And they poured it out for the men to eat, but when they tasted the stew they cried out, “There is death in the pot, O man of God!” And they could not eat it.
Parallel translations
- WEB So they poured out for the men to eat. As they were eating some of the stew, they cried out, and said, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.
- KJV So 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, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.
- NKJV Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.
- NASB So they poured it out for the men to eat. But as they were eating the stew, they cried out and said, “You man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they were unable to eat.
- NLT Some of the stew was served to the men. But after they had eaten a bite or two they cried out, “Man of God, there’s poison in this stew!” So they would not eat it.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
As they eat, they cry out that there is death in the pot. The poisoned food endangers the prophets and calls for God's help.
Overview
The men recognize the deadly contamination and cannot eat. Their alarm, calling on the man of God, shows they look to God's servant for rescue. The crisis mirrors the earlier death theme, now in their food. It sets the stage for God to turn death into life through His prophet.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Mark 16:18they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”
- Exod 15:23And when they came to Marah, they could not drink the water there because it was bitter. (That is why it was named Marah.)
- Exod 10:17Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.”
- 2 Kgs 4:9Then the woman said to her husband, “Behold, now I know that the one who often comes our way is a holy man of God.
- 2 Kgs 1:13So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. And the third captain went up, fell on his knees before Elijah, and begged him, “Man of God, may my life and the lives of these fifty servants please be precious in your sight.
- 2 Kgs 1:11So the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. And the captain said to Elijah, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down at once!’”
- 1 Kgs 17:18“O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”
- Deut 33:1This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.
- 2 Kgs 1:9Then King Ahaziah sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. So the captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down!’”
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 4:40 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.