1 Kings 17:1-16

New English Translation

Elijah Visits a Widow in Sidonian Territory

17 Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As certainly as the Lord God of Israel lives (whom I serve),^[a] there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command.”^{[b] 2} The Lord’s message came to him: ³ “Leave here and travel eastward. Hide out in the Kerith Valley near the Jordan. ⁴ Drink from the stream; I have already told^[c] the ravens to bring you food^[d] there.” ⁵ So he carried out^[e] the Lord’s message; he went and lived in the Kerith Valley near the Jordan. ⁶ The ravens would bring him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he would drink from the stream.

⁷ After a while,^[f] the stream dried up because there had been no rain in the land. ⁸ The Lord’s message came to him, ⁹ “Get up, go to Zarephath in Sidonian territory, and live there. I have already told^[g] a widow who lives there to provide for you.” ¹⁰ So he got up and went to Zarephath. When he went through the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood. He called out to her, “Please give me a little water in a cup, so I can take a drink.” ¹¹ As she went to get it, he called out to her, “Please bring me a piece of bread.”^{[h] 12} She said, “As certainly as the Lord your God lives, I have no food, except for a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. Right now I am gathering a couple of sticks for a fire. Then I’m going home to make one final meal for my son and myself. After we have eaten that, we will die of starvation.”^{[i] 13} Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you planned.^[j] But first make me a small cake^[k] and bring it to me; then make something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For this is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘The jar of flour will not be empty and the jug of oil will not run out until the day the Lord makes it rain on the surface of the ground.’” ¹⁵ She went and did as Elijah told her; there was always enough food for Elijah and for her and her family.^{[l] 16} The jar of flour was never empty and the jug of oil never ran out, in keeping with the Lord’s message that he had spoken through Elijah.