1 Kings 17
Holman 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) I stand before Him, and there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!”(D)
2 Then a revelation from the Lord came to him: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide(E) yourself 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 did what the Lord commanded. Elijah left and lived by 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 drank 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 woman 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 became very severe until no breath remained in him.(O) 18 She said to Elijah, “Man of God,(P) what do we have in common?(Q) Have you come to remind me of my guilt(R) and to kill my son?”
19 But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, brought him up to the upper room(S) where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord(T) and said, “My Lord 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, “My Lord God, please let this boy’s life return to him!”
22 So the Lord listened to Elijah’s voice, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.(V) 23 Then Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upper 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)
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 17:1 LXX reads from Tishbe of Gilead
- 1 Kings 17:16 Lit by the hand of
1 Kings 17
International Standard Version
Elijah Calls for a Drought
17 Elijah the foreigner,[a] who was an alien resident from Gilead, told Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, in whose presence I’m standing, there will be neither dew nor rain these next several years, except when I say so.”
2 Later, this message came to him from the Lord: 3 “Leave here and go into hiding at the Wadi[b] Cherith, where it enters the Jordan River.[c] 4 You will be able to drink from that brook, and I’ve commanded some crows to sustain you there.”
5 So Elijah[d] left and did exactly what the Lord had told him to do—he went to live near the Wadi[e] Cherith, where it enters the Jordan River. 6 Crows would bring him bread and meat both in the morning and in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. 7 But after a while,[f] the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
Elijah Visits the Widowed Mother of Zarephath
8 Then this message came to him from the Lord: 9 “Get up, move to Zarephath in Sidon, and stay there. Look! I’ve commanded a widow to sustain you there.”
10 So he got up and went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the entrance to the city, a widow was there gathering sticks. So he asked her, “Please, may I have some water in a cup so I can have a drink.” 11 While she was on her way to get the water, he called out to her, “Would you please also bring me a piece of bread while you’re at it?”[g]
12 “As the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have so much as a muffin, just a handful of flour in a bowl and some oil left in a bottle. Now I’m going to find some sticks so I can cook a last meal for my son and for me. Then we’re going to eat it and die.”
13 But Elijah told her, “You can stop being afraid. Go and do what you said, but first make me a muffin and bring it to me. Then make a meal for yourself and for your son, 14 because this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘That jar of flour will not run out, nor will that bottle of oil become empty until the very day that the Lord sends rain on the surface of the ground.’”
15 So she went out and did precisely what Elijah told her to do. As a result, Elijah,[h] the widow,[i] and her son[j] were fed for days. 16 The jar of flour never ran out and the bottle of oil never became empty, just as the Lord had promised[k] through[l] Elijah.
Elijah Restores the Widow’s Son
17 Sometime later, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. In fact, his illness became so severe that he died.[m] 18 “What do we have in common, you man of God?” she accused Elijah. “You came to me so you could uncover my guilt! And you’re responsible for the death of my son!”
19 “Give me your son,” he replied. Then he took him from her lap, carried him upstairs to the room where he lived, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he called out to the Lord and asked him, “Lord my God, have you also brought evil to this dear widow with whom I am living as her guest? Have you caused the death of her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, please cause the soul of this little boy to return to him.”
22 The Lord listened to Elijah, and the soul of the little boy returned to him, and he revived. 23 Then Elijah took the little boy downstairs from the upper chamber back into the main house and delivered him to his mother. “Look,” Elijah told her, “your son is alive.”
24 The woman responded to Elijah, “Now at last I’ve really learned that you are a man of God and that what you have to say about the Lord[n] is the truth.”
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 17:1 Lit. Tishbite; or sojourner
- 1 Kings 17:3 I.e. a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times
- 1 Kings 17:3 The Heb. lacks River; and so throughout the chapter
- 1 Kings 17:5 Lit. he
- 1 Kings 17:5 I.e. a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times
- 1 Kings 17:7 Lit. But at the end of days
- 1 Kings 17:11 Lit. bread in your hand
- 1 Kings 17:15 Lit. he
- 1 Kings 17:15 Lit. she
- 1 Kings 17:15 Lit. household
- 1 Kings 17:16 Lit. spoken
- 1 Kings 17:16 Lit. through the hand of
- 1 Kings 17:17 Lit. that no breath remained in him
- 1 Kings 17:24 Lit. that the word of the Lord in your mouth
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