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?”^{(A) 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^(B) 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^(C) 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.

⁴ While Jezebel^(A) was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden^(B) them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied^(C) them with food and water.)

The Shunammite’s Son Restored to Life

⁸ One day Elisha went to Shunem.^(A) And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat.

⁵ Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters,^[a](A) even though they are strangers to you.^{(B) 6} They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way^(C) in a manner that honors^(D) God. ⁷ It was for the sake of the Name^(E) that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans.^{(F) 8} We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.