The Widow's Oil

41 And a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets hath cried unto Elisha, saying, 'Thy servant, my husband, is dead, and thou hast known that thy servant was fearing Jehovah, and the lender hath come to take my two children to him for servants.' 2 And Elisha saith unto her, 'What do I do for thee? declare to me, what hast thou in the house?' and she saith, 'Thy maid-servant hath nothing in the house except a pot of oil.' 3 And he saith, 'Go, ask for thee vessels from without, from all thy neighbours—empty vessels—let 'them' not be few; 4 and thou hast entered, and shut the door upon thee, and upon thy sons, and hast poured out into all these vessels, and the full ones thou dost remove.' 5 And she goeth from him, and shutteth the door upon her, and upon her sons; they are bringing nigh unto her, and she is pouring out, 6 and it cometh to pass, at the filling of the vessels, that she saith unto her son, 'Bring nigh unto me a vessel more,' and he saith unto her, 'There is not a vessel more;' and the oil stayeth. 7 And she cometh and declareth to the man of God, and he saith, 'Go, sell the oil, and repay thy loan; and thou 'and' thy sons do live of the rest.'

Elisha and the Shunammite Woman

8 And the day cometh that Elisha passeth over unto Shunem, and there 'is' a great woman, and she layeth hold on him to eat bread, and it cometh to pass, at the time of his passing over, he turneth aside thither to eat bread, 9 and she saith unto her husband, 'Lo, I pray thee, I have known that a holy man of God he is, passing over by us continually; 10 let us make, I pray thee, a little upper chamber of the wall, and we set for him there a bed, and a table, and a high seat, and a candlestick; and it hath been, in his coming in unto us, he doth turn aside thither.' 11 And the day cometh, that he cometh in thither, and turneth aside unto the upper chamber, and lieth there, 12 and he saith unto Gehazi his young man, 'Call for this Shunammite;' and he calleth for her, and she standeth before him. 13 And he saith to him, 'Say, I pray thee, unto her, Lo, thou hast troubled thyself concerning us with all this trouble; what—to do for thee? is it to speak for thee unto the king, or unto the head of the host?' and she saith, 'In the midst of my people I am dwelling.' 14 And he saith, 'And what—to do for her?' and Gehazi saith, 'Verily she hath no son, and her husband 'is' aged.' 15 And he saith, 'Call for her;' and he calleth for her, and she standeth at the opening, 16 and he saith, 'At this season, according to the time of life, thou art embracing a son;' and she saith, 'Nay, my lord, O man of God, do not lie unto thy maid-servant.' 17 And the woman conceiveth and beareth a son, at this season, according to the time of life, that Elisha spake of unto her.

