1Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe[1] in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.’
Elijah announces a great drought Elijah fed by ravens
2Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah:3‘Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan.4You will drink from the brook, and I have instructed the ravens to supply you with food there.’5So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there.6The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
Elijah and the widow at Zarephath
7Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.8Then the word of the Lord came to him:9‘Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have instructed a widow there to supply you with food.’10So 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?’11As 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 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.’13Elijah 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.14For 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 on the land.” ’15She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.16For 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.17Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing.18She said to Elijah, ‘What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin 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.20Then he cried 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?’21Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, ‘Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!’22The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.23Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, ‘Look, your son is alive!’24Then the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.’
1 Kings 17
English Standard Version
Elijah Predicts a Drought
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.” (De 10:8; Jud 12:4; Ru 3:13; 1Ki 18:1; 1Ki 18:10; 1Ki 18:15; 1Ki 22:14; 2Ki 3:14; 2Ki 5:16; Lu 4:25; Jas 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; Lu 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.” (Nu 15:32; 1Ki 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.” (1Ki 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!” (De 33:1; Lu 4:34; Lu 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.” (2Ki 4:34; Ac 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)