¹And a certain woman from the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha and said, “Your servant my husband has died, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but a creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” ²Then Elisha said to her, “What should I do for you? Tell me what you have in the house.” And she said, “Your maidservant does not have anything in the house except a flask of oil.” ³And he said, “Go and ask for crockery from those round about – from every neighbour of yours – empty pots and pans, and do not ask for a few. ⁴And when you come back in, close the door after you and after your sons, and pour your oil out into all those pots and pans, and put that which is full away.” ⁵And after she had departed from him and had closed the door after her, and after her sons, they brought the pots and pans to her, and she did the pouring. ⁶And it came to pass, when the pots and pans had been filled, that she said to her son, “Bring another pot to me.” But he said to her, “There aren't any more pots.” And the oil held out. ⁷Then she came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go and sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons live from the rest.” ⁸And it came to pass, on the day when Elisha crossed over to Shunem, where a high-ranking woman was, that she urged him to eat bread, and it was the case that every time he passed by, he turned aside there to eat bread. ⁹And she said to her husband, “Look, please, I know that he is a holy man of God, who is always calling in on us. ¹⁰Let us make a small walled upper room and put a bed and a table and a chair and a lampstand for him there, so that when he comes to us, he can turn in there.” ¹¹And it came to pass, on a day when he came there, that he turned in to the upper room, and he lay there, ¹²and he said to Gehazi his servant-lad, “Call this Shunammitess.” So he called her, and she stood before him. ¹³And Elisha said to Gehazi, “Now say to her, ‘Look, you have taken all this care over us. What can we do for you? Is there a reason to speak to the king on your behalf? Or to the commander of the army?’ ” And she said, “I live among my people.” ¹⁴And Elisha said, “What can we do for her?” And Gehazi said, “Truly, she does not have a son, and her husband is old.” ¹⁵And he said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood at the entrance. ¹⁶And he said, “At this time next year, you will be embracing a son.” But she said, “No, my lord, O man of God, don't deceive your maidservant.” ¹⁷And the woman conceived and bore a son, at that time in the next year, which was what Elisha had said to her. ¹⁸And the child grew up, and the day came when he went out to his father – to the reapers. ¹⁹And he said to his father, “My head, my head!” And he said to the servant-lad, “Take him to his mother.” ²⁰So he took him and brought him to his mother, and he sat on her knees until noon, then he died. ²¹Then she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and she shut the door on him and went out. ²²And she called her husband and said, “Would you please send for one of the servant-lads for me, and one of the donkeys, and I will hasten to the man of God and return.” ²³And he said, “Why are you going to him today? It isn't a new month and it isn't a Sabbath.” And she said, “It is for our welfare.” ²⁴So she saddled the donkey and said to her servant-lad, “Drive it and get going. Don't stop riding for me unless I tell you.” ²⁵So off she went, and she came to the man of God at Mount Carmel, and it came to pass, when the man of God saw her approaching, that he said to Gehazi his servant-lad, “Look, it is that Shunammitess. ²⁶Now run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you well, and is your husband well, and is the child well?’ ” And she said, “We are well.” ²⁷Then she came to the man of God at the mountain, and she held onto his feet, and Gehazi approached to thrust her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for she is feeling very bitter, but the Lord has hidden the matter from me and has not told me about it.” ²⁸Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Didn't I say, ‘Don't deceive me’?” ²⁹Then Elisha said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins and take my staff in your hand and go. If you come across a man, do not greet him, and if a man greets you, do not answer him. Then lay my staff on the child's face.” ³⁰Then the boy's mother said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I certainly will not leave you.” And he arose and followed her. ³¹So Gehazi crossed over before them, and he laid the staff on the boy's face, but there was no sound and no responsiveness. So he went back to meet Elisha, and he reported to him and said, “The boy did not awaken.” ³²Then Elisha went to the house, and it was clear that the boy was dead, laid out on his bed. ³³And he went in, and he closed the door behind both of them, and he prayed to the Lord. ³⁴Then he went up and lay on the child and positioned his own mouth to his mouth, and his own eyes to his eyes, and his own hands to his hands, and he leant over him, and the child's flesh warmed up. ³⁵Then he returned and paced up and down in the house, and he went up and leant over him. Then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. ³⁶Then he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammitess.” So he called her, and she came to him. And he said, “Lift your son up.” ³⁷And she went in and fell at his feet and bowed face down to the ground. Then she lifted her son up and went out. ³⁸Then Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land, and the sons of the prophets were sitting in front of him. And he said to his servant-lad, “Put the large pot on the fire and cook a stew for the sons of the prophets.” ³⁹And one of them went out into the countryside to gather some herbs, and he came across a desert gourd, and he gathered its fruit, filling his pockets. And he came back and sliced them into the pot of stew, but they did not know about it. ⁴⁰And when they had poured it out for the men to eat, it came to pass that when they ate the stew, they shouted and said, “There is death in the pot, O man of God.” And they could not eat it. ⁴¹Then he said, “Then bring flour.” And he threw it into the pot and said, “Pour it out for the people so that they can eat.” And there was nothing unsavoury in the pot. ⁴²Subsequently, a man came from Baal-Shalishah, who brought for the man of God bread from the firstfruits – twenty barley loaves and some produce of his best field – in his bag. And Elisha said, “Give them to the people so that they may eat.” ⁴³But his attendant said, “What? Am I to serve this to a hundred people?” And Elisha said, “Serve it to the people so that they may eat, for this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’ ” ⁴⁴Then he served it to them, and they ate, and they had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.