2 Kings 4:23

THE MESSAGE

"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."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But he said, “Why go to him today? It’s not a New Moon or a Sabbath.”

Hebrew Names Version
He said, Why will you go to him today? it is neither new moon nor Shabbat. She said, It shall be well.

King James Version
And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.

English Standard Version
And he said, "Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath." She said, "All is well."

New Century Version
The husband said, "Why do you want to go to him today? It isn't the New Moon or the Sabbath day." She said, "It will be all right."

New English Translation
He said, "Why do you want to go see him today? It is not the new moon or the Sabbath." She said, "Everything's fine."

Amplified Bible
He said, "Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath." And she said, "It will be all right."

New American Standard Bible
But he said, "Why are you going to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath." So she just said, "It will be fine."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And he sayd, Wherefore wilt thou goe to him to day? it is neither newe moone nor Sabbath day. And she answered, All shalbe well.

Legacy Standard Bible
And he said, "Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath." And she said, "It is well."

Contemporary English Version
"Why do you need to see him today?" her husband asked. "It's not the Sabbath or time for the New Moon Festival." "That's all right," she answered.

Complete Jewish Bible
He asked, "Why are you going to him today? It isn't Rosh-Hodesh and it isn't Shabbat." She said, "It's all right."

Darby Translation
And he said, Why wilt thou go to him to-day? It is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, [It is] well.

Easy-to-Read Version
The woman's husband said, "Why would you want to go to the man of God today? It isn't the New Moon or Sabbath day." She said, "Goodbye!"

George Lamsa Translation
And he said to her, Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath. But the Shilomite gave orders;

Good News Translation
"Why do you have to go today?" her husband asked. "It's neither a Sabbath nor a New Moon Festival." "Never mind," she answered.

Lexham English Bible
And he said, "Why are you going to him today? It is neither the new moon nor the Sabbath!" And she said, "Peace."

Literal Translation
And he said, Why are you going to him today; it is neither new moon nor sabbath? And she said, Peace.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
He sayde: Why wilt thou go vnto him? To daye is it nether new moone ner Sabbath. She sayde: Well.

American Standard Version
And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to-day? it is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.

Bible in Basic English
And he said, Why are you going to him today? it is not a new moon or a Sabbath. But she said, It is well.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he saide: Wherefore wylt thou go to him? seing that to day is neither newe moone nor sabbath day. And she aunswered: All shalbe well.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he said: Wherefore wilt thou go to him today? it is neither new moon nor sabbath.' And she said: 'It shall be well.'

King James Version (1611)
And he said, Wherefore wilt thou goe to him to day? it is neither newe moone nor Sabbath. And shee said, It shalbe well.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he said, Why art thou going to him to-day? It is neither new moon, nor the Sabbath. And she said, It is well.

English Revised Version
And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him today? it is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.

Berean Standard Bible
"Why would you go to him today?" he replied. "It is not a New Moon or a Sabbath." "Everything is all right," she said.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he seide to hir, For what cause goist thou to hym? to dai ben not calendis, nether sabat. And she answeride, Y schal go.

Young's Literal Translation
And he saith, `Wherefore art thou going unto him to-day? -- neither new moon nor sabbath!' and she saith, `Peace [to thee]!'

Update Bible Version
And he said, Why will you go to him today? it is neither new moon nor Sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he said, Why wilt thou go to him to-day? [it is] neither new-moon, nor sabbath. And she said, [It shall be] well.

World English Bible
He said, Why will you go to him today? it is neither new moon nor Sabbath. She said, It shall be well.

New King James Version
So he said, "Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath." And she said, "It is well."

New Living Translation
"Why go today?" he asked. "It is neither a new moon festival nor a Sabbath." But she said, "It will be all right."

New Life Bible
Her husband said, "Why will you go to him today? It is not the time of the new moon or the Day of Rest." She said, "It will be all right."

New Revised Standard
He said, "Why go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath." She said, "It will be all right."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he said - Wherefore art thou going unto him, to-day, neither new moon nor sabbath? And she said - Peace!

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said to her: Why dost thou go to him? to day is neither new moon nor sabbath. She answered: I will go.

Revised Standard Version
And he said, "Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath." She said, "It will be well."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
He said, "Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath." And she said, "It will be well."

Contextual Overview

¹⁸The 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." ²⁴She 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. 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." 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." Then she spoke up: "Did I ask for a son, master? Didn't I tell you, ‘Don't tease me with false hopes'?" 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." 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. 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." 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. He called Gehazi and said, "Get the Shunammite woman in here!" He called her and she came in. Elisha said, "Embrace your son!" She fell at Elisha's feet, face to the ground in reverent awe. Then she embraced her son and went out with him. 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." 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. "Now serve it up to the men," he said. They ate it, and it was just fine—nothing wrong with that stew! 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." 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." And sure enough, there was. He passed around what he had—they not only ate, but had leftovers. ²⁶ 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." 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." "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." 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. 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." 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. "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?" And so it happened that the next time Elisha came by he went to the room and lay down for a nap. Then he said to his servant Gehazi, "Tell the Shunammite woman I want to see her." He called her and she came to him. 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." 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." "Call her in," said Elisha. He called her and she stood at the open door. 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!" The woman conceived. A year later, just as Elisha had said, she had a son. 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." The servant took him in his arms and carried him to his mother. He lay on her lap until noon and died. She took him up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut him in alone, and left. 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." "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." 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. 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."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

new moon: Numbers 10:10, Numbers 28:11, 1 Chronicles 23:31, Isaiah 1:13-15

well: Heb. peace, 2 Kings 4:26

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 20:5 - the new moon Psalms 74:8 - all the synagogues Psalms 81:3 - new Proverbs 31:11 - General Isaiah 66:23 - that from Amos 8:5 - When Colossians 2:16 - the new

Cross-References

Exodus 20:13
No murder.

Leviticus 19:18
"Don't seek revenge or carry a grudge against any of your people. "Love your neighbor as yourself. I am God .

Judges 9:7
When this was all told to Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and shouted: Listen to me, leaders of Shechem. And let God listen to you! The trees set out one day to anoint a king for themselves. They said to Olive Tree, "Rule over us." But Olive Tree told them, "Am I no longer good for making oil That gives glory to gods and men, and to be demoted to waving over trees?"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he said, wherefore wilt thou go to him today?.... What reason is there for it? what is the meaning of it?

it is neither new moon nor sabbath; neither the first day of the month, nor the seventh day of the week, times which were religiously observed; so with the Heathens the new moon and the seventh of the week, and so the fourth, were sacred u; which notions they borrowed from the Jews,

:- and when, it seems, it was usual to frequent the house of the prophet, to hear the word of God read and explained, and other religious exercises performed, as praying and singing praise, and receiving some good instructions and advice. Joseph Kimchi gives a different sense of these words:

"there is not a month past, no, not a week, since thou sawest him;''

why therefore shouldest thou be in such haste to go to him? so the words for new moon and sabbath may signify:

and she said, it shall be well; it was right for her to go, and it would be well for him and her, and the family; or, "peace" w, be easy and quiet, farewell: it is much he had no mistrust of the death of the child, or that it was worse, since it went from him ill.

u Hesiod. Opera & Dies, l. 2. w שלום "pax", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Her husband did not connect the illness with his wife’s demand, but thought she wished to attend one of the prophet’s devotional services. It is evident that such services were now held with something like regularity on Carmel for the benefit of the faithfull in those parts.

New moon - By the Law the first day of each month was to be kept holy. Offerings were appointed for such occasions Numbers 28:11-15, and they were among the days on which the silver trumpets were to be blown Numbers 10:10; Psalms 81:3. Hence, “new moons” are frequently joined with “sabbaths” (see Isaiah 1:13; Ezekiel 45:17; Hosea 2:11; 1 Chronicles 23:31).

It shall be well - Rather, as in the margin, “Peace.” i. e., “Be quiet - trouble me not with inquiries - only let me do as I wish.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 4:23. Wherefore wilt thou go — She was a very prudent woman; she would not harass the feelings of her husband by informing him of the death of his son till she had tried the power of the prophet. Though the religion of the true God was not the religion of the state, yet there were no doubt multitudes of the people who continued to worship the true God alone, and were in the habit of going, as is here intimated, on new moons and Sabbaths, to consult the prophet.