Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
Attention!
Take your personal ministry to the Next Level by helping StudyLight build churches and supporting pastors in Uganda.
Click here to join the effort!

Read the Bible

Good News Translation

2 Kings 4:7

She went back to Elisha, the prophet, who said to her, "Sell the olive oil and pay all your debts, and there will be enough money left over for you and your sons to live on."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Debtor;   Elisha;   Miracles;   Oil;   Poor;   Readings, Select;   Servant;   Widow;   Thompson Chain Reference - Bible Stories for Children;   Business Life;   Children;   Credit System;   Debts;   Home;   Leaders;   Man;   Men of God;   Pleasant Sunday Afternoons;   Prophet's;   Religion;   Religious;   Stories for Children;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Miracles Wrought through Servants of God;   Oil;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Miracle;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Elisha;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Miracle;   Orphan;   Poor and Poverty, Theology of;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Hospitality;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Elijah;   Igdaliah;   Kings, the Books of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Elisha;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Merchant;   Sons of the Prophets;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Debt;   Marriage;   Medicine;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Oil ;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Miracles;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chief parables and miracles in the bible;   Elisha;   Gehazi;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Debt;   Elisha;   Oil;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Slaves and Slavery;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go sell the oil and pay your debt; you and your sons can live on the rest.”
Hebrew Names Version
Then she came and told the man of God. He said, Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt, and live you and your sons of the rest.
King James Version
Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.
English Standard Version
She came and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest."
New Century Version
She went and told Elisha. And the prophet said to her, "Go, sell the oil and pay what you owe. You and your sons can live on what is left."
New English Translation
She went and told the prophet. He said, "Go, sell the olive oil. Repay your creditor, and then you and your sons can live off the rest of the profit."
Amplified Bible
Then she came and told the man of God. He said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest."
New American Standard Bible
So she came and told the man of God. And he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest."
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then shee came and tolde the man of God. And he saide, Goe, and sell the oyle, and pay them that thou art in det vnto, and liue thou and thy children of the rest.
Legacy Standard Bible
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 can live on the rest."
Contemporary English Version
After she told Elisha what had happened, he said, "Sell the oil and use part of the money to pay what you owe the man. You and your sons can live on what is left."
Complete Jewish Bible
She came 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 what's left."
Darby Translation
And she came and told the man of God; and he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou [and] thy sons on the rest.
Easy-to-Read Version
When she told the man of God what had happened, Elisha said to her, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt. You and your sons can live on the money that is left."
George Lamsa Translation
Then she came and told the prophet of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt, and live, you and your sons, on what is left over.
Lexham English Bible
So she came and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the olive oil and repay your debt. You and your sons can live on what is left over."
Literal Translation
And she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and repay your loan. And you and your sons shall live from the rest.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And she sent, and tolde the man of God. He sayde: Go thy waye, sell the oyle, and paye the creditour: but lyue thou and yi sonnes of the resydue.
American Standard Version
Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy sons of the rest.
Bible in Basic English
So she came to the man of God and gave him word of what she had done. And he said, Go and get money for the oil and make payment of your debt, and let the rest be for the needs of yourself and your sons.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then she came and tolde the man of God: And he sayde, Go, and sell the oyle, and pay them that thou art in debt vnto: but lyue thou and thy children of the rest.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then she came and told the man of God. And he said: 'Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy sons of the rest.'
King James Version (1611)
Then she came, and told the man of God: and he said, Goe, sell the oyle, and pay thy debt, and liue thou and thy children of the rest.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And she came and told the man of God: and Elisaie said, Go, and sell the oil, and thou shalt pay thy debts, and thou and thy sons shall live of the remaining oil.
English Revised Version
Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy sons of the rest.
Berean Standard Bible
She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the remainder."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe sche cam, and schewide to the man of God; and he seide, Go thou, sil thou the oile, and yelde to thi creauncer; forsothe thou and thi children lyue of the residue.
Young's Literal Translation
And she cometh and declareth to the man of God, and he saith, `Go, sell the oil, and repay thy loan; and thou [and] thy sons do live of the rest.'
Update Bible Version
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 from the rest.
Webster's Bible Translation
Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children on the remainder.
World English Bible
Then she came and told the man of God. He said, Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt, and live you and your sons of the rest.
New King James Version
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."
New Living Translation
When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, "Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over."
New Life Bible
She came and told the man of God. And he said, "Go and sell the oil and pay what you owe. You and your sons can live on the rest."
New Revised Standard
She came and told the man of God, and he said, "Go sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your children can live on the rest."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then came she in, and told the man of God, and he said - Go, sell the oil, and pay thy creditor, - and, thou and thy sons, shall live of the rest.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And she came, and told the man of God. And he said: Go, sell the oil, and pay thy creditor: and thou and thy sons live of the rest.
Revised Standard Version
She came and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest."
THE MESSAGE
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."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
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 can live on the rest."

