Bible Strands
2 Kings 4:40
And they poured it out for the men to eat, but when they tasted the stew they cried out, “There is death in the pot, O man of God!” And they could not eat it.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The men in Elisha's company pour out a stew made with unidentified wild gourds and taste it. Upon detecting a lethal quality, they cry out to Elisha, declaring death in the pot, and refuse to eat it.
The words — The verb צָעָקוּ (tza.'A.ku) means "they cried out," marking the moment of sudden alarm. The noun נָזִיד (na.Zid) refers specifically to the "cooked food" or stew that has become tainted.
The thread — The motif of tainted provision requiring divine reversal runs to Exodus 15:23, where bitter waters are made drinkable, and echoes the promise in Mark 16:18 that deadly poison will not harm those under God's protection.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that human error can corrupt communal sustenance, demanding immediate authoritative intervention to restore safety. It presents a concrete test of trust when ordinary means fail.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Mark 16:18 they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”
- Exodus 10:17 Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.”
- Exodus 15:23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink the water there because it was bitter. (That is why it was named Marah.)
- Deuteronomy 33:1 This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.
- 1 Kings 17:18 “O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”
- 2 Kings 1:11 So the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. And the captain said to Elijah, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down at once!’”
- 2 Kings 1:13 So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. And the third captain went up, fell on his knees before Elijah, and begged him, “Man of God, may my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours please be precious in your sight.
- 2 Kings 4:9 Then the woman said to her husband, “Behold, now I know that the one who often comes our way is a holy man of God.
- 2 Kings 1:9 Then King Ahaziah sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. So the captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down!’”