Read · Listen · Study

2 Kings 4 · Berean Standard Bible

Playback speed

¹Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!” ²“How can I help you?” asked Elisha. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” ³“Go,” said Elisha, “borrow jars, even empty ones, from all your neighbors. Do not gather just a few. ⁴Then go inside, shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour oil into all these jars, setting the full ones aside.” ⁵So she left him, and after she had shut the door behind her and her sons, they kept bringing jars to her, and she kept pouring. ⁶When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another.” But he replied, “There are no more jars.” Then the oil stopped flowing. ⁷She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt. Then you and your sons can live on the remainder.” ⁸One day Elisha went to Shunem, and a prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to have a meal. So whenever he would pass by, he would stop there to eat. ⁹Then the woman said to her husband, “Behold, now I know that the one who often comes our way is a holy man of God. ¹⁰Please let us make a small room upstairs and put in it a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp for him. Then when he comes to us, he can stay there.” ¹¹One day Elisha came to visit and went to his upper room to lie down. ¹²And he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call the Shunammite woman.” And when he had called her, she stood before him, ¹³and Elisha said to Gehazi, “Now tell her, ‘Look, you have gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’ ” “I have a home among my own people,” she replied. ¹⁴So he asked, “Then what should be done for her?” “Well, she has no son,” Gehazi replied, “and her husband is old.” ¹⁵“Call her,” said Elisha. So Gehazi called her, and she stood in the doorway. ¹⁶And Elisha declared, “At this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she said. “Do not lie to your maidservant, O man of God.” ¹⁷But the woman did conceive, and at that time the next year she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her. ¹⁸And the child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the harvesters. ¹⁹“My head! My head!” he complained to his father. So his father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰After the servant had picked him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. ²¹And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God. Then she shut the door and went out. ²²And the woman called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may go quickly to the man of God and return.” ²³“Why would you go to him today?” he replied. “It is not a New Moon or a Sabbath.” “Everything is all right,” she said. ²⁴Then she saddled the donkey and told her servant, “Drive onward; do not slow the pace for me unless I tell you.” ²⁵So she set out and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, there is the Shunammite woman. ²⁶Please run out now to meet her and ask, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’ ” And she answered, “Everything is all right.” ²⁷When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she clung to his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is in deep distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.” ²⁸Then she said, “Did I ask you for a son, my lord? Didn’t I say, ‘Do not deceive me?’ ” ²⁹So Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tie up your garment, 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 boy’s face.” ³⁰And the mother of the boy said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her. ³¹Gehazi went on ahead of them and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So he went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened.” ³²When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his bed. ³³So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD. ³⁴Then Elisha got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eye to eye, and hand to hand. As he stretched himself out over him, the boy’s body became warm. ³⁵Elisha turned away and paced back and forth across the room. Then he got on the bed and stretched himself out over the boy again, and the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. ³⁶Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” So he called her and she came. Then Elisha said, “Pick up your son.” ³⁷She came in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out. ³⁸When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. As the sons of the prophets were sitting at his feet, he said to his attendant, “Put on the large pot and boil some stew for the sons of the prophets.” ³⁹One of them went out to the field to gather herbs, and he found a wild vine from which he gathered as many wild gourds as his garment could hold. Then he came back and cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. ⁴⁰And they poured it out for the men to eat, but when they tasted the stew they cried out, “There is death in the pot, O man of God!” And they could not eat it. ⁴¹Then Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Pour it out for the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot. ⁴²Now a man from Baal-shalishah came to the man of God with a sack of twenty loaves of barley bread from the first ripe grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha. ⁴³But his servant asked, “How am I to set twenty loaves before a hundred men?” “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha, “for this is what the LORD says: ‘They will 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 the LORD.

Berean Standard Bible · public domain. More versions and languages in the Reading Plan.

2 Kings

2 Kings 4

Elisha’s Miracles: Providence, Life, and Divine Provision

✦

Objective

To reveal the compassionate power of God working through His prophet Elisha, demonstrating His care for the needy, the restoration of life, and the miraculous provision that sustains His people.