Contextual Overview

1 The widow of a member of a group of prophets went to Elisha and said, "Sir, my husband has died! As you know, he was a God-fearing man, but now a man he owed money to has come to take away my two sons as slaves in payment for my husband's debt." 2 "What shall I do for you?" he asked. "Tell me, what do you have at home?" "Nothing at all, except a small jar of olive oil," she answered. 3 "Go to your neighbors and borrow as many empty jars as you can," Elisha told her. 4 "Then you and your sons go into the house, close the door, and start pouring oil into the jars. Set each one aside as soon as it is full." 5 So the woman went into her house with her sons, closed the door, took the small jar of olive oil, and poured oil into the jars as her sons brought them to her. 6 When they had filled all the jars, she asked if there were any more. "That was the last one," one of her sons answered. And the olive oil stopped flowing. 7 She went back to Elisha, the prophet, who said to her, "Sell the olive oil and pay all your debts, and there will be enough money left over for you and your sons to live on."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

pay: Psalms 37:21, Romans 12:17, Philippians 4:8, 1 Thessalonians 2:9, 1 Thessalonians 2:10, 1 Thessalonians 4:12, 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12

debt: or, creditor

Reciprocal: Exodus 22:25 - General 2 Kings 6:5 - for it was borrowed 2 Kings 6:7 - Take it up 2 Peter 1:21 - in old time

Cross-References

Genesis 3:16
And he said to the woman, "I will increase your trouble in pregnancy and your pain in giving birth. In spite of this, you will still have desire for your husband, yet you will be subject to him."
Genesis 4:6
Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why that scowl on your face?
Genesis 4:8
Then Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out in the fields." When they were out in the fields, Cain turned on his brother and killed him.
Genesis 4:9
The Lord asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" He answered, "I don't know. Am I supposed to take care of my brother?"
Genesis 4:10
Then the Lord said, "Why have you done this terrible thing? Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground, like a voice calling for revenge.
Genesis 4:11
You are placed under a curse and can no longer farm the soil. It has soaked up your brother's blood as if it had opened its mouth to receive it when you killed him.
Genesis 4:12
If you try to grow crops, the soil will not produce anything; you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth."
Genesis 4:13
And Cain said to the Lord , "This punishment is too hard for me to bear.
Genesis 19:21
He answered, "All right, I agree. I won't destroy that town.
Numbers 32:23
But if you do not keep your promise, I warn you that you will be sinning against the Lord . Make no mistake about it; you will be punished for your sin.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then she came and told the man of God,.... Elisha the prophet, what had been done, what a quantity of oil she had, and advised with him what was to be done with it:

and he said, go, sell thy oil, and pay thy debt; what was thus miraculously produced was no doubt very good and excellent, and would fetch a good price; and she is therefore bid to turn it into money, and pay her debts with it; she was not to keep it all for her own use, and indulge to luxury with it, but first pay her just debt, as everyone ought to do that is able:

and live thou and thy children of the rest; so that it seems there was enough to pay her debt with it, rid her of her troubles, and somewhat remaining for the support of herself and children.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 4:7. Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt — He does not inveigh against the cruelty of this creditor, because the law and custom of the country gave him the authority on which he acted; and rather than permit a poor honest widow to have her children sold, or that even a Philistine should suffer loss who had given credit to a genuine Israelite, he would work a miracle to pay a debt which, in the course of providence, it was out of her power to discharge.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile