Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Arise, go to (A)Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, (B)I have commanded a widow there to provide food for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the entrance of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and (C)he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a [a]cup, so that I may drink.” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” 12 But she said, “(D)As the Lord your God lives, (E)I have no food, only a handful of flour in the [b]bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering [c]a few sticks so that I may go in and prepare it for me and my son, so that we may [d]eat it and (F)die.” 13 However, Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said. Just make me a little bread loaf from [e]it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘The [f]bowl of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil become empty, until the day that the Lord provides rain on the face of the earth.’” 15 So she went and did everything in accordance with the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The [g]bowl of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil become empty, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah.

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son

17 Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his [h]condition became very grave, until at the end [i]he was no longer breathing. 18 So she said to Elijah, “[j](G)Why is my business any of yours, you (H)man of God? Yet you have come to me to bring my wrongdoing to remembrance, and to put my son to death!” 19 But he said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her [k]arms and carried him up to the upstairs room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed. 20 And he called to the Lord and said, “Lord, my God, have You also brought catastrophe upon the widow with whom I am [l]staying, by causing her son to die?” 21 (I)Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times, and called to the Lord and said, “Lord, my God, please, let this boy’s life return [m]to him.” 22 And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah, (J)and the life of the boy returned [n]to him and he revived. 23 Elijah then took the boy and brought him down from the upstairs room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.” 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “(K)Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 17:10 Lit vessel
  2. 1 Kings 17:12 Lit pitcher
  3. 1 Kings 17:12 Lit two
  4. 1 Kings 17:12 I.e., have their last meal
  5. 1 Kings 17:13 Lit there
  6. 1 Kings 17:14 Lit pitcher
  7. 1 Kings 17:16 Lit pitcher
  8. 1 Kings 17:17 Lit illness
  9. 1 Kings 17:17 Lit breath was not left in him
  10. 1 Kings 17:18 Lit What to me and to you, an ancient idiom
  11. 1 Kings 17:19 Lit breast
  12. 1 Kings 17:20 Lit sojourning
  13. 1 Kings 17:21 Lit upon his inward part
  14. 1 Kings 17:22 Lit upon his inward part

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath(A) in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow(B) 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?”(C) 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(D) 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(E) 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(F) 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(G) 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(H) 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(I) and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

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

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