2 Kings 4 · Verse 34

2 Kings 4:34

And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.

2 Kings 4:34, King James Version

2 Kings 4:34 in other translations

BSB	Then Elisha got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eye to eye, and hand to hand. As he stretched himself out over him, the boy’s body became warm.
WEB	He went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. He stretched himself on him; and the child’s flesh grew warm.
ASV	And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon him; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.
YLT	And he goeth up, and lieth down on the lad, and putteth his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands, and stretcheth himself upon him, and the flesh of the lad becometh warm;
DARBY	And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands, and bent over him; and the flesh of the child grew warm.
BBE	Then he got up on the bed, stretching himself out on the child, and put his mouth on the child's mouth, his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands; and the child's body became warm.
Webster	And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child became warm.

What does 2 Kings 4:34 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

34. lay upon the child, &c.--(see 1Ki 17:21; Ac 20:10). Although this contact with a dead body would communicate ceremonial uncleanness, yet, in performing the great moral duties of piety and benevolence, positive laws were sometimes dispensed with, particularly by the prophets.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 34 Lay upon the child - Endeavored to convey a portion of his own natural warmth to the body of the child; and probably endeavored, by blowing into the child's mouth, to inflate the lungs, and restore respiration. He uses every natural means in his power to restore life, while praying to the Author of it to exert a miraculous influence. Natural means are in our power; those that are supernatural belong to God. We should always do our own work, and beg of God to do his.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Kings 4:18-37

Here is the sudden death of the child. All the mother's tenderness cannot keep alive a child of promise, a child of prayer, one given in love. But how admirably does the prudent, pious mother, guard her lips under this sudden affliction! Not one peevish word escapes from her. Such confidence had she of God's goodness, that she was ready to believe that he would restore what he had now taken away. O woman, great is…

Read the full comment on 2 Kings 4:18-37 →

2 Kings 4:34 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּ֜עַלvai.Ya.'aland he went upH5927

וַיִּשְׁכַּ֣בvai.yish.Kavand he layH7901

עַל\־'al-onH5921

הַיֶּ֗לֶדhai.Ye.ledthe childH3206

וַיָּשֶׂם֩vai.ya.Semand he putH7760

פִּ֨יוpivmouth hisH6310

עַל\־'al-onH5921

פִּ֜יוpivmouth hisH6310

וְעֵינָ֤יוve.'ei.Navand eyes hisH5869

עַל\־'al-onH5921

עֵינָיו֙'ei.Naveyes hisH5869

וְכַפָּ֣יוve.kha.Pavand palms hisH3709

עַל\־'al-onH5921

כַּפָּ֔יוka.povpalms hisH3709

וַיִּגְהַ֖רvai.yig.Harand he crouchedH1457

עָלָ֑יו'a.Lavover himH5921

וַיָּ֖חָםvai.Ya.chomand it became warmH2552

בְּשַׂ֥רbe.Sar[the] flesh ofH1320

הַיָּֽלֶד\׃hai.Ya.ledthe childH3206

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Kings 4:34

1 Kings 17:21
And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.
Acts 20:10
And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

1Ki 17:21; Ac 20:10

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

2 Kings 4:33
He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the Lord.
2 Kings 4:34
And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.
2 Kings 4:35
Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

Read all of 2 Kings 4

2 Kings 4:34 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Después subió, y echóse sobre el niño, poniendo su boca sobre la boca de él, y sus ojos sobre sus ojos, y sus manos sobre las manos suyas; así se tendió sobre él, y calentóse la carne del joven.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et il monta, et se coucha sur l’enfant, et mit sa bouche sur sa bouche, et ses yeux sur ses yeux, et ses mains sur ses mains, et se courba sur lui; et la chair de l’enfant se réchauffa.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und er stieg hinauf und legte sich auf das Kind, und er legte seinen Mund auf dessen Mund, und seine Augen auf dessen Augen, und seine Hände auf dessen Hände und beugte sich über dasselbe; und das Fleisch des Kindes wurde warm.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Et ascendit, et incubuit super puerum: posuitque os suum super os ejus, et oculos suos super oculos ejus, et manus suas super manus ejus: et incurvavit se super eum, et calefacta est caro pueri.