VW-Edition Bible (2010)

1Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared Jehovah. And the creditor is coming to take my two children to be his slaves. 2And 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 but a flask of oil. 3Then he said, Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors; empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; and pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones. 5So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, Bring me another vessel. And he said to her, There is not another vessel. And the oil stopped. 7Then she came and reported to the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest. 8And it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she prevailed upon him to eat food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn aside there to eat food. 9And she said to her husband, Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us continually. 10Please, let us make a small walled upper room; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it shall be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn aside there. 11And the day came that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. 12And he said to Gehazi his servant, Summon this Shunammite. And when he had summoned her, she stood before him. 13And he said to him, Say now to her, Behold, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What shall I do for you? Shall I speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army? She answered, I am dwelling among my own people. 14So he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Truly, she has no son, and her husband is old. 15And he said, Summon her. When he had summoned her, she stood in the doorway. 16And he said, At the appointed time according to the time of life you shall embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant! 17And the woman conceived and bore a son at the appointed time, according to the time of life, as Elisha had spoken to her. 18When the child was grown, it happened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. 19And he said to his father, My head, my head! So he said to a servant, Carry him to his mother. 20When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and died. 21And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out. 22And she called to her husband, and said, Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come back. 23And he said, Why are you going to him today? It is neither the new moon nor the sabbath. And she said, It will be well. 24And she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, Lead on and go; do not slacken the pace for me unless I say so. 25So she departed, and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. And so it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, Behold, the Shunammite! 26Please 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. 27And when she came to the man of God at the hill, she took 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 bitter, and Jehovah has hidden it from me, and has not told me. 28And she said, Did I ask a son of my lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me? 29Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up your loins, and 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; but lay my staff on the face of the boy. 30And the mother of the boy said, As Jehovah lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. So he arose and went after her.  31And Gehazi went on before them, and laid the staff on the face of the boy; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore he went back to meet him, and reported to him, saying, The boy has not awakened. 32And when Elisha came into the house, behold, the boy was dead, lying on his bed. 33So he went in, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed unto Jehovah. 34And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. 35He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the boy sneezed seven times, and the boy opened his eyes. 36And he summoned Gehazi and said, Summon this Shunammite. So he summoned her. And when she came in to him, he said, Take up your son. 37And she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground, and took up her son and went out. 38And Elisha returned to Gilgal. Now there was a famine in the land, and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets. 39And one of them went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. 40And they poured out for the men to eat. And it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, Man of God, there is death in the pot! And they could not eat it. 41So he said, Then bring some flour. And he put it into the pot, and said, Pour it out for the people, that they may eat. And there was nothing harmful in the pot. 42And a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and fresh heads of grain in his sack. And he said, Give it to the people, that they may eat. 43But his servant said, What? Shall I set this before one hundred men? He said again, Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says Jehovah: They shall eat and have some left over. 44So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the Word of Jehovah.


Matthew Henry - Concise Commentary
 1   Elisha's miracles were acts of real charity: Christ's were so; not only great wonders, but great favours to those for whom they were wrought. God magnifies his goodness with his power. Elisha readily received a poor widow's complaint. Those that leave their families under a load of debt, know not what trouble they cause. It is the duty of all who profess to follow the Lord, while they trust to God for daily bread, not to tempt him by carelessness or extravagance, nor to contract debts; for nothing tends more to bring reproach upon the gospel, or distresses their families more when they are gone. Elisha put the widow in a way to pay her debt, and to maintain herself and her family. This was done by miracle, but so as to show what is the best method to assist those who are in distress, which is, to help them to improve by their own industry what little they have. The oil, sent by miracle, continued flowing as long as she had empty vessels to receive it. We are never straitened in God, or in the riches of his grace; all our straitness is in ourselves. It is our faith that fails, not his promise. He gives more than we ask: were there more vessels, there is enough in God to fill them; enough for all, enough for each; and the Redeemer's all-sufficiency will only be stayed from the supplying the wants of sinners and saving their souls, when no more apply to him for salvation. The widow must pay her debt with the money she received for her oil. Though her creditors were too hard with her, yet they must be paid, even before she made any provision for her children. It is one of the main laws of the Christian religion, that we pay every just debt, and give every one his own, though we leave ever so little for ourselves; and this, not of constraint, but for conscience' sake. Those who bear an honest mind, cannot with pleasure eat their daily bread, unless it be their own bread. She and her children must live upon the rest; that is, upon the money received for the oil, with which they must put themselves into a way to get an honest livelihood. We cannot now expect miracles, yet we may expect mercies, if we wait on God, and seek to him. Let widows in particular depend upon him. He that has all hearts in his hand, can, without a miracle, send as effectual a supply.

 8   Elisha was well thought of by the king of Israel for his late services; a good man can take as much pleasure in serving others, as in raising himself. But the Shunammite needed not any good offices of this kind. It is a happiness to dwell among our own people, that love and respect us, and to whom we are able to do good. It would be well with many, if they did but know when they are really well off. The Lord sees the secret wish which is suppressed in obedience to his will, and he will hear the prayers of his servants in behalf of their benefactors, by sending unasked-for and unexpected mercies; nor must the professions of men of God be supposed to be delusive like those of men of the world.

 18   Here is the sudden death of the child. All the mother's tenderness cannot keep alive a child of promise, a child of prayer, one given in love. But how admirably does the prudent, pious mother, guard her lips under this sudden affliction! Not one peevish word escapes from her. Such confidence had she of God's goodness, that she was ready to believe that he would restore what he had now taken away. O woman, great is thy faith! He that wrought it, would not disappoint it. The sorrowful mother begged leave of her husband to go to the prophet at once. She had not thought it enough to have Elisha's help sometimes in her own family, but, though a woman of rank, attended on public worship. It well becomes the men of God, to inquire about the welfare of their friends and their families. The answer was, It is well. All well, and yet the child dead in the house! Yes! All is well that God does; all is well with them that are gone, if they are gone to heaven; and all well with us that stay behind, if, by the affliction, we are furthered in our way thither. When any creature-comfort is taken from us, it is well if we can say, through grace, that we did not set our hearts too much upon it; for if we did, we have reason to fear it was given in anger, and taken away in wrath. Elisha cried unto God in faith; and the beloved son was restored alive to his mother. Those who would convey spiritual life to dead souls, must feel deeply for their case, and labour fervently in prayer for them. Though the minister cannot give Divine life to his fellow-sinners, he must use every means, with as much earnestness as if he could do so.

 38   There was a famine of bread, but not of hearing the word of God, for Elisha had the sons of the prophets sitting before him, to hear his wisdom. Elisha made hurtful food to become safe and wholesome. If a mess of pottage be all our dinner, remember that this great prophet had no better for himself and his guests. The table often becomes a snare, and that which should be for our welfare, proves a trap: this is a good reason why we should not feed ourselves without fear. When we are receiving the supports and comforts of life, we must keep up an expectation of death, and a fear of sin. We must acknowledge God's goodness in making our food wholesome and nourishing; I am the Lord that healeth thee. Elisha also made a little food go a great way. Having freely received, he freely gave. God has promised his church, that he will abundantly bless her provision, and satisfy her poor with bread, Pss 132:15; whom he feeds, he fills; and what he blesses, comes to much. Christ's feeding his hearers was a miracle far beyond this, but both teach us that those who wait upon God in the way of duty, may hope to be supplied by Divine Providence.