2 Kings 4:6
in 2 Kings 4When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another.” But he replied, “There are no more jars.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
KJV
And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
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This verse in 2 Kings 4
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd the oil stayed - While there was a vessel to fill, there was oil sufficient; and it only ceased to flow when there was no vessel to receive it. This is a good emblem of the grace of God. While there is an empty, longing heart, there is a continual overflowing fountain of salvation. If we find in any place or at any time that the oil ceases to flow, it is because there are no empty vessels there, no souls hungering and thirsting for righteousness.
This site's exposition
pour out into all those vessels
on 2 Kings 4:4-6
The command to shut the door before the miracle returns twice more in the chapter, over the Shunammite's dead son at v21 and again over Elisha's own praying at v33: each of the four wonders in this chapter happens unseen, credited to no technique the reader can copy. The oil multiplies only as long as empty vessels stand ready to receive it, and stops the instant the supply of vessels runs out, not because the source failed but because the appointed containers did. Wesley reads the detail as deliberate, the miracle bounded by human readiness rather than by divine reluctance.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Notice, dearly beloved: as long as that widow had oil in her own vessel, it was not enough for her, and she could not pay her debt. It is true, brothers. If a person loves only himself, he does not suffice for himself, and he …
Here the Scripture relates the other miracle that Elisha performed in order to help the widow. He made flow into the vessels an amount of oil sufficient to pay the debt of her husband and abundantly multiplied it for the nourishment of her children.From the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), for it was not fit that this precious liquor should run over, and be as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Note, We are never straitened in God, in his power and bounty, and the riches of his grace; all our straitness is in ourselves. It is our faith that fails, not his promise.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And it came to pass when the vessels were full,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the oil stayed--that is, ceased to multiply; the benevolent object for which the miracle had been wrought having been accomplished. PROMISES A SON TO THE SHUNAMMITE.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֣י׀ | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִּמְלֹ֣את | kimlot | when were full | H4390 → | 249 times |
| הַכֵּלִ֗ים | hakelim | the vessels | H3627 → | 325 times |
| וַתֹּ֤אמֶר | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בְּנָהּ֙ | benah | son her | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הַגִּ֨ישָׁה | hagishah | bring near ! | H5066 → | 125 times |
| אֵלַ֥י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עוֹד֙ | ʾod | still | H5750 → | 490 times |
| כֶּ֔לִי | keli | a vessel | H3627 → | 325 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלֶ֔יהָ | ʾeleiha | to her | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֵ֥ין | ʾein | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| ע֖וֹד | od | still | H5750 → | 490 times |
| כֶּ֑לִי | keli | [is] a vessel | H3627 → | 325 times |
| וַֽיַּעֲמֹ֖ד | vaiyaamod | and it stopped | H5975 → | 521 times |
| הַשָּֽׁמֶן׃ | hashamen | the oil | H8081 → | 193 times |
וַיְהִ֣י׀and it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כִּמְלֹ֣אתwhen were full
kimlotH4390 →249 times
הַכֵּלִ֗יםthe vessels
hakelimH3627 →325 times
וַתֹּ֤אמֶרand she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בְּנָהּ֙son her
benahH1121 →4930 times
הַגִּ֨ישָׁהbring near !
hagishahH5066 →125 times
אֵלַ֥יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
עוֹד֙still
ʾodH5750 →490 times
כֶּ֔לִיa vessel
keliH3627 →325 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלֶ֔יהָto her
ʾeleihaH413 →5510 times
אֵ֥יןthere not
ʾeinH369 →789 times
ע֖וֹדstill
odH5750 →490 times
כֶּ֑לִי[is] a vessel
keliH3627 →325 times
וַֽיַּעֲמֹ֖דand it stopped
vaiyaamodH5975 →521 times
הַשָּֽׁמֶן׃the oil
hashamenH8081 →193 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
Luke 6:19The entire crowd was trying to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all.
it leads to
- Matthew 14:36
and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.
- Mark 3:10
For He had healed so many that all who had diseases were pressing forward to touch Him.
- Acts 5:15–16
As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.
- Mark 6:56
And wherever He went—villages and towns and countrysides—they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.
- Mark 5:30
At once Jesus was aware that power had gone out from Him. Turning to the crowd, He asked, “Who touched My garments?”
- Matthew 14:36
Through
John 6:12And when everyone was full, He said to His disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”
it leads to
- Mark 6:42–44
They all ate and were satisfied,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 1:53
He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.
- Mark 6:42–44
Through
2 Kings 13:19But the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 13:25
Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz took back from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the cities that Hazael had taken in battle from his father Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad three times, and so recovered the cities…
- 2 Kings 13:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 128.3; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 4:3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.