The Widow's Oil

41 And a woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha saying, Thy servant my husband is dead, and thou knowest that thy servant feared Jehovah; and the creditor is come to take my two children to be bondmen. 2 And Elisha said to her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thy handmaid has not anything at all in the house but a pot of oil. 3 And he said, Go, borrow for thyself vessels abroad from all thy neighbours, empty vessels; let it not be few; 4 and go in, and shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and pour out into all those vessels, and set aside what is full. 5 And she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons: they brought [the vessels] to her, and she poured out. 6 And it came to pass when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said to her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. 7 And she came and told the man of God; and he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou [and] thy sons on the rest.

Elisha and the Shunammite Woman

8 And it came to pass on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a wealthy woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, [that] as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. 9 And she said to her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us continually. 10 Let us make, I pray thee, a small upper chamber with walls, and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a seat, and a lampstand; and it shall be when he cometh to us, he shall turn in thither. 11 And it came to pass on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the upper chamber, and lay there. 12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And he called her, and she stood before him. 13 And he said to him, Say now to her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she said, I dwell among mine own people. 14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi said, Verily, she has no son, and her husband is old. 15 And he said, Call her; and he called her; and she stood in the doorway. 16 And he said, At this appointed time, when thy term is come, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, man of God, do not lie to thy handmaid. 17 And the woman conceived, and bore a son at that appointed time in the next year as Elisha had said to her.

18 And the child grew, and it came to pass one day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. 19 And he said to his father, My head, my head! And he said to the servant, Carry him to his mother. 20 And he carried him, and brought him to his mother; and he sat on her knees till noon, and died. 21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut [the door] upon him, and went out. 22 And she called to her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, and I will run to the man of God, and come again. 23 And he said, Why wilt thou go to him to-day? It is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, [It is] well. 24 Then she saddled the ass, and said to her servant, Drive and go forward; slack not the riding for me, except I bid thee. 25 And she went and came to the man of God, to mount Carmel. And it came to pass when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, there is the Shunammite: 26 run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she said, It is well. 27 And she came to the man of God to the mountain, and caught him by the feet; and Gehazi drew near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, Let her alone, for her soul is troubled within her, and Jehovah has hidden it from me, and has not told me. 28 And she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me? 29 And he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go thy way. If thou meet any man, salute him not, and if any salute thee, answer him not again; and lay my staff upon the face of the lad. 30 And the mother of the lad said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee! And he rose up and followed her. 31 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the lad; but there was neither voice, nor sign of attention. And he returned to meet him, and told him saying, The lad is not awaked. 32 And when Elisha came into the house, behold, the child was dead, [and] laid upon his bed. 33 And he went in and shut the door upon them both, and prayed to Jehovah. 34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands, and bent over him; and the flesh of the child grew warm. 35 And he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and bent over him. And the lad sneezed seven times, and the lad opened his eyes. 36 And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. And he called her; and she came to him. And he said, Take up thy son. 37 And she came and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground; and she took up her son, and went out.

Elisha's Miracles for the Prophets

38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal. And there was a famine in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him. And he said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets. 39 Then one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it his lap full of wild colocynths, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage; for they did not know them. 40 And they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out and said, Man of God, there is death in the pot! And they could not eat [it]. 41 And he said, Then bring meal. And he cast [it] into the pot, and said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot. 42 And there came a man from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of corn in his sack. And he said, Give to the people that they may eat. 43 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.

The Cure of Naaman's Leprosy

51 And Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man before his master, and honourable, for by him Jehovah had given deliverance to Syria; and he was a mighty man of valour, [but] a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. 3 And she said to her mistress, Oh, would that my lord were before the prophet that is in Samaria! then he would cure him of his leprosy. 4 And he went and told his lord saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. 5 And the king of Syria said, Well! go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand [shekels] of gold, and ten changes of raiment. 6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, And now, when this letter comes to thee, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest cure him of his leprosy. 7 And it came to pass when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his garments, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeks an occasion against me. 8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his garments, that he sent to the king, saying, Why hast thou rent thy garments? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.

9 And Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. 11 And Naaman was wroth, and went away and said, Behold, I thought, He will certainly come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Jehovah his God, and wave his hand over the place, and cure the leper. 12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them and be clean? And he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his servants drew near, and spoke to him and said, My father, [if] the prophet had bidden thee [do some] great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he says to thee, Wash and be clean? 14 Then he went down, and plunged himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God. And his flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came and stood before him; and he said, Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; and now, I pray thee, take a present of thy servant. 16 But he said, As Jehovah liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none! And he urged him to take it; but he refused. 17 And Naaman said, If not, then let there, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of [this] earth; for thy servant will no more offer burnt-offering and sacrifice to other gods, but to Jehovah. 18 In this thing Jehovah pardon thy servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to bow down there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon—when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, Jehovah pardon thy servant, I pray thee, in this thing. 19 And he said to him, Go in peace. And he departed from him a little way.