18 And the lad groweth, and the day cometh that he goeth out unto his father, unto the reapers, 19 and he saith unto his father, 'My head, my head;' and he saith unto the young man, 'Bear him unto his mother;' 20 and he beareth him, and bringeth him in unto his mother, and he sitteth on her knees till the noon, and dieth. 21 And she goeth up, and layeth him on the bed of the man of God, and shutteth 'the door' upon him, and goeth out, 22 and calleth unto her husband, and saith, 'Send, I pray thee, to me, one of the young men, and one of the asses, and I run unto the man of God, and return.' 23 And he saith, 'Wherefore art thou going unto him to-day?—neither new moon nor sabbath!' and she saith, 'Peace 'to thee'!' 24 And she saddleth the ass, and saith unto her young man, 'Lead, and go, do not restrain riding for me, except I have said 'so' to thee.' 25 And she goeth, and cometh in unto the man of God, unto the hill of Carmel, and it cometh to pass, at the man of God's seeing her from over-against, that he saith unto Gehazi his young man, 'Lo, this Shunammite; 26 now, run, I pray thee, to meet her, and say to her, Is there peace to thee? is there peace to thy husband? is there peace to the lad?' and she saith, 'Peace.' 27 And she cometh in unto the man of God, unto the hill, and layeth hold on his feet, and Gehazi cometh nigh to thrust her away, and the man of God saith, 'Let her alone, for her soul 'is' bitter to her, and Jehovah hath hidden 'it' from me, and hath not declared 'it' to me.' 28 And she saith, 'Did I ask a son from my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?' 29 And he saith to Gehazi, 'Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go; when thou dost meet a man, thou dost not salute him; and when a man doth salute thee, thou dost not answer him; and thou hast laid my staff on the face of the youth.' 30 And the mother of the youth saith, 'Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth—if I leave thee;' and he riseth and goeth after her. 31 And Gehazi hath passed on before them, and layeth the staff on the face of the youth, and there is no voice, and there is no attention, and he turneth back to meet him, and declareth to him, saying, 'The youth hath not awaked.' 32 And Elisha cometh in to the house, and lo, the youth is dead, laid on his bed, 33 and he goeth in and shutteth the door upon them both, and prayeth unto Jehovah. 34 And he goeth up, and lieth down on the lad, and putteth his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands, and stretcheth himself upon him, and the flesh of the lad becometh warm; 35 and he turneth back and walketh in the house, once hither and once thither, and goeth up and stretcheth himself upon him, and the youth sneezeth till seven times, and the youth openeth his eyes. 36 And he calleth unto Gehazi, and saith, 'Call unto this Shunammite;' and he calleth her, and she cometh in unto him, and he saith, 'Lift up thy son.' 37 And she goeth in, and falleth at his feet, and boweth herself to the earth, and lifteth up her son, and goeth out.

Elisha's Miracles for the Prophets

38 And Elisha hath turned back to Gilgal, and the famine 'is' in the land, and the sons of the prophets are sitting before him, and he saith to his young man, 'Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets.' 39 And one goeth out unto the field to gather herbs, and findeth a vine of the field, and gathereth of it gourds of the field—the fulness of his garment—and cometh in and splitteth 'them' into the pot of pottage, for they knew 'them' not; 40 and they pour out for the men to eat, and it cometh to pass at their eating of the pottage, that they have cried out, and say, 'Death 'is' in the pot, O man of God!' and they have not been able to eat. 41 And he saith, 'Then bring ye meal;' and he casteth into the pot, and saith, 'Pour out for the people, and they eat;' and there was no evil thing in the pot. 42 And a man hath come from Baal-Shalishah, and bringeth in to the man of God bread of first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in its husk, and he saith, 'Give to the people, and they eat.' 43 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;' 44 and he giveth before them, and they eat and leave, according to the word of Jehovah.

The Cure of Naaman's Leprosy

51 And Naaman, head of the host of the king of Aram, was a great man before his lord, and accepted of face, for by him had Jehovah given salvation to Aram, and the man was mighty in valour—leprous. 2 And the Aramaeans have gone out 'by' troops, and they take captive out of the land of Israel a little damsel, and she is before the wife of Naaman, 3 and she saith unto her mistress, 'O that my lord 'were' before the prophet who 'is' in Samaria; then he doth recover him from his leprosy.' 4 And 'one' goeth in and declareth to his lord, saying, 'Thus and thus she hath spoken, the damsel who 'is' from the land of Israel.' 5 And the king of Aram saith, 'Go thou, enter, and I send a letter unto the king of Israel;' and he goeth and taketh in his hand ten talents of silver, and six thousand 'pieces' of gold, and ten changes of garments. 6 And he bringeth in the letter unto the king of Israel, saying, 'And now, at the coming in of this letter unto thee, lo, I have sent unto thee Naaman my servant, and thou hast recovered him from his leprosy.' 7 And it cometh to pass, at the king of Israel's reading the letter, that he rendeth his garments, and saith, 'Am I God, to put to death and to keep alive, that this 'one' is sending unto me to recover a man from his leprosy? for surely know, I pray you, and see, for he is presenting himself to me.' 8 And it cometh to pass, at Elisha the man of God's hearing that the king of Israel hath rent his garments, that he sendeth unto the king, saying, 'Why hast thou rent thy garments? let him come, I pray thee, unto me, and he doth know that there is a prophet in Israel.'

