1 Kings 17
Christian Standard Bible
Elijah Announces Famine
17 Now Elijah(A) the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers,[a](B) said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives,(C) in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!” (D)
2 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide(E) at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. 4 You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens(F) to provide for you there.”
5 So he proceeded to do what the Lord commanded. Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. 6 The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening,(G) and he would drink from the wadi. 7 After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
Elijah and the Widow
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Get up, go to Zarephath(H) that belongs to Sidon and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman who is a widow to provide for you there.” 10 So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup and let me drink.”(I) 11 As she went to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”
12 But she said, “As the Lord your God lives,(J) I don’t have anything baked—only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil(K) in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.”(L)
13 Then Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid; go and do as you have said. But first make me a small loaf from it and bring it out to me. Afterward, you may make some for yourself and your son, 14 for this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘The flour jar will not become empty and the oil jug will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the surface of the land.’”(M)
15 So she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah. Then the woman, Elijah, and her household ate for many days.(N) 16 The flour jar did not become empty, and the oil jug did not run dry, according to the word of the Lord he had spoken through[b] Elijah.
The Widow’s Son Raised
17 After this, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. His illness got worse until he stopped breathing.(O) 18 She said to Elijah, “Man of God,(P) what do you have against me?(Q) Have you come to call attention to my iniquity(R) so that my son is put to death?”
19 But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, brought him up to the upstairs room(S) where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord(T) and said, “Lord my God, have you also brought tragedy on the widow I am staying with by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times.(U) He cried out to the Lord and said, “Lord my God, please let this boy’s life come into him again!”
22 So the Lord listened to Elijah, and the boy’s life came into him again, and he lived.(V) 23 Then Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upstairs room into the house, and gave him to his mother.(W) Elijah said, “Look, your son is alive.”
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know you are a man of God(X) and the Lord’s word from your mouth is true.”(Y)
1 Kings 17
New Living Translation
Elijah Fed by Ravens
17 Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!”
2 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 3 “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. 4 Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.”
5 So Elijah did as the Lord told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land.
The Widow at Zarephath
8 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 9 “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”
10 So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.”
12 But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”
13 But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”
15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. 16 There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
17 Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. 18 Then she said to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?”
19 But Elijah replied, “Give me your son.” And he took the child’s body from her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed. 20 Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?”
21 And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.” 22 The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! 23 Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. “Look!” he said. “Your son is alive!”
24 Then the woman told Elijah, “Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the Lord truly speaks through you.”
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