1 Kings 17
17
Elijah Stops the Rain
1Now Elijah the Tishbite was a prophet from the settlers in Gilead. “I serve the Lord, the God of Israel,” Elijah said to Ahab. “As surely as the Lord lives, no rain or dew will fall during the next few years unless I command it.”
2Then the Lord spoke his word to Elijah: 3“Leave this place and go east and hide near Kerith Ravine east of the Jordan River. 4You may drink from the stream, and I have commanded ravens to bring you food there.” 5So Elijah did what the Lord said; he went to Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and lived there. 6The birds brought Elijah bread and meat every morning and evening, and he drank water from the stream.
7After a while the stream dried up because there was no rain. 8Then the Lord spoke his word to Elijah, 9“Go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I have commanded a widow there to take care of you.”
10So Elijah went to Zarephath. When he reached the town gate, he saw a widow gathering wood for a fire. Elijah asked her, “Would you bring me a little water in a cup so I may have a drink?” 11As she was going to get his water, Elijah said, “Please bring me a piece of bread, too.”
12The woman answered, “As surely as the Lord your God lives, I have no bread. I have only a handful of flour in a jar and only a little olive oil in a jug. I came here to gather some wood so I could go home and cook our last meal. My son and I will eat it and then die from hunger.”
13“Don’t worry,” Elijah said to her. “Go home and cook your food as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread from the flour you have, and bring it to me. Then cook something for yourself and your son. 14The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘That jar of flour will never be empty, and the jug will always have oil in it, until the day the Lord sends rain to the land.’ ”
15So the woman went home and did what Elijah told her to do. And the woman and her son and Elijah had enough food every day. 16The jar of flour and the jug of oil were never empty, just as the Lord, through Elijah, had promised.
Elijah Brings a Boy Back to Life
17Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. He grew worse and worse and finally stopped breathing. 18The woman said to Elijah, “Man of God, what have you done to me? Did you come here to remind me of my sin and to kill my son?”
19Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” Elijah took the boy from her, carried him upstairs, and laid him on the bed in the room where he was staying. 20Then he prayed to the Lord: “Lord my God, this widow is letting me stay in her house. Why have you done this terrible thing to her and caused her son to die?” 21Then Elijah lay on top of the boy three times. He prayed to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy live again!”
22The Lord answered Elijah’s prayer; the boy began breathing again and was alive. 23Elijah carried the boy downstairs and gave him to his mother and said, “See! Your son is alive!”
24“Now I know you really are a man from God,” the woman said to Elijah. “I know that the Lord truly speaks through you!”
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1 Kings 17: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
1 Kings 17
17
Elijah and the Drought
1 #
Jas 5.17
A prophet named Elijah, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to King Ahab, “In the name of the LORD, the living God of Israel, whom I serve, I tell you that there will be no dew or rain for the next two or three years until I say so.”
2Then the LORD said to Elijah, 3“Leave this place and go east and hide yourself near the brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. 4The brook will supply you with water to drink, and I have commanded ravens to bring you food there.”
5Elijah obeyed the LORD's command, and went and stayed by the brook of Cherith. 6He drank water from the brook, and ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and every evening. 7After a while the brook dried up because of the lack of rain.
Elijah and the Widow in Zarephath
8Then the LORD said to Elijah, 9#Lk 4.25–26“Now go to the town of Zarephath, near Sidon, and stay there. I have commanded a widow who lives there to feed you.” 10So Elijah went to Zarephath, and as he came to the gate of the town, he saw a widow gathering firewood. “Please bring me a drink of water,” he said to her. 11And as she was going to get it, he called out, “And please bring me some bread, too.”
12She answered, “By the living LORD your God I swear that I haven't got any bread. All I have is a handful of flour in a bowl and a drop of olive oil in a jar. I came here to gather some firewood to take back home and prepare what little I have for my son and me. That will be our last meal, and then we will starve to death.”
13“Don't worry,” Elijah said to her. “Go ahead and prepare your meal. But first make a small loaf from what you have and bring it to me, and then prepare the rest for you and your son. 14For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The bowl will not run out of flour or the jar run out of oil before the day that I, the LORD, send rain.’ ”
15The widow went and did as Elijah had told her, and all of them had enough food for many days. 16As the LORD had promised through Elijah, the bowl did not run out of flour nor did the jar run out of oil.
17Some time later the widow's son fell ill; he got worse and worse, and finally he died. 18She said to Elijah, “Man of God, why did you do this to me? Did you come here to remind God of my sins and so cause my son's death?”
19“Give the boy to me,” Elijah said. He took the boy from her arms, carried him upstairs to the room where he was staying, and laid him on the bed. 20Then he prayed aloud, “O LORD my God, why have you done such a terrible thing to this widow? She has been kind enough to take care of me, and now you kill her son!” 21#2 Kgs 4.34–35Then Elijah stretched himself out on the boy three times and prayed, “O LORD my God, restore this child to life!” 22The LORD answered Elijah's prayer; the child started breathing again and revived.
23Elijah took the boy back downstairs to his mother and said to her, “Look, your son is alive!”
24She answered, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the LORD really speaks through you!”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.