9 And Naaman cometh, with his horses and with his chariot, and standeth at the opening of the house for Elisha; 10 and Elisha sendeth unto him a messenger, saying, 'Go, and thou hast washed seven times in Jordan, and thy flesh doth turn back to thee—and be thou clean. 11 And Naaman is wroth, and goeth on, and saith, 'Lo, I said, Unto me he doth certainly come out, and hath stood and called in the name of Jehovah his God, and waved his hand over the place, and recovered the leper. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? do I not wash in them and I have been clean?' and he turneth and goeth on in fury. 13 And his servants come nigh, and speak unto him, and say, 'My father, a great thing had the prophet spoken unto thee—dost thou not do 'it'? and surely, when he hath said unto thee, Wash, and be clean.' 14 And he goeth down and dippeth in Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh doth turn back as the flesh of a little youth, and is clean.

15 And he turneth back unto the man of God, he and all his camp, and cometh in, and standeth before him, and saith, 'Lo, I pray thee, I have known that there is not a God in all the earth except in Israel; and now, take, I pray thee, a blessing from thy servant.' 16 And he saith, 'Jehovah liveth, before whom I have stood—if I take 'it';' and he presseth on him to take, and he refuseth. 17 And Naaman saith, 'If not—let be given, I pray thee, to thy servant, a couple of mules' burden of earth, for thy servant doth make no more burnt-offering and sacrifice to other gods, but to Jehovah. 18 For this thing Jehovah be propitious to thy servant, in the coming in of my lord into the house of Rimmon to bow himself there, and he was supported by my hand, and I bowed myself 'in' the house of Rimmon; for my bowing myself in the house of Rimmon Jehovah be propitious, I pray thee, to thy servant in this thing.' 19 And he saith to him, 'Go in peace.' And he goeth from him a kibrath of land,

20 And Gehazi, servant of Elisha the man of God, saith, 'Lo, my lord hath spared Naaman this Aramaean, not to receive from his hand that which he brought; Jehovah liveth; surely if I have run after him, then I have taken from him something.' 21 And Gehazi pursueth after Naaman, and Naaman seeth one running after him, and alighteth from off the chariot to meet him, and saith, 'Is there peace?' 22 And he saith, 'Peace; my lord hath sent me, saying, Lo, now, this, come unto me have two young men from the hill-country of Ephraim, of the sons of the prophets; give, I pray thee, to them, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.' 23 And Naaman saith, 'Be pleased, take two talents;' and he urgeth on him, and bindeth two talents of silver in two purses, and two changes of garments, and giveth unto two of his young men, and they bear before him; 24 and he cometh in unto the high place, and taketh out of their hand, and layeth up in the house, and sendeth away the men, and they go. 25 And he hath come in, and doth stand by his lord, and Elisha saith unto him, 'Whence—Gehazi?' and he saith, 'Thy servant went not hither or thither.' 26 And he saith unto him, 'My heart went not when the man turned from off his chariot to meet thee; is it a time to take silver, and to take garments, and olives, and vines, and flock, and herd, and men-servants, and maid-servants? 27 yea, the leprosy of Naaman doth cleave to thee, and to thy seed,—to the age;' and he goeth out from before him—leprous as snow.

The Axe Head Made to Float

61 And sons of the prophet say unto Elisha, 'Lo, we pray thee, the place where we are dwelling before thee is too strait for us; 2 let us go, we pray thee, unto the Jordan, and we take thence each one beam, and we make for ourselves there a place to dwell there;' and he saith, 'Go.' 3 And the one saith, 'Be pleased, I pray thee, and go with thy servants;' and he saith, 'I—I go.' 4 And he goeth with them, and they come in to the Jordan, and cut down the trees, 5 and it cometh to pass, the one is felling the beam, and the iron hath fallen into the water, and he crieth and saith, 'Alas! my lord, and it asked!' 6 And the man of God saith, 'Whither hath it fallen?' and he sheweth him the place, and he cutteth a stick, and casteth thither, and causeth the iron to swim, 7 and saith, 'Raise to thee;' and he putteth forth his hand and taketh it.

