1 En kvinne, kona til en av profetenes sønner, kom gråtende til Elisa og sa: «Din tjener, min mann, er død. Du vet at han fryktet Herren. Nå har kreditten kommet for å ta mine to barn som slaver for å betale gjelden hans.»

Now a certain woman, the wife of one of the sons of the prophets, came crying to Elisha and said, Your servant my husband is dead; and to your knowledge he was a worshipper of the Lord; but now, the creditor has come to take my two children as servants in payment of his debt.

2 Elisa sa til henne: «Hva kan jeg gjøre for deg? Si meg, hva har du i huset?» Hun svarte: «Din tjener har ingenting i huset bortsett fra en krukke med olje.»

Then Elisha said to her, What am I to do for you? say now, what have you in the house? And she said, Your servant has nothing in the house but a pot of oil.

3 Da sa han: «Gå til alle naboene dine og samle kanner, mange av dem.»

Then he said, Go out to all your neighbours and get vessels, a very great number of them.

4 «Gå så inn, lukk døren etter deg og dine sønner, og hell olje i alle kannene, flytt de fulle til siden.»

Then go in, and, shutting the door on yourself and your sons, put oil into all these vessels, putting on one side the full ones.

5 Hun gikk fra ham og lukket døren etter seg og sønnene. De ga henne kannene, og hun helte olje i dem.

So she went away, and when the door was shut on her and her sons, they took the vessels to her and she put oil into them.

6 Da alle kannene var fulle, sa hun til sønnen sin: «Gi meg en kanne til.» Men han svarte: «Det er ingen flere igjen.» Da stanset oljen å flomme.

And when all the vessels were full, she said to her son, Get me another vessel. And he said, There are no more. And the flow of oil was stopped.

7 Hun kom til Guds mann og fortalte hva som hadde skjedd. Han sa: «Gå og selg oljen, betal din gjeld, og bruk resten for å møte ditt behov og dine sønners behov.»

So she came to the man of God and gave him word of what she had done. And he said, Go and get money for the oil and make payment of your debt, and let the rest be for the needs of yourself and your sons.

8 En dag dro Elisa til Sjunem, og der bodde en velstående kvinne som insisterte på at han skulle komme inn og spise hos henne. Etter dette, hver gang han reiste forbi, stanset han hos henne for et måltid.

Now there came a day when Elisha went to Shunem, and there was a woman of high position living there, who made him come in and have a meal with her. And after that, every time he went by, he went into her house for a meal.

9 Hun sa til mannen sin: «Nå ser jeg at han som stadig kommer forbi oss, er en hellig Guds mann.

And she said to her husband, Now I see that this is a holy man of God, who comes by day after day.

10 La oss lage et lite rom for ham på taket, med seng, bord, stol og lampe, så han kan bo der når han kommer til oss.»

So let us make a little room on the wall; and put a bed there for him, and a table and a seat and a light; so that when he comes to us, he will be able to go in there.

11 En dag da han kom dit, gikk han opp og hvilte i dette rommet.

Now one day, when he had gone there, he went into the little room and took his rest there.

12 Han sa til sin tjener Gehasi: «Kall på denne sjuamittkvinnen.» Hun kom da foran ham.

And he said to Gehazi, his servant, Send for this Shunammite. So in answer to his voice she came before him.

13 Han sa til Gehasi: «Si til henne: 'Du har gjort mye for oss. Hva kan jeg gjøre for deg? Skal jeg tale til kongen eller hærføreren for deg?'» Hun svarte: «Jeg bor trygt blant mitt eget folk.»

And he said to him, Now say to her, See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? will you have any request made for you to the king or the captain of the army? But she said, I am living among my people.

14 Han spurte: «Hva kan vi gjøre for henne da?» Gehasi svarte: «Hun har ingen sønn, og mannen hennes er gammel.»

So he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi made answer, Still there is this, she has no son and her husband is old.