Overview

2 Kings 4 unfolds a series of divine interventions through Elisha, the man of God. It begins with a widow’s desperate plea and God’s miraculous provision of oil, moves to the faithful hospitality of a Shunammite woman rewarded with a son, then to the resurrection of that son, and concludes with God’s provision for the sons of the prophets during famine. Each narrative reveals God’s power over death, poverty, and scarcity, affirming His intimate care for His covenant people.

Detailed Analysis

Event Description

A widow of a prophet’s son cries out to Elisha, fearing the loss of her children to slavery because of debt. Elisha asks what she has—only a little oil. She follows his command to borrow many empty vessels and pour oil until they are all filled. The oil miraculously does not cease, enabling her to sell it, pay debts, and live with her sons.

Central Themes

God’s provision in times of dire need

faith and obedience as conduits of blessing

divine care for the vulnerable and widows.

Cultural & Historical Context

Widows were among the most vulnerable in ancient Israelite society, often at risk of losing their children to debt slavery. Oil was a valuable commodity, essential for light, food, and anointing. This miracle echoes God’s care seen in Elijah’s provision during famine (1 Kings 17).

Key Verse

2 Kings 4:7

Vivid Artistic Descriptions

The Widow’s Oil: God’s Provision in Desperation

A dim, humble home with a widow and her sons gathering empty vessels. Streams of golden oil flow endlessly from a small jar, filling countless jars that glow warmly, symbolizing hope and divine abundance amid scarcity.

The Shunammite Woman’s Son: Hospitality Rewarded with Life

A sunlit chamber on a city wall, furnished simply yet with care, where a radiant woman holds a newborn son. The scene is suffused with a gentle light suggesting blessing and the fulfillment of God’s promise.

The Death and Resurrection of the Shunammite’s Son: God’s Power over Death

A shadowed room where a lifeless child lies on a bed. Elisha, with hands upon the child, is bathed in a soft divine light. The child’s eyes open as light breaks through darkness, symbolizing resurrection and hope restored.

The Poisoned Stew and the Multiplication of Loaves: Sustenance in Famine

A large pot steaming over fire, with wild gourds and flour cast in. Around it, hungry men gather as baskets of barley loaves multiply miraculously, overflowing with abundance despite famine’s shadow.

Song

2 Kings 4 Song

Verse 1

In the house of need and fear, a widow’s cry is clear,Elisha’s word, a vessel’s call, oil flows to fill them all.

Verse 2

A chamber built with loving hands, a promise made, a child stands,From barrenness to joyful cries, God’s blessing seen in newborn eyes.

Verse 3

In famine’s grip, the pot is stirred, poison hidden in the word,Flour cast in, loaves increase, God’s provision brings release.

Chorus

God provides, God restores,He opens wide the closed doors,From empty jars to life anew,His miracles come shining through.

Bridge

Death’s cold grip cannot contain, the power of God’s holy name,Elisha prays, life returns, hope ignites as darkness burns.

Final Chorus

God provides, God restores,He opens wide the closed doors,From empty jars to life anew,His miracles come shining through.

Practical Application

Personal Life

Trust God’s provision even when resources seem insufficient.

Offer hospitality and care to those who serve God, recognizing His work through them.

Persist in faith and prayer amid grief and loss, believing in God’s power to restore life.

Community & Society

Support vulnerable members, such as widows and orphans, reflecting God’s compassion.

Encourage and sustain spiritual leaders and communities reliant on God’s provision.

Respond to crises with faith, sharing resources and trusting God’s miraculous provision.

Global Perspective

Recognize God’s sovereignty over life, death, and provision across nations.

Advocate for justice and care for those in poverty and famine worldwide.

Celebrate and proclaim God’s miracles as testimony to His enduring faithfulness.

Conclusion

2 Kings 4 reveals God’s tender care manifest through Elisha’s ministry: provision for the poor, blessing of life where there was barrenness, victory over death, and sustenance amid famine. These acts testify to a God who is intimately involved with His people, sovereign over life’s deepest needs, and faithful to His promises. The chapter calls believers to trust, hospitality, persistent faith, and communal care as reflections of God’s kingdom.