Elijah Announces Famine

17 Now Elijah(A) the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers,[a](B) said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives,(C) in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!” (D)

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide(E) at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens(F) to provide for you there.”

So he proceeded to do what the Lord commanded. Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening,(G) and he would drink from the wadi. After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

Elijah and the Widow

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Get up, go to Zarephath(H) that belongs to Sidon and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman who is a widow to provide for you there.” 10 So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup and let me drink.”(I) 11 As she went to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”

12 But she said, “As the Lord your God lives,(J) I don’t have anything baked—only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil(K) in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.”(L)

13 Then Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid; go and do as you have said. But first make me a small loaf from it and bring it out to me. Afterward, you may make some for yourself and your son, 14 for this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘The flour jar will not become empty and the oil jug will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the surface of the land.’”(M)

15 So she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah. Then the woman, Elijah, and her household ate for many days.(N) 16 The flour jar did not become empty, and the oil jug did not run dry, according to the word of the Lord he had spoken through[b] Elijah.

The Widow’s Son Raised

17 After this, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. His illness got worse until he stopped breathing.(O) 18 She said to Elijah, “Man of God,(P) what do you have against me?(Q) Have you come to call attention to my iniquity(R) so that my son is put to death?”

19 But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, brought him up to the upstairs room(S) where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord(T) and said, “Lord my God, have you also brought tragedy on the widow I am staying with by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times.(U) He cried out to the Lord and said, “Lord my God, please let this boy’s life come into him again!”

22 So the Lord listened to Elijah, and the boy’s life came into him again, and he lived.(V) 23 Then Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upstairs room into the house, and gave him to his mother.(W) Elijah said, “Look, your son is alive.”

24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know you are a man of God(X) and the Lord’s word from your mouth is true.”(Y)

Footnotes

  1. 17:1 LXX reads from Tishbe of Gilead
  2. 17:16 Lit by the hand of

Elijah Announces a Great Drought

17 Now Elijah(A) the Tishbite, from Tishbe[a] in Gilead,(B) said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain(C) in the next few years except at my word.”

Elijah Fed by Ravens

Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide(D) in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens(E) to supply you with food there.”

So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning(F) and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath

Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath(G) in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow(H) there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?”(I) 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil(J) in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain(K) on the land.’”

15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin(L) and kill my son?”

19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried(M) out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched(N) himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother(O) and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know(P) that you are a man of God(Q) and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”(R)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 17:1 Or Tishbite, of the settlers

17 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,

Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,

Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.

15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.

17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.

18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?

19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.

20 And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?

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.

22 And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.

24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.

Elijah Proclaims a Drought

17 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the (A)inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, (B)As the Lord God of Israel lives, (C)before whom I stand, (D)there shall not be dew nor rain (E)these years, except at my word.”

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the (F)ravens to feed you there.”

So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

Elijah and the Widow

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Arise, go to (G)Zarephath, which belongs to (H)Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

12 So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a [a]jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and (I)die.”

13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’ ”

15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.

Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son

17 Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so [b]serious that [c]there was no breath left in him. 18 So she said to Elijah, (J)“What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”

19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?” 21 (K)And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.” 22 Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he (L)revived.

23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!”

24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this (M)I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 17:12 Lit. pitcher or water jar
  2. 1 Kings 17:17 severe
  3. 1 Kings 17:17 He died.