1 Kings 17
17
Elijah and the ravens
1Elijah from Tishbe, who was one of the settlers in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives, Israel’s God, the one I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain these years unless I say so.”
2Then the LORD’s word came to Elijah: 3Go from here and turn east. Hide by the Cherith Brook that faces the Jordan River. 4You can drink from the brook. I have also ordered the ravens to provide for you there. 5Elijah went and did just what the LORD said. He stayed by the Cherith Brook that faced the Jordan River. 6The ravens brought bread and meat in the mornings and evenings. He drank from the Cherith Brook. 7After a while the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land.
Elijah and the widow from Zarephath
8The LORD’s word came to Elijah: 9Get up and go to Zarephath near Sidon and stay there. I have ordered a widow there to take care of you. 10Elijah left and went to Zarephath. As he came to the town gate, he saw a widow collecting sticks. He called out to her, “Please get a little water for me in this cup so I can drink.” 11She went to get some water. He then said to her, “Please get me a piece of bread.”
12“As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any food; only a handful of flour in a jar and a bit of oil in a bottle. Look at me. I’m collecting two sticks so that I can make some food for myself and my son. We’ll eat the last of the food and then die.”
13Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go and do what you said. Only make a little loaf of bread for me first. Then bring it to me. You can make something for yourself and your son after that. 14This is what Israel’s God, the LORD, says: The jar of flour won’t decrease and the bottle of oil won’t run out until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.” 15The widow went and did what Elijah said. So the widow, Elijah, and the widow’s household ate for many days. 16The jar of flour didn’t decrease nor did the bottle of oil run out, just as the LORD spoke through Elijah.
17After these things, the son of the widow, who was the matriarch of the household, became ill. His sickness got steadily worse until he wasn’t breathing anymore. 18She said to Elijah, “What’s gone wrong between us, man of God? Have you come to me to call attention to my sin and kill my son?”
19Elijah replied, “Give your son to me.” He took her son from her and carried him to the upper room where he was staying. Elijah laid him on his bed. 20Elijah cried out to the LORD, “LORD my God, why is it that you have brought such evil upon the widow that I am staying with by killing her son?” 21Then he stretched himself over the boy three times and cried out to the LORD, “LORD my God, please give this boy’s life back to him.” 22The LORD listened to Elijah’s voice and gave the boy his life back. And he lived. 23Elijah brought the boy down from the upper room of the house and gave him to his mother. Elijah said, “Look, your son is alive!”
24“Now I know that you really are a man of God,” the woman said to Elijah, “and that the LORD’s word is truly in your mouth.”
Currently Selected:
1 Kings 17: CEB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
1 Kings 17
17
Elijah Fed by Ravens
1Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!”
2Then the Lord said to Elijah, 3“Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. 4Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.”
5So Elijah did as the Lord told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan. 6The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. 7But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land.
The Widow at Zarephath
8Then the Lord said to Elijah, 9“Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”
10So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” 11As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.”
12But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”
13But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. 14For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”
15So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. 16There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
17Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. 18Then she said to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?”
19But Elijah replied, “Give me your son.” And he took the child’s body from her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed. 20Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?”
21And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.” 22The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! 23Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. “Look!” he said. “Your son is alive!”
24Then the woman told Elijah, “Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the Lord truly speaks through you.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT: