2 Kings 4:8–17

THE SHUNAMMITE WOMAN’S HOSPITALITY

⁸One day Elisha went to Shunem.^d A prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to eat some food. So whenever he passed by, he stopped there to eat.^{e 9}Then she said to her husband, “I know that the one who often passes by here is a holy man of God, ¹⁰so let’s make a small, walled-in upper room and put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp there for him. Whenever he comes, he can stay there.”^f

THE SHUNAMMITE WOMAN’S SON

¹¹One day he came there and stopped at the upstairs room to lie down. ¹²He ordered his attendant Gehazi,^g “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her and she stood before him.

¹³Then he said to Gehazi, “Say to her, ‘Look, you’ve gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you?^h Can we speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’ ”

She answered, “I am living among my own people.”

¹⁴So he asked, “Then what should be done for her?”

Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.”

¹⁵“Call her,” Elisha said. So Gehazi called her, and she stood in the doorway. ¹⁶Elisha said, “At this time next year you will have a son in your arms.”ⁱ

Then she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your servant.”^j

¹⁷The woman conceived and gave birth to a son at the same time the following year, as Elisha had promised her.