Elisha and the Syrians

8 And the king of Aram hath been fighting against Israel, and taketh counsel with his servants, saying, 'At such and such a place 'is' my encamping.' 9 And the man of God sendeth unto the king of Israel, saying, 'Take heed of passing by this place, for thither are the Aramaeans coming down; 10 and the king of Israel sendeth unto the place of which the man of God spake to him, and warned him, and he is preserved there not once nor twice. 11 And the heart of the king of Aram is tossed about concerning this thing, and he calleth unto his servants, and saith unto them, 'Do ye not declare to me who of us 'is' for the king of Israel?' 12 And one of his servants saith, 'Nay, my lord, O king, for Elisha the prophet, who 'is' in Israel, declareth to the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in the inner part of thy bed-chamber.'

13 And he saith, 'Go ye and see where he 'is', and I send and take him;' and it is declared to him, saying, 'Lo—in Dothan.' 14 And he sendeth thither horses and chariot, and a heavy force, and they come in by night, and go round against the city. 15 And the servant of the man of God riseth early, and goeth out, and lo, a force is surrounding the city, and horse and chariot, and his young man saith unto him, 'Alas! my lord, how do we do?' 16 And he saith, 'Fear not, for more 'are' they who 'are' with us than they who 'are' with them.' 17 And Elisha prayeth, and saith, 'Jehovah, open, I pray Thee, his eyes, and he doth see;' and Jehovah openeth the eyes of the young man, and he seeth, and lo, the hill is full of horses and chariots of fire, round about Elisha. 18 And they come down unto it, and Elisha prayeth unto Jehovah, and saith, 'Smite, I pray Thee, this nation with blindness;' and He smiteth them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha. 19 And Elisha saith unto them, 'This 'is' not the way, nor 'is' this the city; come after me, and I lead you unto the man whom ye seek;' and he leadeth them to Samaria. 20 And it cometh to pass, at their coming in to Samaria, that Elisha saith, 'Jehovah, open the eyes of these, and they see;' and Jehovah openeth their eyes, and they see, and lo, in the midst of Samaria! 21 And the king of Israel saith unto Elisha, at his seeing them, 'Do I smite—do I smite—my father?' 22 And he saith, 'Thou dost not smite; those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow art thou smiting? set bread and water before them, and they eat, and drink, and go unto their lord.' 23 And he prepareth for them great provision, and they eat and drink, and he sendeth them away, and they go unto their lord: and troops of Aram have not added any more to come in to the land of Israel.

Elisha and the Siege of Samaria

24 And it cometh to pass afterwards, that Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathereth all his camp, and goeth up, and layeth siege to Samaria, 25 and there is a great famine in Samaria, and lo, they are laying siege to it, till the head of an ass is at eighty silverlings, and a forth of the cab of dovesdung at five silverlings. 26 And it cometh to pass, the king of Israel is passing by on the wall, and a woman hath cried unto him, saying, 'Save, my lord, O king.' 27 And he saith, 'Jehovah doth not save thee—whence do I save thee? out of the threshing-floor, or out of the wine-vat?' 28 And the king saith to her, 'What—to thee?' and she saith, 'This woman said unto me, Give thy son, and we eat him to-day, and my son we eat to-morrow; 29 and we boil my son and eat him, and I say unto her on the next day, Give thy son, and we eat him; and she hideth her son.' 30 And it cometh to pass, at the king's hearing the words of the woman, that he rendeth his garments, and he is passing by on the wall, and the people see, and lo, the sackcloth 'is' on his flesh within. 31 And he saith, 'Thus doth God do to me, and thus He doth add—if it remain—the head of Elisha son of Shaphat—upon him this day.' 32 And Elisha is sitting in his house, and the elders are sitting with him, and 'the king' sendeth a man from before him; before the messenger doth come unto him, even he himself said unto the elders, 'Have ye seen that this son of the murderer hath sent to turn aside my head? see, at the coming in of the messenger, shut the door, and ye have held him fast at the door, is not the sound of the feet of his lord behind him?' 33 He is yet speaking with them, and lo, the messenger is coming down unto him, and he saith, 'Lo, this 'is' the evil from Jehovah: what—do I wait for Jehovah any more?'

