CHAPTER 4
1 Forsooth a woman of the wives of prophets cried to Elisha, and said, Thy servant, mine husband, is dead, and thou knowest that thy servant dreaded God; and lo! the creancer, that is, he to whom debt is owed, cometh to take my two sons to serve him. (And a woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, and said, Thy servant, my husband, is dead, and thou knowest that thy servant feared God or revered God; and behold! the creditor cometh to take away my two sons to serve him.)
2 To whom Elisha said, What wilt thou that I do to thee? (or What wilt thou that I do for thee?) say thou to me, what hast thou in thine house? And she answered, I thine handmaid have not anything in mine house, no but a little of oil, with which I shall be anointed.
3 To whom he said, Go thou, and ask by borrowing of all thy neighbours void vessels, not a few. (To whom he said, Go thou, and ask to borrow empty vessels from all of thy neighbours, and borrow not just a few.)
4 And enter, and close thy door, when thou art within, thou and thy sons, (or And go inside, and when thou and thy sons be within, close the door); and put ye thereof into all these vessels; and when those shall be full, thou shalt take (them, and put them) away.
5 Therefore the woman went, and closed the door on herself and on her sons, (and) they brought the vessels, and she poured in(to them).
6 And when the vessels were full, she said to her son, Bring yet a vessel to me. And he answered, I have not. And then the oil stood, increasing no more. (And when all the vessels were full, she said to her son, Bring me another vessel. And he answered, I have no more. And then the oil stood still, or stopped, and increased no more.)
7 Forsooth she came, and showed it to the man of God; and he said, Go thou, sell the oil, and yield to thy creancer; and thou and thy children live ye off the remnant, or the residue. (And she came, and showed it to the man of God; and he said, Go thou, sell the oil, and yield what thou owest to thy creditor; and then thou and thy children live ye on the rest.)
8 Forsooth a day was made, and Elisha passed by a city, Shunem; and a great woman was there, which held him, that he should eat bread, that is, busily prayed (him to come) to meat. And when he passed oft thereby, he turned to her, that he would eat bread with her, (or And often when he passed by, he would turn in at her home, so that he could share a meal with her).
9 And she said to her husband, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, that passeth oft by us (or who often passeth by us);
10 therefore make we a little solar to him, and put we therein a little bed to him, and a board, and a chair, and a candlestick; that when he cometh to us, he dwell there. (and so let us make a solarium for him, and put we a bed in it, and a table, and a chair, and a candlestick for him; so that when he cometh to us, he can rest there.)
11 Therefore a day was made, and Elisha came, and turned in to the solar (or and went up to the solarium), and rested there.
12 And he said to Gehazi, his servant, Call thou this Shunammite. And when he had called her, and she had stood before him,
13 he said to his servant, Speak thou to her, Lo! thou hast ministered to us busily in all things; what wilt thou that I do to thee? Whether thou hast a cause, and wilt that I speak to the king, either to the prince of the chivalry? And she answered, I dwell in the midst of my people. (And then she went away.)(he said to his servant, Speak thou to her, and say, Behold! thou hast busily served us in all things; what wilt thou that I do for thee? Hast thou a case, that I speak about to the king, or to the leader of the cavalry, (or of the army)? And she answered, All is well; I live here in the midst of my people. And then she went away.)
14 And he said, What then will she that I do to her? (or And he said, What then desireth her that I should do for her?)[And] Gehazi said to him, Ask thou not (me), for she hath no son, and her husband is eld.
15 Therefore Elisha commanded, that he should call her (back). And when she was called, and stood before the door,
16 he said to her, In this time, as in (the) time of life, (or At this time, next year), thou shalt embrace a son*. And she answered, Do not thou, my lord, the man of God, I beseech (thee), do not thou lie to thine handmaid.
17 And the woman conceived, and childed a son in the time, and in the same hour, in which Elisha had said. (And the woman conceived, and bare a son at the time, and at the hour, in which Elisha had said.)
18 Soothly the child increased; and when some day was, and the child was gone out, and went to his father, and to the reapers, (And the child grew; and then one day, when the child went out to his father, and to the reapers,)
19 he said to his father, Mine head acheth, mine head acheth. And his father said to a servant, Take (him), and lead him to his mother.
20 And when he had taken (him), and had brought him to his mother, she setted him on her knees unto midday, and he was dead (or and then he died).
21 Certainly she went up, and laid him on the little bed of the man of God, and closed the door. And she went out,
22 and called her husband, and said, I beseech, send thou with me one of the servants, and an ass, and I shall run out unto the man of God, and I shall turn again (or and then I shall return).
23 And he said to her, For what cause goest thou to him? today be not calends, neither sabbath. And she answered, I shall go.
24 And she saddled the ass, and commanded to the servant, Drive thou, and haste thee; make thou no tarrying to me in going (or do not thou go slow for me), and do thou this thing which I command to thee.
25 Then she went forth, and came to the man of God, into the hill of Carmel. And when the man of God had seen her even against him, he said to Gehazi, his servant, Lo! that Shunammite; (Then she went forth, and came to the man of God, on Mount Carmel. And when the man of God had seen her some way off, he said to Gehazi, his servant, Behold! that Shunammite;)
26 go thou therefore into the meeting of her, and say thou to her, Whether it is done rightfully about thee, and about thine husband, and about thy son? And (when the servant came to her, and asked her), she answered (to him), It is done rightfully. (and so go thou to meet her, and say thou to her, Is all well with thee, and thy husband, and thy son? And when the servant came to her, and asked her, she answered to him, All is well.)
