
  17. Jeremiah 2:28 Or evil
  18. Jeremiah 2:33 Or in wickedness

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