15 Elisa sa: «Kall henne.» Hun kom og stilte seg i døren.

Then he said, Send for her. And in answer to his voice she took her place at the door.

16 Elisa sa: «Neste år på denne tid vil du ha en sønn i armene dine.» Hun svarte: «Nei, herre, du Guds mann, lyv ikke for din tjener.»

And Elisha said, At this time in the coming year you will have a son in your arms. And she said, No, my lord, O man of God, do not say what is false to your servant.

17 Men kvinnen ble med barn og fødte en sønn året etter, som Elisa hadde sagt til henne.

Then the woman became with child and gave birth to a son at the time named, in the year after, as Elisha had said to her.

18 En dag, da gutten var blitt større, gikk han ut til sin far der de holdt på å høste korn.

Now one day, when the child was older, he went out to his father to where the grain was being cut.

19 Han sa til faren: «Mitt hode, mitt hode!» Faren sa til en tjenestegutt: «Bær ham til moren.»

And he said to his father, My head, my head! And the father said to a servant, Take him in to his mother.

20 Tjenestegutten tok ham med til moren, som holdt ham på fanget til om middagen, da han døde.

And he took him in to his mother, and she took him on her knees and kept him there till the middle of the day, when his life went from him.

21 Hun gikk opp og la ham på Guds manns seng, lukket døren bak ham og gikk ut.

Then she went up and put him on the bed of the man of God, shutting the door on him, and went out.

22 Hun kalte på mannen sin og sa: «Send meg en av tjenesteguttene og et esel, så jeg kan dra raskt til Guds mann og komme tilbake.»

And she said to her husband, Send me one of the servants and one of the asses so that I may go quickly to the man of God and come back again.

23 Mannen spurte: «Hvorfor vil du dra til ham i dag? Det er verken nymånedag eller sabbat.» Men hun svarte: «Det går bra.»

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.

24 Med det salte hun eselet og sa til tjenestegutten: «Før fremover, stans ikke uten at jeg ber om det.»

Then she made the ass ready and said to her servant, Keep driving on; do not make a stop without orders from me.

25 Hun dro til Guds mann på Karmel-fjellet, og da Guds mann så henne nærme seg, sa han til Gehasi: «Se, der kommer sjuamittkvinnen.

So she went, and came to Mount Carmel, to the man of God. And when the man of God saw her coming in his direction, he said to Gehazi, his servant, See, there is the Shunammite;

26 Gå raskt henne i møte og spør: 'Står det bra til med deg, din mann og barnet?'» Hun svarte: «Det er bra.»

Go quickly to her, and on meeting her say to her, Are you well? and your husband and the child, are they well? And she said in answer, All is well.

27 Da hun kom til Guds mann på fjellet, grep hun om føttene hans. Gehasi prøvde å støte henne bort, men Guds mann sa: «La henne være, for hennes sjel er i nød, og Herren har skjult det for meg, ikke fortalt meg om det.»

And when she came to where the man of God was on the hill, she put her hands round his feet; and Gehazi came near with the purpose of pushing her away; but the man of God said, Let her be, for her soul is bitter in her; and the Lord has kept it secret from me, and has not given me word of it.

28 Hun sa: «Ba jeg min herre om en sønn? Sa jeg ikke: 'Ikke gi meg falske håp'?»

Then she said, Did I make a request to my lord for a son? did I not say, Do not give me false words?

29 Elisa sa til Gehasi: «Gjør deg klar, ta staven min i hånden, og gå. Hvis du møter noen, hils ikke på dem, og hvis noen hilser på deg, svar ikke. Legg staven på guttens ansikt.»

Then he said to Gehazi, Make yourself ready, and take my stick in your hand, and go: if you come across anyone on the way, give him no blessing, and if anyone gives you a blessing, give him no answer. And put my stick on the child's face.

30 Barnets mor sa: «Så sant Herren lever, og så sant du lever, jeg vil ikke gå uten deg.» Da reiste han seg og fulgte med henne.

