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2 Reis 4

ARC · Chapter 4/25

1E uma mulher das mulheres dos filhos dos prophetas, clamou a Eliseo, dizendo: Meu marido, teu servo, morreu; e tu sabes que o teu servo temia ao Senhor; e veiu o credor, a levar-me os meus dois filhos para serem servos.

2E Eliseo lhe disse: Que te hei de eu fazer? declara-me que é o que tens em casa. E ella disse: Tua serva não tem nada em casa, senão uma botija d'azeite.

3Então disse elle: Vae, pede para ti vasos emprestados, a todos os teus visinhos, vasos vasios, não poucos.

4Então entra, e fecha a porta sobre ti, e sobre teus filhos, e deita o azeite em todos aquelles vasos, e põe á parte o que estiver cheio.

5Partiu pois d'elle, e fechou a porta sobre si e sobre seus filhos; e elles lhe traziam os vasos, e ella os enchia.

6E succedeu que, cheios que foram os vasos, disse a seu filho: Traze-me ainda um vaso. Porém elle lhe disse: Não ha mais vaso nenhum. Então o azeite parou.

7Então veiu ella, e o fez saber ao homem de Deus; e disse elle: Vae, vende o azeite, e paga a tua divida; e tu e teus filhos vivei do resto.

8Succedeu tambem um dia que, indo Eliseo a Sunem, havia ali uma mulher grave, a qual o reteve a comer pão: e succedeu que todas as vezes que passava para ali se retirava a comer pão.

9E ella disse a seu marido: Eis que tenho observado, que este que sempre passa por nós é um sancto homem de Deus.

10Façamos-lhe pois um pequeno quarto junto ao muro, e ali lhe ponhamos uma cama, e uma mesa, e uma cadeira e um candieiro: e ha de ser que, vindo elle a nós, para ali se retirará.

11E succedeu um dia que veiu ali, e retirou-se áquelle quarto, e se deitou ali.

12Então disse ao seu moço Geazi: Chama esta sunamita. E chamando-a elle, ella se poz diante d'elle.

13Porque lhe tinha dito: Dize-lhe: Eis que tu nos tens tratado com todo o disvelo; que se ha de fazer por ti? haverá alguma coisa de que se falle por ti ao rei, ou ao chefe do exercito? E dissera ella: Eu habito no meio do meu povo.

14Então disse elle: Que se ha de fazer pois por ella? E Geazi disse: Ora ella não tem filho, e seu marido é velho.

15Pelo que disse elle: Chama-a. E, chamando-a elle, ella se poz á porta.

16E elle disse: A este tempo determinado, segundo o tempo da vida, abraçarás um filho. E disse ella: Não, meu senhor, homem de Deus, não mintas á tua serva.

17E concebeu a mulher, e pariu um filho, ao tal tempo determinado, segundo o tempo da vida que Eliseo lhe dissera.

18E, crescendo o filho, succedeu que um dia saiu para seu pae que estava com os segadores.

19E disse a seu pae: Ai, a minha cabeça! ai, a minha cabeça! Então disse a um moço: Leva-o a sua mãe

20E elle o tomou, e o levou a sua mãe: e esteve sobre os seus joelhos até ao meio dia, e morreu.

21E subiu ella, e o deitou sobre a cama do homem de Deus; e fechou sobre elle a porta, e saiu.

22E chamou a seu marido, e disse: Manda-me já um dos moços, e uma das jumentas, para que corra ao homem de Deus, e para que volte.

23E disse elle: Porque vaes a elle hoje? não é lua nova nem sabbado. E ella disse: Tudo vae bem.

24Então albardou a jumenta, e disse ao seu moço: Guia e anda, e não te detenhas no caminhar, senão quando eu t'o disser.

25Partiu ella pois e veiu ao homem de Deus, ao monte Carmelo: e succedeu que, vendo-a o homem de Deus de longe, disse a Geazi, seu moço: Eis ahi a sunamita.

26Agora pois corre-lhe ao encontro e dize-lhe: Vae bem comtigo? vae bem com teu marido? Vae bem com teu filho? E ella disse: Vae bem.

27Chegando ella pois ao homem de Deus, ao monte, pegou nos seus pés; mas chegou Geazi para empuxal-a: disse porém o homem de Deus: Deixa-a, porque a sua alma n'ella está triste de amargura, e o Senhor m'o encobriu, e não m'o manifestou.

28E disse ella: Pedi eu a meu senhor algum filho? Não disse eu: Não me enganes?

29E elle disse a Geazi: Cinge os teus lombos, e toma o meu bordão na tua mão, e vae; se encontrares alguem, não o saudes; e se alguem te saudar, não lhe respondas: e põe o meu bordão sobre o rosto do menino.

30Porém disse a mãe do menino: Vive o Senhor, e vive a tua alma, que não te hei de deixar. Então elle se levantou, e a seguiu.

31E Geazi passou diante d'elles, e poz o bordão sobre o rosto do menino; porém não havia n'elle voz nem sentido: e voltou a encontrar-se com elle, e lhe trouxe aviso, dizendo: Não despertou o menino.

