2 Re 4
Nuova Riveduta 2006
Altri miracoli di Eliseo; l’olio della vedova
4 (A)Una donna, moglie di uno dei discepoli dei profeti, si rivolse a Eliseo e disse: «Mio marito, tuo servo, è morto; e tu sai che il tuo servo temeva il Signore. Il suo creditore è venuto per prendersi i miei due figli come schiavi». 2 Eliseo le disse: «Che devo fare per te? Dimmi, che cosa hai in casa?» La donna rispose: «La tua serva non ha nulla in casa, tranne un vasetto d’olio». 3 Allora egli disse: «Va’ fuori, chiedi in prestito a tutti i tuoi vicini dei vasi vuoti; e non ne chiedere pochi. 4 Poi torna, chiudi la porta dietro di te e i tuoi figli, e versa dell’olio in tutti quei vasi; e, a mano a mano che saranno pieni, falli mettere da parte. 5 La donna se ne andò e si chiuse in casa con i suoi figli; questi le portavano i vasi e lei vi versava l’olio. 6 Quando i vasi furono pieni, disse a suo figlio: «Portami ancora un vaso». Egli le rispose: «Non ci sono più vasi». E l’olio si fermò. 7 Allora lei andò e riferì tutto all’uomo di Dio, che le disse: «Va’ a vendere l’olio e paga il tuo debito; e di quel che resta sostèntati tu e i tuoi figli».
La risurrezione del figlio della Sunamita
8 (B)Un giorno Eliseo passava per Sunem; là c’era una donna ricca che lo trattenne con premura perché mangiasse da lei; così tutte le volte che passava di là andava a mangiare da lei. 9 La donna disse a suo marito: «Ecco, io so che quest’uomo che passa sempre da noi è un santo uomo di Dio. 10 Ti prego, costruiamogli, di sopra, una piccola camera in muratura e mettiamoci per lui un letto, un tavolino, una sedia e un candeliere, affinché, quando verrà da noi, egli possa ritirarvisi. 11 Così, un giorno che egli giunse a Sunem, si ritirò in quella camera e vi dormì. 12 E disse a Gheazi, suo servo: «Chiama questa Sunamita». Egli la chiamò, e lei si presentò davanti a lui. 13 Eliseo disse a Gheazi: «Dille così: “Tu hai avuto per noi tutta questa premura; che si può fare per te? Hai bisogno che si parli per te al re o al capo dell’esercito?”» Lei rispose: 14 «Io vivo in mezzo al mio popolo». Ed Eliseo disse: «Che si potrebbe fare per lei?» Gheazi rispose: «Certo non ha figli, e suo marito è vecchio». 15 Eliseo gli disse: «Chiamala!» Gheazi la chiamò e lei si presentò alla porta. 16 Ed Eliseo le disse: «L’anno prossimo, in questo stesso periodo, tu abbraccerai un figlio». Lei rispose: «No, mio signore, tu che sei un uomo di Dio non ingannare la tua serva!»
17 Questa donna concepì e, l’anno dopo, in quel medesimo periodo partorì un figlio, come Eliseo le aveva detto. 18 Il bambino si fece grande; e un giorno, uscito per andare da suo padre che era con i mietitori, 19 disse a suo padre: «La mia testa! la mia testa!» Il padre disse al servo: «Portalo da sua madre!» 20 Il servo lo portò via e lo condusse da sua madre. Il bambino rimase sulle ginocchia di lei fino a mezzogiorno, poi morì. 21 Allora la donna salì, lo adagiò sul letto dell’uomo di Dio, chiuse la porta e uscì. 22 Poi chiamò suo marito e gli disse: «Ti prego, mandami un servo e un’asina, perché voglio correre dall’uomo di Dio e tornare». 23 Il marito le chiese: «Perché vuoi andare da lui quest’oggi? Non è il novilunio e non è sabato». Lei rispose: «Lascia fare!» 24 Poi fece sellare l’asina e disse al suo servo: «Guidala, e tira via; non mi fermare per strada, a meno che io non te lo dica». 25 Così partì, e giunse dall’uomo di Dio, sul monte Carmelo. Appena l’uomo di Dio la vide da lontano, disse a Gheazi, suo servo: «Ecco la Sunamita che viene! 26 Ti prego, corri a incontrarla e dille: “Stai bene? Sta bene tuo marito? E il bambino sta bene?”». Lei rispose: «Stanno bene». 27 E come fu giunta dall’uomo di Dio, sul monte, gli abbracciò i piedi. Gheazi si avvicinò per respingerla, ma l’uomo di Dio disse: «Lasciala stare, poiché l’anima sua è amareggiata, e il Signore me l’ha nascosto; non me l’ha rivelato». 28 La donna disse: «Avevo forse chiesto di poter avere un figlio? Non ti dissi dunque: “Non m’ingannare”?» 29 Allora Eliseo disse a Gheazi: «Cingiti i fianchi, prendi in mano il mio bastone e parti. Se incontri qualcuno, non salutarlo, e se qualcuno ti saluta, non rispondergli; e poserai il mio bastone sulla faccia del bambino». 