1 Kings 17
17
Elijah announces a great drought
1Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe#17:1 Or Tishbite, of the settlers in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.’
Elijah fed by ravens
2Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 3‘Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4You will drink from the brook, and I have instructed the ravens to supply you with food there.’
5So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
Elijah and the widow at Zarephath
7Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9‘Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have instructed a widow there to supply you with food.’ 10So 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?’ 11As 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 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.’
13Elijah 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. 14For 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 on the land.” ’
15She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.
17Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18She said to Elijah, ‘What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?’
19‘Give me your son,’ Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20Then he cried out to the Lord, ‘Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?’ 21Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, ‘Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!’
22The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, ‘Look, your son is alive!’
24Then the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.’
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1 Kings 17: NIVUK
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1 Kings 17
17
Elijah the prophet
Elijah stops the rain
1Elijah was a prophet from Tishbe in Gilead.#17.1 from Tishbe in Gilead: Or “from the settlers in Gilead”. One day he went to King Ahab and said, “I'm a servant of the living LORD, the God of Israel. And I swear in his name that it won't rain until I say so. There won't even be any dew on the ground.”#Jas 5.17.
2Later, the LORD said to Elijah, 3“Leave and go across the River Jordan so you can hide near Cherith Brook. 4You can drink water from the brook, and eat the food I've told the ravens to bring you.”
5Elijah obeyed the LORD and went to live near Cherith Brook. 6Ravens brought him bread and meat twice a day, and he drank water from the brook. 7But after a while, it dried up because there was no rain.
Elijah helps a widow in Zarephath
8The LORD told Elijah, 9“Go to the town of Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I've told a widow in that town to give you food.”#Lk 4.25,26.
10When Elijah came near the town gate of Zarephath, he saw a widow gathering sticks for a fire. “Would you please bring me a cup of water?” he asked. 11As she left to get it, he asked, “Would you also please bring me a piece of bread?”
12The widow answered, “In the name of the living LORD your God, I swear that I don't have any bread. All I have is a handful of flour and a little olive oil. I'm on my way home now with these few sticks to cook what I have for my son and me. After that, we will starve to death.”
13Elijah said, “Everything will be fine. Do what you said. Go home and prepare something for yourself and your son. But first, please make a small piece of bread and bring it to me. 14The LORD God of Israel has promised that your jar of flour won't run out and your bottle of oil won't dry up before he sends rain for the crops.”
15The widow went home and did exactly what Elijah had told her. She and Elijah and her family had enough food for a long time. 16The LORD kept the promise that his prophet Elijah had made, and she did not run out of flour or oil.
Elijah brings a boy back to life
17Several days later, the son of the woman who owned the house#17.17 the woman who owned the house: This may or may not be the same woman as the widow in verses 8-16. got sick, and he kept getting worse, until finally he died.
18The woman shouted at Elijah, “What have I done to you? I thought you were God's prophet. Did you come here to cause the death of my son as a reminder that I've sinned against God?”#17.18 Did you…God: In ancient times people sometimes thought that if they sinned, something terrible would happen to them.
19“Bring me your son,” Elijah said. Then he took the boy from her arms and carried him upstairs to the room where he was staying. Elijah laid the boy on his bed 20and prayed, “LORD God, why did you do such a terrible thing to this woman? She's letting me stay here, and now you've let her son die.” 21Elijah stretched himself out over the boy three times, while praying, “LORD God, bring this boy back to life!”#2 K 4.34,35.
22The LORD answered Elijah's prayer, and the boy started breathing again. 23Elijah picked him up and carried him downstairs. He gave the boy to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive.”
24“You are God's prophet!” the woman replied. “Now I know that you really do speak for the LORD.”
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