32E, chegando Eliseo áquella casa, eis que o menino jazia morto sobre a sua cama.

33Então entrou elle, e fechou a porta sobre elles ambos, e orou ao Senhor.

34E subiu, e deitou-se sobre o menino, e, pondo a sua bocca sobre a bocca d'elle, e os seus olhos sobre os olhos d'elle, e as suas mãos sobre as mãos d'elle, se estendeu sobre elle: e a carne do menino aqueceu.

35Depois voltou, e passeou n'aquella casa d'uma parte para a outra, e tornou a subir, e se estendeu sobre elle; então o menino espirrou sete vezes, e o menino abriu os olhos.

36Então chamou a Geazi, e disse: Chama esta sunamita. E chamou-a, e veiu a elle. E disse elle: Toma o teu filho.

37E veiu ella, e se prostrou a seus pés, e se inclinou á terra; e tomou o seu filho, e saiu.

38E, voltando Eliseo a Gilgal, havia fome n'aquella terra, e os filhos dos prophetas estavam assentados na sua presença: e disse ao seu moço: Põe a panella grande ao lume, e faze um caldo de hervas para os filhos dos prophetas.

39Então um saiu ao campo a apanhar hervas, e achou uma parra brava, e colheu d'ella a sua capa cheia de coloquintidas: e veiu, e as cortou na panella do caldo; porque as não conheciam.

40Assim tiraram de comer para os homens. E succedeu que, comendo elles d'aquelle caldo, clamaram e disseram: Homem de Deus, ha morte na panella. Não poderam comer.

41Porém elle disse: Trazei pois farinha. E deitou-a na panella, e disse: Tirae de comer para o povo. Então não havia mal nenhum na panella.

42E um homem veiu de Baal-salisha, e trouxe ao homem de Deus pães das primicias, vinte pães de cevada, e espigas verdes na sua palha, e disse: Dá ao povo, para que coma.

43Porém seu servo disse: Como hei de eu pôr isto diante de cem homens? E disse elle: Dá-o ao povo, para que coma; porque assim diz o Senhor: Comer-se-ha, e sobejará.

44Então lh'os poz diante, e comeram, e deixaram sobejos, conforme a palavra do Senhor.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Elisha miraculously multiplies the oil of an indebted widow, promises a son to the hospitable Shunammite woman and then raises that same son from the dead when he dies. He also makes a poisoned stew edible and multiplies loaves to feed a hundred men.

Explanation

This chapter gathers a series of miracles that show God's practical care for everyday needs — debts, hospitality, grief, and hunger — not just great national matters. The generosity of the Shunammite woman, who prepares a room for the prophet without asking for anything in return, is rewarded in an unexpected way, illustrating the principle that genuine kindness often bears fruit beyond what one could imagine. The multiplication of loaves here directly foreshadows the similar miracle of Jesus centuries later.