30 La madre del bambino disse a Eliseo: «Com’è vero che il Signore vive e che tu vivi, io non ti lascerò». Ed Eliseo si alzò e andò insieme con lei. 31 Gheazi, che li aveva preceduti, pose il bastone sulla faccia del bambino, ma non ci fu voce né segno di vita. Allora andò incontro a Eliseo e gli riferì la cosa, dicendo: «Il bambino non si è svegliato». 32 Quando Eliseo arrivò in casa, il bambino, morto, era adagiato sul suo letto. 33 Egli entrò, si chiuse dentro con il bambino e pregò il Signore. 34 Poi salì sul letto e si coricò sul bambino; pose la sua bocca sulla bocca di lui, i suoi occhi sugli occhi di lui, le sue mani sulle mani di lui; si distese sopra di lui, e il corpo del bambino si riscaldò. 35 Poi Eliseo s’allontanò, andò qua e là per la casa; poi risalì e si ridistese sopra il bambino; e il bambino starnutì sette volte e aprì gli occhi. 36 Allora Eliseo chiamò Gheazi e gli disse: «Chiama questa Sunamita». Egli la chiamò; e, come giunse vicino a Eliseo, questi le disse: «Prendi tuo figlio». 37 La donna entrò, gli si gettò ai piedi e si prostrò in terra; poi prese suo figlio e uscì.
La minestra risanata
38 (C)Eliseo se ne tornò a Ghilgal. Nel paese c’era la carestia. Mentre i discepoli dei profeti stavano seduti davanti a lui, egli disse al suo servo: «Metti la pentola grande sul fuoco e prepara una minestra per i discepoli dei profeti». 39 Uno di questi andò fuori per i campi a cogliere erbe; trovò una specie di vite selvatica, ne colse i frutti, le colloquintidi, e se ne riempì la veste; e al suo ritorno, li tagliò a pezzi e li mise nella pentola dov’era la minestra; ma non si sapeva che cosa fossero. 40 Poi versarono la minestra a quegli uomini perché mangiassero; ma appena l’ebbero assaggiata, esclamarono: «Uomo di Dio, c’è la morte nella pentola!» E non ne poterono mangiare. 41 Eliseo disse: «Ebbene, portatemi della farina!» La gettò nella pentola e disse: «Versatene a questa gente perché mangi». E non c’era più nulla di cattivo nella pentola.
La moltiplicazione dei pani
42 (D)Giunse poi un uomo da Baal-Salisa, che portò all’uomo di Dio del pane delle primizie: venti pani d’orzo e del grano nuovo nella sua bisaccia. Eliseo disse al suo servo: «Danne alla gente perché mangi». 43 Quegli rispose: «Come faccio a mettere questo davanti a cento persone?» Ma Eliseo disse: «Danne alla gente perché mangi; infatti così dice il Signore: “Mangeranno, e ne avanzerà”». 44 Così egli mise quelle provviste davanti alla gente, che mangiò e ne lasciò d’avanzo, secondo la parola del Signore.
2 Kings 4
New King James Version
Elisha and the Widow’s Oil(A)
4 A certain woman of the wives of (B)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 the creditor is coming (C)to take my two sons to be his slaves.”
2 So 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 jar of oil.”
3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; (D)do not gather just a few. 4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.”
5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6 Now 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.” So the oil ceased. 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 live on the rest.”
Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son(E)
8 Now it happened one day that Elisha went to (F)Shunem, where there was a [a]notable woman, and she [b]persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. 9 And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. 10 Please, let us make [c]a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.”
11 And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. 12 Then he said to (G)Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. 13 And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’ ”
She answered, “I dwell among my own people.”
14 So he said, “What then is to be done for her?”
And Gehazi answered, “Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.”
15 So he said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16 Then he said, [d]“About this time next year you shall embrace a son.”
And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, (H)do not lie to your maidservant!”
17 But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.
18 And the child grew. Now it happened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. 19 And he said to his father, “My head, my head!”
So he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. 21 And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out. 22 Then 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.”
23 So he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the (I)New Moon nor the Sabbath.”
And she said, [e]“It is well.” 24 Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, “Drive, and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” 25 And so she departed, and went to the man of God (J)at Mount Carmel.
So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, the Shunammite woman! 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 answered, “It is well.” 27 Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me.”
28 So she said, “Did I ask a son of my lord? (K)Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?”
29 Then he said to Gehazi, (L)“Get[f] yourself ready, and take my staff in your hand, and be on your way. If you meet anyone, (M)do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him; but (N)lay my staff on the face of the child.”
30 And the mother of the child said, (O)“As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not (P)leave you.” So he arose and followed her. 31 Now Gehazi went on ahead of them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore he went back to meet him, and told him, saying, “The child has (Q)not awakened.”
32 When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. 33 He (R)went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, (S)and prayed to the Lord. 34 And 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 (T)he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. 35 He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up (U)and stretched himself out on him; then (V)the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. 36 And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” 37 So she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; then she (W)picked up her son and went out.
Elisha Purifies the Pot of Stew
38 And Elisha returned to (X)Gilgal, and there was a (Y)famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were (Z)sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” 39 So one 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. 40 Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is (AA)death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.
41 So he said, “Then bring some flour.” And (AB)he put it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
Elisha Feeds One Hundred Men(AC)
42 Then a man came from (AD)Baal Shalisha, (AE)and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.”
43 But his servant said, (AF)“What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?”
He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the Lord: (AG)‘They shall eat and have some left over.’ ” 44 So he set it before them; and they ate (AH)and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 4:8 Lit. great
- 2 Kings 4:8 Lit. laid hold on him
- 2 Kings 4:10 Or a small walled upper chamber
- 2 Kings 4:16 Lit. About this season, as the time of life
- 2 Kings 4:23 Or It will be well
- 2 Kings 4:29 Lit. Gird up your loins. The skirt of the robe was wrapped around the legs and tucked in the belt to gain freedom of movement.
2 Kings 4
The Message
4 One 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.”
2 Elisha 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.”
3-4 “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. Then come home and lock the door behind you, you and your sons. Pour oil into each container; when each is full, set it aside.”
5-6 She did what he said. She locked the door behind her and her sons; as they brought the containers to her, she filled them. When 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.
7 She 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.”
* * *
8 One 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.
9-10 “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. Why 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?”
11 And so it happened that the next time Elisha came by he went to the room and lay down for a nap.
12 Then he said to his servant Gehazi, “Tell the Shunammite woman I want to see her.” He called her and she came to him.
13 Through 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.”
14 Elisha 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.”
15 “Call her in,” said Elisha. He called her and she stood at the open door.
16 Elisha 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!”
17 The woman conceived. A year later, just as Elisha had said, she had a son.
18-19 The child grew up. One day he went to his father, who was working with the harvest hands, complaining, “My head, my head!”
His father ordered a servant, “Carry him to his mother.”
20 The servant took him in his arms and carried him to his mother. He lay on her lap until noon and died.
21 She took him up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut him in alone, and left.
22 She 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.”
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.”
24-25 She 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.” And so off she went. She came to the Holy Man at Mount Carmel.
25-26 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! Quickly now. Ask her, ‘Is something wrong? Are you all right? Your husband? Your child?’”
She said, “Everything’s fine.”
27 But 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.”
28 Then she spoke up: “Did I ask for a son, master? Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t tease me with false hopes’?”
29 He 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.”
30 The 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.
31 But 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.”
32-35 Elisha entered the house and found the boy stretched out on the bed dead. He went into the room and locked the door—just the two of them in the room—and prayed to God. He 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. Elisha 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.
36 He called Gehazi and said, “Get the Shunammite woman in here!” He called her and she came in.
Elisha said, “Embrace your son!”
37 She fell at Elisha’s feet, face to the ground in reverent awe. Then she embraced her son and went out with him.
38 Elisha 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.”
39-40 One 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. The 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.
Elisha ordered, “Get me some meal.” Then he sprinkled it into the stew pot.
41 “Now serve it up to the men,” he said. They ate it, and it was just fine—nothing wrong with that stew!
42 One 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.”
43 His servant said, “For a hundred men? There’s not nearly enough!”
Elisha said, “Just go ahead and do it. God says there’s plenty.”
44 And sure enough, there was. He passed around what he had—they not only ate, but had leftovers.
Copyright © 2006 Società Biblica di Ginevra
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson