2 Kings 4 · Verse 39

2 Kings 4:39

And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.
2 Kings 4:39, King James Version

2 Kings 4:39 in other translations

BSBOne of them went out to the field to gather herbs, and he found a wild vine from which he gathered as many wild gourds as his garment could hold. Then he came back and cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were.
WEBOne went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered a lap full of wild gourds from it, and came and cut them up into the pot of stew; for they didn’t recognize them.
ASVAnd one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage; for they knew them not.
YLTAnd one goeth out unto the field to gather herbs, and findeth a vine of the field, and gathereth of it gourds of the field--the fulness of his garment--and cometh in and splitteth them into the pot of pottage, for they knew them not;
DARBYThen one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it his lap full of wild colocynths, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage; for they did not know them.
BBEAnd one went out into the field to get green plants and saw a vine of the field, and pulling off the fruit of it till the fold of his robe was full, he came back and put the fruit, cut up small, into the pot of soup, having no idea what it was.
WebsterAnd one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.

What does 2 Kings 4:39 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
39. went out into the field to gather herbs--Wild herbs are very extensively used by the people in the East, even by those who possess their own vegetable gardens. The fields are daily searched for mallow, asparagus, and other wild plants. wild vine--literally, "the vine of the field," supposed to be the colocynth, a cucumber, which, in its leaves, tendrils, and fruit, bears a strong resemblance to the wild vine. The "gourds," or fruit, are of the color and size of an orange bitter to the taste, causing colic, and exciting the nerves, eaten freely they would occasion such a derangement of the stomach and bowels as to be followed by death. The meal which Elisha poured into the pot was a symbolic sign that the noxious quality of the herbs was removed. lap full--The hyke, or large cloak, is thrown loosely over the left shoulder and fastened under the right arm, so as to form a lap or apron. 2Ki 4:42-44. Satisfies a Hundred Men with Twenty Loaves.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 39 Wild gourds - This is generally thought to be the coloquintida, the fruit of a plant of the same name, about the size of a large orange. It is brought hither from the Levant, and is often known by the name of the bitter apple; both the seeds and pulp are intensely bitter, and violently purgative. It ranks among vegetable poisons, as all intense bitters do; but, judiciously employed, it is of considerable use in medicine.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Kings 4:38-44

There was a famine of bread, but not of hearing the word of God, for Elisha had the sons of the prophets sitting before him, to hear his wisdom. Elisha made hurtful food to become safe and wholesome. If a mess of pottage be all our dinner, remember that this great prophet had no better for himself and his guests. The table often becomes a snare, and that which should be for our welfare, proves a trap: this is a good…

Read the full comment on 2 Kings 4:38-44 →

2 Kings 4:39 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.

וַיֵּצֵ֨אvai.ye.Tze'and he went outH3318
אֶחָ֣ד'e.Chadone [man]H259
אֶל\־'el-toH413
הַשָּׂדֶה֮ha.sa.Dehthe fieldH7704
לְלַקֵּ֣טle.la.Ketto gatherH3950
אֹרֹת֒'o.RotherbsH219
וַיִּמְצָא֙vai.yim.Tza'and he foundH4672
גֶּ֣פֶןGe.fena vine ofH1612
שָׂדֶ֔הsa.Deh[the] fieldH7704
וַיְלַקֵּ֥טvay.la.Ketand he gatheredH3950
מִמֶּ֛נּוּmi.Me.nufrom itH4480
פַּקֻּעֹ֥תpa.ku.'Otgourds ofH6498
שָׂדֶ֖הsa.Deh[the] fieldH7704
מְלֹ֣אme.Lo'[the] fullness ofH4393
בִגְד֑וֹvig.Dogarment hisH899
וַיָּבֹ֗אvai.ya.Vo'and he cameH935
וַיְפַלַּ֛חvay.fa.Lachand he sliced [them]H6398
אֶל\־'el-intoH413
סִ֥ירsir[the] pot ofH5518
הַנָּזִ֖ידha.na.Zidthe cooked foodH5138
כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
יָדָֽעוּ\׃ya.Da.'upeople knewH3045

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

Cross references for 2 Kings 4:39

  • Isaiah 5:4

    What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?

  • Jeremiah 2:21

    Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?

  • Matthew 15:13

    But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.

  • Hebrews 12:15

    Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
a wild vine.
Isa 5:4; Jer 2:21; Mt 15:13; Heb 12:15
wild gourds.The word {pakküôth,} from {peka,} in Chaldee, to burst, and in Syriac, to crack, thunder, is generally supposed to be the fruits of the coloquintida, or colocynth; whose leaves are large, placed alternately, very much like those of the vine, whence it might be called a wild vine: the flowers are white, and the fruit of the gourd kind, of the size of a large apple, and when ripe, of a yellow colour, and a pleasant and inviting appearance. It ranks among vegetable poisons, as all intense bitters do; but, judiciously employed, it is of considerable use in medicine. It is said that the fruit, when ripe, is so full of wind that it bursts, and throws its liquor and seeds to a great distance: and if touched, before it breaks of itself, it flies open with an explosion, and discharges its foetid contents in the face of him who touched it.

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

Context

  • 2 Kings 4:38

    And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.

  • 2 Kings 4:39

    And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.

  • 2 Kings 4:40

    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.

Read all of 2 Kings 4

2 Kings 4:39 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y salió uno al campo á coger hierbas, y halló una como parra montés, y cogió de ella una faldada de calabazas silvestres: y volvió, y cortólas en la olla del potaje: porque no sabía lo que era.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et l’un d’eux sortit aux champs pour cueillir des herbes, et il trouva de la vigne sauvage et y cueillit des coloquintes sauvages, plein sa robe; et il rentra et les coupa en morceaux dans la marmite du potage, car on ne les connaissait pas.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Da ging einer auf das Feld hinaus, um Kräuter zu lesen, und er fand eine wilde Rebe und las davon wilde Koloquinthen, sein Kleid voll, und er kam und zerschnitt sie in den Kochtopf, denn sie kannten sie nicht.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et egressus est unus in agrum ut colligeret herbas agrestes: invenitque quasi vitem silvestrem, et collegit ex ea colocynthidas agri, et implevit pallium suum, et reversus concidit in ollam pulmenti: nesciebat enim quid esset.