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17 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, saith unto Ahab, `Jehovah, God of Israel, liveth, before whom I have stood, there is not these years dew and rain, except according to my word.'

And the word of Jehovah is unto him, saying,

`Go from this [place]; and thou hast turned for thee eastward, and been hidden by the brook Cherith, that [is] on the front of the Jordan,

and it hath been, from the brook thou dost drink, and the ravens I have commanded to sustain thee there.'

And he goeth and doth according to the word of Jehovah, yea, he goeth and dwelleth by the brook Cherith, that [is] on the front of the Jordan,

and the ravens are bringing to him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and of the brook he drinketh.

And it cometh to pass, at the end of days, that the brook drieth up, for there hath been no rain in the land,

and the word of Jehovah is unto him, saying,

`Rise, go to Zarephath, that [is] to Zidon, and thou hast dwelt there; lo, I have commanded there a widow woman to sustain thee.'

10 And he riseth, and goeth to Zarephath, and cometh in unto the opening of the city, and lo there, a widow woman gathering sticks, and he calleth unto her, and saith, `Bring, I pray thee, to me, a little water in a vessel, and I drink.'

11 And she goeth to bring [it], and he calleth unto her and saith, `Bring, I pray thee, to me a morsel of bread in thy hand.'

12 And she saith, `Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but the fulness of the hand of meal in a pitcher, and a little oil in a dish; and lo, I am gathering two sticks, and have gone in and prepared it for myself, and for my son, and we have eaten it -- and died.'

13 And Elijah saith unto her, `Fear not, go, do according to thy word, only make for me thence a little cake, in the first place, and thou hast brought out to me; and for thee and for thy son make -- last;

14 for thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, The pitcher of meal is not consumed, and the dish of oil is not lacking, till the day of Jehovah's giving a shower on the face of the ground.'

15 And she goeth, and doth according to the word of Elijah, and she eateth, she and he, and her household -- days;

16 the pitcher of meal was not consumed, and the dish of oil did not lack, according to the word of Jehovah that He spake by the hand of Elijah.

17 And it cometh to pass, after these things, the son of the woman, mistress of the house, hath been sick, and his sickness is very severe till that no breath hath been left in him.

18 And she saith unto Elijah, `What -- to me and to thee, O man of God? thou hast come unto me to cause mine iniquity to be remembered, and to put my son to death!'

19 And he saith unto her, `Give to me thy son;' and he taketh him out of her bosom, and taketh him up unto the upper chamber where he is abiding, and layeth him on his own bed,

20 and crieth unto Jehovah, and saith, `Jehovah my God, also on the widow with whom I am sojourning hast Thou done evil -- to put her son to death?'

21 And he stretcheth himself out on the lad three times, and calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, `O Jehovah my God, let turn back, I pray Thee, the soul of this lad into his midst;'

22 and Jehovah hearkeneth to the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the lad turneth back into his midst, and he liveth.

23 And Elijah taketh the lad, and bringeth him down from the upper chamber of the house, and giveth him to his mother, and Elijah saith, `See, thy son liveth!'

24 And the woman saith unto Elijah, `Now, this I have known, that a man of God thou [art], and the word of Jehovah in thy mouth [is] truth.'

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