20 And Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master has spared Naaman, this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought; but as Jehovah liveth, I will run after him and take somewhat of him. 21 And Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he sprang down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? 22 And he said, All is well. My master has sent me saying, Behold, even now there are come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets; give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of raiment. 23 And Naaman said, Consent to take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of raiment, and laid them upon two of his young men; and they bore them before him. 24 And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand, and stowed them in the house; and he let the men go, and they departed. 25 And he entered in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, Whence [comest thou], Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither. 26 And he said to him, Did not my heart go, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and bondmen, and bondwomen? 27 But the leprosy of Naaman shall fasten upon thee, and upon thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence leprous, as snow.

The Axe Head Made to Float

61 And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell before thee is too strait for us. 2 Let us go, we pray thee, to the Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he said, Go. 3 And one said, Consent, I pray thee, to go with thy servants. And he said, I will go. 4 And he went with them. And they came to the Jordan and cut down the trees. 5 And it came to pass as one was felling a beam, that the iron fell into the water; and he cried and said, Alas, master, and it was borrowed! 6 And the man of God said, Where did it fall? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither, and made the iron to swim. 7 And he said, Take [it] up to thee. And he put out his hand and took it.

Elisha and the Syrians

8 And the king of Syria warred against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place [shall be] my camp. 9 And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place, for thither the Syrians are come down. 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and he was on his guard there. [That took place] not once, nor twice. 11 And the heart of the king of Syria was troubled because of this thing; and he called his servants, and said to them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? 12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.

13 And he said, Go and see where he is, and I will send and fetch him. And it was told him saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. 14 And he sent thither horses and chariots, and a great host, and they came by night and surrounded the city. 15 And when the attendant of the man of God rose early and went forth, behold, an army surrounded the city, with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? 16 And he said, Fear not, for they that are with us are more than they that are with them. 17 And Elisha prayed and said, Jehovah, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. And Jehovah opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 18 And they came down to him; and Elisha prayed to Jehovah and said, Smite this nation, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 19 And Elisha said to them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. And he led them to Samaria. 20 And it came to pass when they entered into Samaria, that Elisha said, Jehovah, open the eyes of these [men] that they may see. And Jehovah opened their eyes, and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 And the king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite? shall I smite [them]? 22 And he said, Thou shalt not smite [them]: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. 23 And he prepared a great repast for them, and they ate and drank; and he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

Elisha and the Siege of Samaria

24 And it came to pass after this that Ben-Hadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria. 25 And there was a great famine in Samaria; and behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was worth eighty silver-pieces, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung five silver-pieces. 26 And it came to pass as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman to him saying, Help, my lord O king! 27 And he said, If Jehovah do not help thee, whence should I help thee? Out of the threshing-floor, or out of the winepress? 28 And the king said to her, What aileth thee? And she said, This woman said to me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow. 29 And we boiled my son, and ate him: and I said to her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him; and she has hidden her son. 30 And it came to pass when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his garments; and he was passing by upon the wall, and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh. 31 And he said, God do so, and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall remain on him this day! 32 And Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him. And [the king] sent a man before him. Before the messenger came to him, he himself said to the elders, Do ye see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? See, when the messenger comes; shut the door, and keep him off with the door: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him? 33 And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down to him. And [the king] said, Behold, this evil is of Jehovah: why should I wait for Jehovah any longer?

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

36 And as they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst, and says to them, Peace [be] unto you. 37 But they, being confounded and being frightened, supposed they beheld a spirit. 38 And he said to them, Why are ye troubled? and why are thoughts rising in your hearts? 39 behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit has not flesh and bones as ye see me having. 40 And having said this he shewed them his hands and his feet. 41 But while they yet did not believe for joy, and were wondering, he said to them, Have ye anything here to eat? 42 And they gave him part of a broiled fish and of a honeycomb; 43 and he took it and ate before them. 44 And he said to them, These [are] the words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that all that is written concerning me in the law of Moses and prophets and psalms must be fulfilled. 45 Then he opened their understanding to understand the scriptures, 46 and said to them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved the Christ to suffer, and to rise from among the dead the third day; 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And ye are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but do ye remain in the city till ye be clothed with power from on high.

The Ascension

50 And he led them out as far as Bethany, and having lifted up his hands, he blessed them. 51 And it came to pass as he was blessing them, he was separated from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they, having done him homage, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God.

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.