2 Kings 4:32

THE MESSAGE

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.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When Elisha got to the house, he discovered the boy lying dead on his bed.

Hebrew Names Version
When Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid on his bed.

King James Version
And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.

English Standard Version
When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed.

New Century Version
When Elisha came into the house, the boy was lying dead on his bed.

New English Translation
When Elisha arrived at the house, there was the child lying dead on his bed.

Amplified Bible
When Elisha came into the house, the child was dead and lying on his bed.

New American Standard Bible
When Elisha entered the house, behold the boy was dead, laid on his bed.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then came Elisha into the house, and beholde, the childe was dead, and layed vpon his bedde.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Elisha came into the house, and behold, the boy was dead and laid on his bed.

Contemporary English Version
Elisha arrived at the woman's house and went straight to his room, where he saw the boy's body on his bed.

Complete Jewish Bible
When Elisha reached the house, there the child was, dead and laid on the bed.

Darby Translation
And when Elisha came into the house, behold, the child was dead, [and] laid upon his bed.

Easy-to-Read Version
Elisha went into the house, and there was the child, lying dead on his bed.

George Lamsa Translation
And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead and lying upon his bed.

Good News Translation
When Elisha arrived, he went alone into the room and saw the boy lying dead on the bed.

Lexham English Bible
When Elisha came to the house, here was the boy dead, lying on his bed.

Literal Translation
And Elisha came into the house. And, behold, the boy was dead, laid out on his bed.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And whan Eliseus came into the house, beholde, ye childe laye deed vpo his bed.

American Standard Version
And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.

Bible in Basic English
And when Elisha came into the house he saw the child dead, stretched on his bed.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And when Elisa was come into the house, behold the childe was dead, and layde vpon his bed.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.

King James Version (1611)
And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid vpon his bed.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Elisaie went into the house, and, behold, the dead child was laid upon his bed.

English Revised Version
And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.

Berean Standard Bible
When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his bed.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor Elisee entride in to the hows, and, lo! the deed child lai in his bed.

Young's Literal Translation
And Elisha cometh in to the house, and lo, the youth is dead, laid on his bed,

Update Bible Version
And when Elisha came into the house, look, the child was dead, and laid on his bed.

Webster's Bible Translation
And when Elisha had come into the house, behold, the child was dead, [and] laid upon his bed.

World English Bible
When Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid on his bed.

New King James Version
When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed.

New Living Translation
When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, lying there on the prophet's bed.

New Life Bible
When Elisha came into the house, he saw the boy lying dead on his bed.

New Revised Standard
When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, when Elisha had come into the house, lo! the boy, was dead, laid upon his bed.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Eliseus, therefore, went into the house, and behold the child lay dead on his bed:

Revised Standard Version
When Eli'sha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
When Elisha came into the house, behold the lad was dead and laid on his bed.

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

the child: 1 Kings 17:17, Luke 8:52, Luke 8:53, John 11:17

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 17:19 - into a loft 2 Kings 4:4 - thou shalt shut Matthew 9:25 - the people Matthew 10:41 - that receiveth a prophet Luke 7:15 - General John 5:21 - as Acts 9:40 - and prayed

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when Elisha was come into the house,.... Of the Shunamite, and into the chamber built for him:

behold, the child was dead, and laid upon the bed; upon his bed, and where he found it really dead.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 32. Behold, the child was dead — The prophet then saw that the body and spirit of the child were separated.