The Meaning of 2 Kings 4:14 Explained

2 Kings 4:14

KJV: And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.

YLT: And he saith, 'And what -- to do for her?' and Gehazi saith, 'Verily she hath no son, and her husband is aged.'

Darby: And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi said, Verily, she has no son, and her husband is old.

ASV: And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no son, and her husband is old.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he said,  What then [is] to be done  for her? And Gehazi  answered,  Verily  she hath no child,  and her husband  is old. 

What does 2 Kings 4:14 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 4:8-24 - Entertaining A Prophet
The real man needs a very small supply of outward comfort, because his life is hid in God. It does not consist in the abundance of things that he possesses, but in faith, love, and hope. What a noble testimony it would be to our character, if people who saw us going to and fro became convinced that "this is an holy man of God," 2 Kings 4:9!
Sunstroke in the tropics is a frequent cause of death, Psalms 121:6. When a child is taken sick, it is the mother who is the best comforter; but there are limits to a mother's power to help. This woman of Shunem must be referred to in Hebrews 11:35. She was so sure of the life-restoring prayers of the great prophet that she did not feel it necessary to tell her husband what had befallen. Why should she grieve him, when the child would soon be given back to them! In noble confidence she dared to say that all would be well, and God did not disappoint nor fail. Shunem was fifteen miles from Carmel, and there was not an inch of the road which was not covered by the mother's splendid faith that God would make all-grace abound toward her. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 4

1  Elisha multiplies the widow's oil
8  He obtains a son for the good Shunammite
18  He restores her son when dead
38  At Gilgal he heals the deadly pottage
42  He satisfies a hundred men with twenty loaves

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 4:14 mean?

So he said then what [is] to be done for her and answered Gehazi Truly son no she has and her husband is old
וַיֹּ֕אמֶר וּמֶ֖ה לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת לָ֑הּ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר גֵּיחֲזִ֗י אֲבָ֛ל בֵּ֥ן אֵֽין־ לָ֖הּ וְאִישָׁ֥הּ זָקֵֽן

וַיֹּ֕אמֶר  So  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
וּמֶ֖ה  then  what  [is] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interrogative
Root: לָמָּה 
Sense: what, how, of what kind.
לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת  to  be  done 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
לָ֑הּ  for  her 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר  and  answered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
גֵּיחֲזִ֗י  Gehazi 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: גֵּיחֲזִי  
Sense: the servant of Elisha.
אֲבָ֛ל  Truly 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אֲבָל  
Sense: truly, verily, surely.
בֵּ֥ן  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אֵֽין־  no 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
לָ֖הּ  she  has 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
וְאִישָׁ֥הּ  and  her  husband 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
זָקֵֽן  is  old 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: זָקֵן  
Sense: to be old, become old.