Fun facts

  • Elisha's miracle of multiplying loaves (100 men fed with 20 barley loaves, with leftovers) is cited by scholars as a direct and deliberate parallel to Jesus' miracle of feeding the multitudes, showing thematic continuity between the Old and New Testaments.
  • Elisha's act of lying on the dead boy, mouth to mouth and hands to hands, echoes an almost identical method used by Elijah in raising the son of the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17), suggesting that Elisha literally followed his master's example.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 2 Reis 4:1The dead husband's debt could be paid off through the forced labor of his own sons, a legal practice at the time. The oil that doesn't run out as long as there's a jar to fill solves the debt and still provides support for the widow and the boys.
  2. 2 Reis 4:2Elisha asks what the widow has at home before acting — she has only a jar of oil, the little that will become the basis of the miracle.
  3. 2 Reis 4:3Elisha tells her to borrow empty jars from her neighbors, and insists she ask for a lot, not just a few — the size of the miracle depends on what she gathers.
  4. 2 Reis 4:4The instruction is to shut the door with her sons inside and pour the oil into each jar, filling one at a time, a process kept just between her and her family.
  5. 2 Reis 4:5She does exactly as Elisha told her: she shuts the door, and her sons keep bringing her the jars to fill.
  6. 2 Reis 4:6The oil only stops flowing when the last empty jar runs out — the miracle stretches exactly to the limit of her faith and preparation, no more and no less.
  7. 2 Reis 4:7Elisha tells her to sell the oil to pay off her dead husband's debt and live off the rest with her sons — the miracle solves the problem completely.
  8. 2 Reis 4:8The couple sets up a permanent guest room for the prophet passing through — a bed, table, chair, and lamp, the basics of comfort. It's this generous hospitality, asking nothing in return, that earns the woman the promise of a son she hadn't even asked for.
  9. 2 Reis 4:9The woman of Shunem realizes, without anyone needing to tell her, that the man who always passes through there is a man of God.
  10. 2 Reis 4:10The couple sets up a simple little room on the roof of the house — a bed, table, chair, and lamp — just so Elisha has somewhere to stay when passing through.
  11. 2 Reis 4:11On a day of visiting, Elisha arrives, goes into the room prepared for him, and lies down there, using for the first time the space the Shunammite woman prepared.
  12. 2 Reis 4:12Elisha tells his servant Gehazi to call the Shunammite woman, and she comes and stands before him — the start of the episode where he wants to repay her hospitality.
  13. 2 Reis 4:13Elisha wants to reward her, even offering to speak on her behalf to the king or the army commander; she declines, saying she lives well among her own people, with no need for favors.
  14. 2 Reis 4:14Since she asks for nothing, it's Gehazi who points out her real problem: she has no son, and her husband is already old.
  15. 2 Reis 4:15Elisha has her called again, and she comes to the doorway to hear what he has to say.
  16. 2 Reis 4:16Elisha promises that, at this same season next year, she will hold a son in her arms; she reacts with disbelief, asking the prophet not to toy with her.
  17. 2 Reis 4:17The promise is fulfilled to the letter: she becomes pregnant and gives birth exactly at the time Elisha had set.
  18. 2 Reis 4:18Years later, now grown, the boy goes out to see his father, who was in the field with the harvest workers.
  19. 2 Reis 4:19The boy complains of a bad headache, and his father tells a servant to carry him to his mother — the first sign that something serious is happening.
  20. 2 Reis 4:20Carried to his mother, the boy sits on her lap until noon and dies, probably from heatstroke after so much time exposed to the sun during the harvest.
  21. 2 Reis 4:21Without showing visible despair, she lays her dead son on Elisha's bed, shuts the door of the room, and goes out — keeping the news to herself for the moment.
  22. 2 Reis 4:22She asks her husband for a servant and a donkey so she can hurry to the man of God and back, without explaining the real reason for the rush.
  23. 2 Reis 4:23Her husband finds the trip odd, since it's neither a new moon nor a sabbath, the days one would normally go seek out a prophet; she just answers that all is well.
  24. 2 Reis 4:24She saddles the donkey and orders the servant not to slow the pace along the way, showing the urgency she hides from her husband.
  25. 2 Reis 4:25She arrives at Mount Carmel, where Elisha is; from a distance he already recognizes her and tells Gehazi: there comes the Shunammite woman.
  26. 2 Reis 4:26Elisha sends Gehazi running to meet her and ask if all is well with her, her husband, and her son; she only answers, “It is well,” saving the news to tell Elisha directly.
  27. 2 Reis 4:27She clings to Elisha's feet; Gehazi tries to push her away, but the prophet stops him, sensing she is suffering some bitterness God had not yet revealed to him.
  28. 2 Reis 4:28She reminds Elisha that she had never asked for a son — she herself had warned him not to raise her hopes falsely.
  29. 2 Reis 4:29Elisha tells Gehazi to run on ahead with his staff, without stopping to greet anyone along the way, and lay the staff on the boy's face.
  30. 2 Reis 4:30The mother refuses to go without Elisha in person, swearing she won't leave him — the same words Elisha himself had used with Elijah back in chapter 2.
  31. 2 Reis 4:31Gehazi arrives first and lays the staff on the boy's face, but nothing happens; he goes back and reports that the boy has not woken up.
  32. 2 Reis 4:32When Elisha finally reaches the house, he finds the boy dead, laid on the prophet's own bed.
  33. 2 Reis 4:33Elisha goes in alone, shuts the door behind himself and the boy, and prays to the Lord before making any physical gesture.
  34. 2 Reis 4:34Elisha lies down on top of the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands, and the child's body begins to grow warm.
  35. 2 Reis 4:35Elisha gets up, walks through the house, then lies down on the boy again, and this time he sneezes seven times and opens his eyes, coming back to life.
  36. 2 Reis 4:36Elisha has the Shunammite woman called, and when she arrives, he simply says: take up your son — giving back alive what she had left for dead.
  37. 2 Reis 4:37She bows to the ground at Elisha's feet before picking up her son and leaving, a gesture of gratitude that closes the episode.
  38. 2 Reis 4:38Someone mistakenly picked a bitter, likely toxic climbing vine, thinking it was edible. Flour thrown into the pot neutralizes the problem, a quiet miracle of survival during a famine among the sons of the prophets.
  39. 2 Reis 4:39One of the sons of the prophets unknowingly gathers a wild toxic vine and cuts its fruit into the pot of communal stew, not realizing it was poisonous.
  40. 2 Reis 4:40Tasting the stew, the men sense something is wrong and cry out that there is death in the pot, refusing to eat.
  41. 2 Reis 4:41Elisha asks for flour, throws it into the pot, and the dangerous stew becomes safe to eat — a quiet miracle that solves the problem on the spot.
  42. 2 Reis 4:42This episode shows Elisha multiplying twenty loaves of barley bread to feed a hundred men, with food left over at the end. Many readers see this as a direct forerunner of the multiplication of the loaves in the Gospels, though on a much smaller scale.
  43. 2 Reis 4:43Elisha's servant doubts that twenty loaves of barley bread can feed a hundred men, but Elisha insists, citing the Lord's word that there will be food left over.
  44. 2 Reis 4:44The men eat the twenty loaves and there is still food left over, exactly as Elisha had promised — a smaller-scale preview of the multiplication of the loaves in the Gospels.

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