27 And when she had come to the man of God, into the hill, she took (hold of) his feet; and Gehazi nighed, that he should remove her. And the man of God said, Suffer thou her; for her soul is in bitterness, and the Lord hath held it privy from me, and showed it not to me. (But when she had come to the man of God, on the hill, she took hold of his feet; and Gehazi came over, so that he could move her away. And the man of God said, Allow thou her; for her soul is bitter for some reason, and the Lord hath kept it secret from me, and hath not showed it to me.)
28 And she said to him, Whether I asked a son of thee, my lord? Whether I said not to thee, Scorn thou not me? (And she said to him, Did I ask for a son from thee, my lord? Did I not say to thee, Do not thou scorn me?)
29 And he said to Gehazi, Gird thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go; and if a man meet thee, greet thou not him; and if any man greeteth thee, answer thou not him; and put thou my staff upon the face of the child. (And he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go; and if thou meet any man, greet thou him not; and if any man greeteth thee, answer thou him not; and put thou my staff on the child’s face.)
30 Forsooth the mother of the child said, (As) The Lord liveth, and (as) thy soul liveth, I shall not leave thee. Therefore he rose (up), and followed her.
31 And Gehazi went before them, and putted the staff upon the face of the child; and there was not voice in him, neither wit. And Gehazi turned again into the meeting of him; and told to him, and said, The child rose not, (or And Gehazi returned to meet him; and said to him, The child did not get up).
32 Therefore Elisha entered into the house, and, lo! the dead child lay in his bed. (And so Elisha went into the house, and, behold! the child lay dead on his bed.)
33 And he entered, and closed the door on himself, and on the child; and prayed to the Lord.
34 And (then) Elisha went up, and lay upon the child; and he putted his mouth upon the mouth of the child, and his eyes upon the eyes of the child, and his hands upon the hands of the child. And he bowed himself (down) upon the child; and the flesh of the child was made hot.
35 And he turned again, and walked in the house once hither and thither; and (then) again Elisha went up, and lay upon the child, and the child coughed seven times, and opened the eyes (or and opened his eyes).
36 And he called Gehazi, and said to him, Call thou this Shunammite. And she was called, and entered to him. And he said, Take thy son.
37 She came, and felled down to his feet, and worshipped on the earth; and she took her son, and went out. (She came, and fell down at his feet, and bowed low to the ground; and she took her son, and went out.)
38 And Elisha turned again into Gilgal. Forsooth hunger was in the land, and the sons of (the) prophets dwelled before him. And Elisha said to one of his servants, Set thou a great pot (on the fire), and seethe thou pottage to the sons of (the) prophets†. (And Elisha returned to Gilgal. And there was a famine in the land. And when the sons of the prophets sat before him, Elisha said to one of his servants, Put thou a great pot on the fire, and boil thou some broth, or some stew, for these sons of the prophets.)
39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs of the field; and he found as it were a wild vine, and he gathered thereof gourds of the field. And he [full-]filled his mantle, and he turned again, and shredded those into the pot of pottage; for he knew not what it was, (or And he filled his mantle, or his cloak, full, and he returned, and shredded them into the pot of broth, or of stew; but he did not know what it was).
40 Therefore they poured in to fellows to eat; and when they had tasted of the seething, they cried out, and said, Death is in the pot! death is in the pot! thou man of God. And they might not eat it. (And so they poured it out for the fellows to eat; but when they had tasted the broth, (or the stew), they cried out, and said, Death is in the pot! death is in the pot, O man of God! And they could not eat (it).)
41 And he said, Bring ye meal. And when they had brought, he put it into the pot, and said, Pour ye out to the company, that they eat; and anything of bitterness was no more in the pot. (And he said, Bring ye some meal. And when they had brought it, he put it into the pot, and said, Pour ye it out for the group, so that everyone can eat some; and there was no longer anything of bitterness in the pot.)
42 Forsooth some man came from Baalshalisha, and bare to the man of God loaves of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and thing made of corns, in his scrip. And the man of God said, Give thou to the people, that it eat. (And some man came from Baalshalisha, and brought in his bag, to the man of God, loaves of the first fruits, yea, twenty barley loaves, and some full ears of corn. And the man of God said, Give thou to the people, so that they can eat.)
43 And his servant answered to him, What is this, that I set before an hundred men? Again Elisha said, Give thou to the people, that it eat; for the Lord saith these things, They shall eat, and there shall leave [over]. (And his servant answered to him, This is not enough to put before a hundred men! But again Elisha said, Give thou to the people, so that they can eat; for the Lord saith these things, They shall eat, and there shall be some left over.)
44 Then he put before them, the which ate; and there (was) left (some) meat, after the word of the Lord. (Then he put it before them, and they ate; and indeed, there was some food left over, according to the word of the Lord.)
* CHAPTER 4:16 That is, ‘In the year turned about (or When one year hath come about), thou shalt live (as) whole as now, and thou shalt embrace a son born then’, as Rabbi Solomon saith. † CHAPTER 4:38 That is, disciples of him, for they lived religiously.