1Der var på det tidspunkt en profet ved navn Elias, som boede i Tishbe i Gilead. Han kom til kong Ahab i Samaria med et budskab fra Herren: „Så sandt Herren lever—Israels Gud, som jeg tilbeder og tjener—så skal der i de kommende år hverken falde regn eller dug uden på min udtrykkelige befaling!”2Derefter sagde Herren til Elias:3„Tag væk herfra og hold dig skjult i Kerit-kløften øst for Jordanfloden.4Du kan drikke vand fra bækken der, og jeg har befalet ravnene at bringe dig mad.”5Elias gjorde, som Herren sagde, og holdt sig skjult i kløften,6hvor ravnene bragte ham frisk brød og kødstykker hver morgen og aften, og han drak vand af bækken.
Elias og enken i Zarepta
7Men nogen tid efter tørrede bækken ud, for der faldt ingen regn i landet.8Da sagde Herren til Elias:9„Tag af sted til landsbyen Zarepta oppe ved Sidon og slå dig ned der! Dér bor en enke, som jeg har befalet at sørge for dig.”10Så tog Elias til Zarepta. Uden for byens port så han en enke, der gik og samlede brænde. Han kaldte på hende og bad om lidt vand at drikke.11Da hun gik for at hente vandet, tilføjede han: „Tag også lidt brød med til mig!”12„Jeg sværger ved Herren, din Gud, at jeg ikke har brød i huset!” svarede enken. „I melkrukken er der kun en håndfuld tilbage, og olivenolien er næsten brugt op. Jeg var netop i færd med at samle brænde for at bage et brød til mig og min søn af det sidste mel. Når vi har spist det, må vi lægge os til at dø.”13„Du skal ikke være bange,” sagde Elias. „Gå bare hjem og gør, som du har sagt. Bag brødet, men kom så tilbage og giv det til mig! Bagefter kan du bage noget til dig selv og din søn,14for Herren, Israels Gud, siger: Melet i krukken vil ikke slippe op, og kanden med olie vil ikke blive tom, før Herren sender regn igen.”15Så gjorde enken som Elias sagde. Elias og enken og hendes søn havde derefter nok at spise,16for som Herren havde sagt gennem Elias, sådan blev det: Melet i krukken slap ikke op, og kanden med olie blev ikke tom.17Men en dag blev kvindens søn syg. Det gik hurtigt ned ad bakke med ham og han døde.18„Åh, du profet!” græd hun, „Hvad galt har jeg gjort imod dig? Kom du hertil for at minde Gud om mine synder, så han kunne straffe mig ved at slå min dreng ihjel?”19„Giv drengen til mig!” svarede Elias. Så tog han drengen i sine arme, bar ham ovenpå til gæsteværelset, hvor han boede, og lagde ham på sengen.20Derpå råbte han til Herren: „Min Gud, hvorfor har du bragt ulykke over denne enke, som har vist mig så stor en gæstfrihed?”21Derefter bøjede han sig hen over drengen tre gange, mens han fortsat råbte til Herren: „Herre, min Gud, gør dog drengen levende igen!”22Herren hørte Elias’ bøn, og drengen blev levende igen.23Så fulgte Elias ham nedenunder til hans mor. „Se, her er din søn!” sagde han. „Han lever!”24Da udbrød enken: „Nu ved jeg, at du er en profet, og at det, du siger, er sandt, for det er jo Herrens ord!”
1Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe[1] in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” (5.Mos 10,8; Dom 12,4; Ruth 3,13; 1.Kong 18,1; 1.Kong 18,10; 1.Kong 18,15; 1.Kong 22,14; 2.Kong 3,14; 2.Kong 5,16; Luk 4,25; Jak 5,17)2And the word of the Lord came to him:3“Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.4You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”5So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan.6And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.7And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
The Widow of Zarephath
8Then the word of the Lord came to him,9“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” (Ob 1,20; Luk 4,26)10So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” (4.Mos 15,32; 1.Kong 17,9)11And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”12And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now 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 die.” (1.Kong 17,1)13And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son.14For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’”15And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days.16The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son
17After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.18And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” (5.Mos 33,1; Luk 4,34; Luk 5,8)19And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed.20And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?”21Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life[2] come into him again.” (2.Kong 4,34; Ap G 20,10)22And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. (Heb 11,35)23And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.”24And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.” (Joh 3,2)