complete verse (2 Kings 4:41)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 4:41:

  • Kupsabiny: “Elisha said, ‘Please bring (plur.) me some flour.’ And when it had been brought, he took a handful and threw it into the pot, and then he said, ‘Now, please bring the soup to those men to sip it.’ Nothing bad was still seen in that soup.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Elisha said, "Bring a little wheat flour." He put it in the pot and said, "Now feed this to them." Then there was nothing harmful in it.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Elisha said, ‘Get me some flour.’ He then poured the flour into the pot and said to the servant, ‘Okay/Alright, serve it now to them so-that they can-eat.’ And the flavor of it was now good.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Elisha said, ‘Bring me some flour.’ They brought him some, and he threw it in the pot and he said, ‘It is all right now. You can eat it.’ And they ate it, and it did not harm them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 2 Kings 4:41

He said, “Then bring meal”: If there is any doubt about the referent for the pronoun He, it may be replaced by the proper name “Elisha” as several versions have done (Good News Translation, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Century Version, New International Version, Contemporary English Version). Instead of the proper name, Revised English Bible has “The prophet.” It is also possible to translate the direct discourse of the Hebrew by indirect discourse, following the Good News Translation model (also Bible en français courant) if this is more natural in the language of translation.

Then bring is literally “And bring.” Some interpreters think the Hebrew conjunction should be omitted here. If the conjunction is translated here, it should be rendered as a temporal connector (“Then”) or a logical connector (“So”) rather than simply “And.”

The Hebrew term rendered meal is also used in 1 Kgs 4.22; 17.12, 14, 16. See the comments there. Here meal refers to flour.

And he threw it into the pot, and said: The Septuagint adds that Elisha speaks “to his servant Gehazi.” The verb for bring is second person plural, but the verb for Pour out is singular. Both Bible en français courant and Parole de Vie add “to his servant,” and this is acceptable.

Pour out for the men: In view of the fact that the men had already been served once in the previous verse, it may be more natural to say “Serve the men [some stew] again” or “Now give the prophets some more of this stew.” Presumably they would have gotten rid of the bitter stew that was in their bowls from the first serving.

In verses 41, 42 and 43b, men renders a different Hebrew word than the noun translated the same way in the previous verse. Here men is literally “people,” but the context clearly indicates that the “people” refer to the “men” of verse 40, so a literal translation of “people” in verses 41-43 may incorrectly suggest a second group of men.

There was no harm in the pot; that is, the situation that existed before Elisha put the flour in the stew was no longer true. Some may translate “the stew was not bad this time” or “the food from the pot was fine.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 Kings 4:41

4:41a Then Elisha said, “Get some flour.”

Elisha said, “Bring ⌊me⌋ some flour.”

-or-

⌊When Elisha heard this,⌋ he asked for some flour.

4:41b He threw it into the pot and said,

He threw the flour into the pot and said,

-or-

⌊Someone brought him the flour,⌋ and he added it to the stew/soup/pot. Then he told those who were cooking it

4:41c “Pour it out for the people to eat.”

“Now pour it out for the people to eat.”

-or-

to serve it to everyone.

4:41d And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

And then the food/stew in the pot was no longer bad/harmful.

-or-

⌊When they ate/tasted it⌋ ⌊they found that⌋ it contained nothing bad/poisonous.

-or-

⌊They did so,⌋ and the food in the pot was good.

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