But the mother of the child said, As the Lord is living and as your soul is living, I will not go back without you. So he got up and went with her.

31 Gehasi gikk foran dem og la staven på guttens ansikt, men han talte ikke, og det var ingen tegn til liv. Gehasi kom tilbake og sa til Elisa: «Gutten er ikke våknet.»

And Gehazi went on before them and put the stick on the child's face; but there was no voice, and no one gave attention. So he went back, and meeting him gave him the news, saying, The child is not awake.

32 Da Elisa kom inn i huset, lå barnet død på sengen hans.

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

33 Han gikk inn, stengte døren etter dem begge og ba til Herren.

So he went in, and shutting the door on the two of them, made prayer to the Lord.

34 Elisa gikk opp i sengen, la seg over barnet, med munnen mot munnen, øynene mot øynene og hendene mot hendene. Barnets kropp ble varm.

Then he got up on the bed, stretching himself out on the child, and put his mouth on the child's mouth, his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands; and the child's body became warm.

35 Han kom tilbake, gikk rundt i rommet, og strakte seg igjen over barnet. Da nøs gutten sju ganger og åpnet øynene.

Then he came back, and after walking once through the house and back, he went up, stretching himself out on the child seven times; and the child's eyes became open.

36 Elisa kalte på Gehasi og sa: «Kall på hun sjuamittkvinnen.» Da hun kom inn, sa han: «Ta opp sønnen din.»

And he gave orders to Gehazi, and said, Send for the Shunammite. And she came in answer to his voice. And he said, Take up your son.

37 Hun gikk inn og kastet seg ned ved føttene hans, bøyde seg til jorden, tok opp sønnen sin og gikk ut.

And she came in, and went down on her face to the earth at his feet; then she took her son in her arms and went out.

38 Elisa dro tilbake til Gilgal, hvor det var matmangel i landet, og profetsønnene satt foran ham. Han sa til sin tjener: «Sett den store gryten på ilden og lag suppe til profetsønnene.»

And Elisha went back to Gilgal, now there was very little food in the land; and the sons of the prophets were seated before him. And he said to his servant, Put the great pot on the fire, and make soup for the sons of the prophets.

39 En gikk ut på marken for å samle urter. Han fant en vill slyngplante og sanket fra den, så hans kledning ble full. Han kom tilbake og skar dem opp i suppen, uten å vite hva de var.

And one went out into the field to get green plants and saw a vine of the field, and pulling off the fruit of it till the fold of his robe was full, he came back and put the fruit, cut up small, into the pot of soup, having no idea what it was.

40 De helte opp suppen til mennene. Mens de spiste, ropte de: «Mannen av Gud, det er død i gryten!» Og de kunne ikke spise det.

Then they gave the men soup from the pot. And while they were drinking the soup, they gave a cry, and said, O man of God, there is death in the pot; and they were not able to take any more food.

41 Men han sa: «Hent litt mel.» Han kastet det i gryten og sa: «Server det til folket.» Da var det ingenting farlig i gryten.

But he said, Get some meal. And he put it into the pot, and said, Now give it to the people so that they may have food. And there was nothing bad in the pot.

42 En mann fra Baal-salisa kom med en førstegrødeoffer til Guds mann, tjue byggbrød og ny høst i posen sin. Elisa sa: «Gi det til folket så de kan spise.»

Now a man came from Baal-shalishah with an offering of first-fruits for the man of God, twenty barley cakes and garden fruit in his bag. And he said, Give these to the people for food.

43 Tjeneren hans sa: «Hvordan kan jeg gi dette til hundre menn?» Men han svarte: «Gi det til folket, for Herren sier: De skal spise og få til overs.»

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.

44 Han satte det foran dem, de spiste og fikk til overs, akkurat som Herren hadde sagt.

So he put it before them, and they had a meal and there was more than enough, as the Lord had said.