2 Kings 4:40
in 2 Kings 4And 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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 man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.
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.
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This verse in 2 Kings 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
there is death in the pot
on 2 Kings 4:40-41
There is death in the pot becomes the chapter's most quoted line, and the remedy Elisha applies, common meal cast into the poisoned pottage, recalls Moses at Marah casting a tree into bitter water to make it sweet, Ex 15:25, an ordinary object made the instrument of a word rather than a natural antidote. No harm in the pot answers the cry with the plainest possible negation, not a partial cure but a complete one, stated in the pot's own terms.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Here two miracles are proposed, which Elisha performed while he was among his disciples. He accomplished the first when he caused death to leave the pot, where, as they said, it had hidden. He performed the second when he nourished one hundred prophets with a …
Elisha corrects the nature of the cooked foods with some flour and gives them a new taste. Our Lord did the same according to the [divine] economy, so that he might be imitated, as he said for our exhortation, with the result that we might …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
So they poured out for the men to eat,....
The table often becomes a snare, and that which should be for our welfare proves a trap, which is a good reason why we should not feed ourselves without fear; when we are receiving the supports and comforts of life we must keep up an expectation of death and a fear of sin.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
There is death in the pot - As if they had said, “We have here a deadly mixture; if we eat of it, we shall all die.”
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּֽצְק֥וּ | vaiyitzku | and they poured [it] out | H3332 → | 50 times |
| לַאֲנָשִׁ֖ים | laanashim | for [the] men | H582 → | 566 times |
| לֶאֱכ֑וֹל | leekhol | to eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| וַ֠יְהִי | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְּאָכְלָ֨ם | keakhelam | when ate they | H398 → | 810 times |
| מֵהַנָּזִ֜יד | mehanazid | some of the cooked food | H5138 → | 6 times |
| וְהֵ֣מָּה | vehemah | and they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| צָעָ֗קוּ | tzaaku | they cried out | H6817 → | 55 times |
| וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מָ֤וֶת | mavet | death | H4194 → | 156 times |
| בַּסִּיר֙ | basir | [is] in the pot | H5518 → | 34 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | O man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָכְל֖וּ | yakhelu | they were able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| לֶאֱכֹֽל׃ | leekhol | to eat [it] | H398 → | 810 times |
וַיִּֽצְק֥וּand they poured [it] out
vaiyitzkuH3332 →50 times
לַאֲנָשִׁ֖יםfor [the] men
laanashimH582 →566 times
לֶאֱכ֑וֹלto eat
leekholH398 →810 times
וַ֠יְהִיand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כְּאָכְלָ֨םwhen ate they
keakhelamH398 →810 times
מֵהַנָּזִ֜ידsome of the cooked food
mehanazidH5138 →6 times
וְהֵ֣מָּהand they
vehemahH1992 →553 times
צָעָ֗קוּthey cried out
tzaakuH6817 →55 times
וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙and they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
מָ֤וֶתdeath
mavetH4194 →156 times
בַּסִּיר֙[is] in the pot
basirH5518 →34 times
אִ֣ישׁO man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יָכְל֖וּthey were able
yakheluH3201 →194 times
לֶאֱכֹֽל׃to eat [it]
leekholH398 →810 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
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.”
it leads to
- Luke 10:19
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.
- James 5:14–15
Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
- Acts 28:3–6
Paul gathered a bundle of sticks, and as he laid them on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself to his hand.
- Acts 19:12
so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and the diseases and evil spirits left them.
- Acts 4:30
as You stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”
- Luke 10:19
Through
Exodus 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.)
it leads to
- Numbers 33:8
They set out from Pi-hahiroth and crossed through the sea, into the wilderness, and they journeyed three days into the Wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah.
- Ruth 1:20
“Do not call me Naomi,” she replied. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has dealt quite bitterly with me.
- Numbers 33:8
Through
Exodus 10:17Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.”
it leads to
- 1 Kings 13:6
Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 13:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 4:38; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 4:41; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.