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

36 and as they are speaking these things, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith to them, 'Peace—to you;' 37 and being amazed, and becoming affrighted, they were thinking themselves to see a spirit. 38 And he said to them, 'Why are ye troubled? and wherefore do reasonings come up in your hearts? 39 see my hands and my feet, that I am he; handle me and see, because a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me having.' 40 And having said this, he shewed to them the hands and the feet, 41 and while they are not believing from the joy, and wondering, he said to them, 'Have ye anything here to eat?' 42 and they gave to him part of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb, 43 and having taken, he did eat before them, 44 and he said to them, 'These 'are' the words that I spake unto you, being yet with you, that it behoveth to be fulfilled all the things that are written in the Law of Moses, and the Prophets, and the Psalms, about me.' 45 Then opened he up their understanding to understand the Writings, 46 and he said to them—'Thus it hath been written, and thus it was behoving the Christ to suffer, and to rise out of the dead the third day, 47 and reformation and remission of sins to be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem: 48 and ye—ye are witnesses of these things. 49 'And, lo, I do send the promise of my Father upon you, but ye—abide ye in the city of Jerusalem till ye be clothed with power from on high.'

The Ascension

50 And he led them forth without—unto Bethany, and having lifted up his hands he did bless them, 51 and it came to pass, in his blessing them, he was parted from them, and was borne up to the heaven; 52 and they, having bowed before him, did turn back to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Luke 24:36-53

Commentary on Luke 24:36-49

(Read Luke 24:36-49)

Jesus appeared in a miraculous manner, assuring the disciples of his peace, though they had so lately forsaken him, and promising spiritual peace with every blessing. Many troublesome thoughts which disquiet our minds, rise from mistakes concerning Christ. All the troublesome thoughts which rise in our hearts at any time, are known to the Lord Jesus, and are displeasing to him. He spake with them on their unreasonable unbelief. Nothing had passed but what was foretold by the prophets, and necessary for the salvation of sinners. And now all men should be taught the nature and necessity of repentance, in order to the forgiveness of their sins. And these blessings were to be sought for, by faith in the name of Jesus. Christ by his Spirit works on the minds of men. Even good men need to have their understandings opened. But that we may have right thoughts of Christ, there needs no more than to be made to understand the Scriptures.

Commentary on Luke 24:50-53

(Read Luke 24:50-53)

Christ ascended from Bethany, near the Mount of Olives. There was the garden in which his sufferings began; there he was in his agony. Those that would go to heaven, must ascend thither from the house of sufferings and sorrows. The disciples did not see him rise out of the grave; his resurrection could be proved by their seeing him alive afterwards: but they saw him ascend into heaven; they could not otherwise have a proof of his ascension. He lifted up his hands, and blessed them. He did not go away in displeasure, but in love, he left a blessing behind him. As he arose, so he ascended, by his own power. They worshipped him. This fresh display of Christ's glory drew from them fresh acknowledgments. They returned to Jerusalem with great joy. The glory of Christ is the joy of all true believers, even while they are here in this world. While waiting for God's promises, we must go forth to meet them with our praises. And nothing better prepares the mind for receiving the Holy Ghost. Fears are silenced, sorrows sweetened and allayed, and hopes kept up. And this is the ground of a Christian's boldness at the throne of grace; yea, the Father's throne is the throne of grace to us, because it is also the throne of our Mediator, Jesus Christ. Let us rely on his promises, and plead them. Let us attend his ordinances, praise and bless God for his mercies, set our affections on things above, and expect the Redeemer's return to complete our happiness. Amen. Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly.