2 Kings 4:43

New Century Version

Elisha's servant asked, "How can I feed a hundred people with so little?" "Give the bread to the people to eat," Elisha said. "This is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and will have food left over.'"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But Elisha’s attendant asked, “What? Am I to set this before a hundred men?”

Hebrew Names Version
His servant said, What, should I set this before a hundred men? But he said, Give the people, that they may eat; for thus says the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave of it.

King James Version
And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the Lord , They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.

English Standard Version
But his servant said, "How can I set this before a hundred men?" So he repeated, "Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the Lord , ‘They shall eat and have some left.'"

New English Translation
But his attendant said, "How can I feed a hundred men with this?" He replied, "Set it before the people so they may eat, for this is what the Lord says, ‘They will eat and have some left over.'"

Amplified Bible
His servant said, "How am I to set [only] this before a hundred [hungry] men?" He said, "Give it to the people so that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and have some left.'"

New American Standard Bible
But his attendant said, "How am I to serve this to a hundred men?" Nevertheless he said, "Give them to the people that they may eat, for this is what the LORD says: 'They shall eat and have some left over.'"

Geneva Bible (1587)
And his seruant answered, How shoulde I set this before an hundreth men? He sayd againe, Giue it vnto the people, that they may eate: for thus sayth the Lorde, They shall eate, and there shall remaine.

Legacy Standard Bible
And his attendant said, "What, will I give this before one hundred men?" But he said, "Give them to the people that they may eat, for thus says Yahweh, ‘They shall eat and have some left over.'"

Contemporary English Version
"There's not enough here for a hundred people," his servant said. "Just give it to them," Elisha replied. "The Lord has promised there will be more than enough."

Complete Jewish Bible
His servant said, "How am I to serve this to a hundred men?" But he said, "Give it to the people to eat; for Adonai says that they will eat and have some left over."

Darby Translation
And his attendant said, How shall I set this before a hundred men? And he said, Give the people that they may eat; for thus saith Jehovah: They shall eat, and shall have to spare.

Easy-to-Read Version
Elisha's servant said, "What? There are 100 men here. How can I give this food to all those men?" But Elisha said, "Give the food to the people to eat. The Lord says, ‘They will eat and there will still be food left over.'"

George Lamsa Translation
And his servant said, What, should I set this before a hundred men? And Elisha said to him again, Give them to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the LORD, They shall eat and shall leave some.

Good News Translation
but he answered, "Do you think this is enough for a hundred men?" Elisha replied, "Give it to them to eat, because the Lord says that they will eat and still have some left over."

Lexham English Bible
Then his servant said, "How can I set this before a hundred men?" He said, "Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus Yahweh says, ‘They shall eat and have some left over.'"

Literal Translation
And his servant said, What? Should I set this before a hundred men? And he said, Give to the people, and they shall eat. For so says Jehovah, Eat and have some left.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
His mynister sayde: How shall I geue an hudreth men of this? He sayde: Geue it vnto the people, that they maye eate. For thus sayeth the LORDE: They shal eate, and there shall be lefte ouer

American Standard Version
And his servant said, What, should I set this before a hundred men? But he said, Give the people, that they may eat; for thus saith Jehovah, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.

Bible in Basic English
But his servant said, How am I to put this before a hundred men? But he said, Give it to the people for food; for the Lord says, There will be food for them and some over.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And his minister aunswered: Why shall I set this before an hundred men? He said againe, Geue it vnto the people, that they may eate: For thus saith the Lorde, They shall eate, and there shal be left ouer.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And his servant said: 'How should I set this before a hundred men?' But he said: 'Give the people, that they may eat; for thus saith the LORD: They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.'

King James Version (1611)
And his seruitour saide, What should I set this before an hundred men? He said againe, Giue the people, that they may eate: for thus saith the Lord, They shall eate, and shall leaue thereof.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And his servant said, Why should I set this before a hundred men? and he said, Give to the people, and let them eat; for thus saith the Lord, They shall eat and leave.

English Revised Version
And his servant said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? But he said, Give the people, that they may eat; for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.

Berean Standard Bible
But his servant asked, "How am I to set twenty loaves before a hundred men?" "Give it to the people to eat," said Elisha, "for this is what the LORD says: 'They will eat and have some left over.'"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And his mynystre answeride to hym, `Hou myche is this, that Y sette bifor an hundrid men? Eft Elisee seide, Yyue thou to the puple, that it ete; for the Lord seith these thingis, Thei schulen ete, and it shal leeue.

Young's Literal Translation
And his minister saith, `What -- do I give this before a hundred men?' and he saith, `Give to the people, and they eat, for thus said Jehovah, Eat and leave;'

Update Bible Version
And his minister said, What, should I set this before a hundred men? But he said, Give the people, that they may eat; for thus says Yahweh, They shall eat, and shall have some left.

