1 Kings 17
17
Elijah Stops the Rain
1Now Elijah was a prophet from the town of Tishbe in Gilead. Elijah said to King Ahab, “I serve the Lord, the God of Israel. As surely as the Lord lives, I tell you the truth. 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. Go east and hide near Kerith Ravine. It is east of the Jordan River. 4You may drink from the brook. And I have commanded ravens to bring you food there.” 5So Elijah did what the Lord told him to do. He went to Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and lived there. 6The birds brought Elijah bread and meat every morning and every evening. And he drank water from the brook.
7After a while the brook dried up because there was no rain. 8Then the Lord spoke his word to Elijah, 9“Go to Zarephath in Sidon. 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 there. She was gathering wood for a fire. Elijah asked her, “Would you bring me a little water in a cup? I would like to 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 tell you the truth. I have no bread. I have only a handful of flour in a jar. And I have only a little olive oil in a jug. I came here to gather some wood. I will take it home and cook our last meal. My son and I will eat it and then die from hunger.”
13Elijah said to her, “Don’t worry. Go home and cook your food as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread from the flour you have. 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 become empty. The jug will always have oil in it. This will continue until the day the Lord sends rain to the land.’”
15So the woman went home. And she did what Elijah told her to do. So Elijah, the woman and her son had enough food every day. 16The jar of flour and the jug of oil were never empty. This happened just as the Lord, through Elijah, said it would.
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. Finally he stopped breathing. 18So the woman said to Elijah, “You are a man of God. What have you done to me? Did you come here to remind me of my sin? Did you come here to kill my son?”
19Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So Elijah took the boy from her and carried him upstairs. Elijah laid the boy on the bed in the room where he was staying. 20Then he prayed to the Lord. He said, “Lord my God, this widow is letting me stay in her house. Why have you done this terrible thing to her? Why have you caused her son to die?” 21Then Elijah lay on top of the boy three times. Elijah prayed to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy live again!”
22The Lord answered Elijah’s prayer. The boy began breathing again, and he was alive. 23Elijah carried the boy downstairs. He gave the boy to his mother and said, “See! Your son is alive!”
24The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know you really are a man from God. I know that the Lord truly speaks through you!”
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1 Kings 17: ICB
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1 Kings 17
17
Elijah Stops the Rain
1 #
Jas 5.17. Elijah 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.”
2Later, the Lord said to Elijah, 3“Leave and go across the Jordan River so you can hide near Cherith Creek. 4You can drink water from the creek, and eat the food I've told the ravens to bring you.”
5Elijah obeyed the Lord and went to live near Cherith Creek. 6Ravens brought him bread and meat twice a day, and he drank water from the creek. 7But after a while, it dried up because there was no rain.
Elijah Helps a Widow in Zarephath
8The Lord told Elijah, 9#Lk 4.25,26. “Go to the town of Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I've told a widow in that town to give you food.”
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 fix something for you 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.” 21#2 K 4.34,35. Elijah stretched himself out over the boy three times, while praying, “Lord God, bring this boy back to life!”
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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