Verse Lens · Context pointer
2 Kings 4:13 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 13. 13And he said unto him, Say now unto 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 answered, I dwell among mine own people.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
This verse advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence: “And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “A Shunammite provides a room and receives a son.”
Read It With
- 2 Kings 4:8–17
Read 2 Kings 4:13 with 4:8–17. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: A prominent Shunammite woman repeatedly feeds Elisha, builds him a small room, declines court advocacy, and receives an unexpected promise of a son.
Why It Needs Context
2 Kings 4:13 depends on 4:8–17; isolating “And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all…” would detach a supporting action, quotation, name, number, object, or transition from “A Shunammite provides a room and receives a son.”
Read 2 Kings 4:8–17 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Kings 4:8–17 forms one scene or regnal notice: A prominent Shunammite woman repeatedly feeds Elisha, builds him a small room, declines court advocacy, and receives an unexpected promise of a son.
Verse 8. 8 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great 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.
Verse 9. 9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.
Verse 10. 10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.
Verse 11. 11 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.
Verse 12. 12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.
Verse 13. 13 And he said unto him, Say now unto 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 answered, I dwell among mine own people.
Verse 14. 14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.
Verse 15. 15 And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.
Verse 16. 16 And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.
Verse 17. 17 And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 2 Kings 4:8–17 — A Shunammite provides a room and receives a sonSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Kings 4:8–17, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, royal formulas, clause relationships, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 4:8–17
Open source ↗