Webster's Bible Translation
And his servitor said, What, should I set this before a hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave [of it].

World English Bible
His servant said, What, should I set this before a hundred men? But he said, Give the people, that they may eat; for thus says Yahweh, They shall eat, and shall leave of it.

New King James Version
But his servant said, "What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?" He said again, "Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the LORD: "They shall eat and have some left over."'

New Living Translation
"What?" his servant exclaimed. "Feed a hundred people with only this?" But Elisha repeated, "Give it to the people so they can eat, for this is what the Lord says: Everyone will eat, and there will even be some left over!"

New Life Bible
But his servant said, "What? Should I put this in front of 100 men?" But Elisha said, "Give them to the people to eat. For the Lord says, ‘They will eat and have some left.'"

New Revised Standard
But his servant said, "How can I set this before a hundred people?" So he repeated, "Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord , ‘They shall eat and have some left.'"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But his attendant said - How can I set this before a hundred men? And he said - Give to the people, that they may eat, for, Thus, saith Yahweh, They are about to eat and to leave remaining.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And his servant answered him: How much is this, that I should set it before a hundred men? He said again: Give to the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the Lord: They shall eat, and there shall be left.

Revised Standard Version
But his servant said, "How am I to set this before a hundred men?" So he repeated, "Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and have some left.'"

THE MESSAGE
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."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
His attendant said, "What, will I set this before a hundred men?" But he said, "Give them to the people that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and have some left over.'"

Contextual Overview

³⁸ When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a shortage of food in the land. While the groups of prophets were sitting in front of him, he said to his servant, "Put the large pot on the fire, and boil some stew for these men." ³⁹ One of them went out into the field to gather plants. Finding a wild vine, he picked fruit from the vine and filled his robe with it. Then he came and cut up the fruit into the pot. But they didn't know what kind of fruit it was. ⁴⁰ They poured out the stew for the others to eat. When they began to eat it, they shouted, "Man of God, there's death in the pot!" And they could not eat it. ⁴¹ Elisha told them to bring some flour. He threw it into the pot and said, "Pour it out for the people to eat." Then there was nothing harmful in the pot. ⁴² A man from Baal Shalishah came to Elisha, bringing him twenty loaves of barley bread from the first harvest. He also brought fresh grain in his sack. Elisha said, "Give it to the people to eat." ⁴³ Elisha's servant asked, "How can I feed a hundred people with so little?" "Give the bread to the people to eat," Elisha said. "This is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and will have food left over.'" ⁴⁴ After he gave it to them, the people ate and had food left over, as the Lord had said.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

his servitor: 2 Kings 4:12

What: Matthew 14:16, Matthew 14:17, Matthew 15:33, Matthew 15:34, Mark 6:37-39, Mark 8:4, Luke 9:13, John 6:9

They shall eat: Matthew 14:20, Matthew 15:37, Matthew 16:8-10, Mark 6:42, Mark 6:43, Mark 8:20, Luke 9:17, John 6:11-13

Reciprocal: Ruth 2:14 - she did 2 Kings 4:6 - when the vessels 2 Chronicles 31:10 - we have had Hosea 9:8 - with John 6:7 - Two

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And his servitor said,.... His servant Gehazi very probably:

what, should I set this before one hundred men? for so many, it seems, the sons of the prophets were in this place; and these loaves being very small, no more, it is thought by some, than one man could eat, and the ears of corn but few, the servant suggests they would be nothing comparatively to such a company of men:

he said again, give the people, that they may eat; he insisted upon it that his orders should be obeyed:

for thus saith the Lord, they shall eat, and shall leave thereof; it was suggested to him by a spirit of prophecy, there would be enough for them, and to spare.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This miracle was a faint foreshadowing of our Lord’s far more marvelous feeding of thousands with even scantier materials. The resemblance is not only in the broad fact, but in various minute particulars, such as the distribution through the hands of others; the material, bread; the surprised question of the servant; and the evidence of superfluity in the fragments that were left (see the marginal references). As Elijah was a type of the Baptist, so Elisha was in many respects a type of our Blessed Lord. In his peaceful, non-ascetic life, in his mild and gentle character, in his constant circuits, in his many miracles of mercy, in the healing virtue which abode in his bodily frame 2 Kings 13:21, he resembled, more than any other prophet, the Messiah, of whom all prophets were more or less shadows and figures.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 4:43. Thus saith the Lord, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.] It was God, not the prophet, who fed one hundred men with these twenty loaves, &c. This is something like our Lord's feeding the multitude miraculously. Indeed, there are many things in this chapter similar to facts in our Lord's history: and this prophet might be more aptly considered a type of our Lord, than most of the other persons in the Scriptures who have been thus honoured.