< 1 Kings 17 >

1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, By the living Lord, the God of Israel, whose servant I am, there will be no dew or rain in these years, but only at my word.
And Elias the Thesbite of the inhabitants of Galaad said to Achab: As the Lord liveth the God of Israel, in whose sight I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to the words of my mouth.
2 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to him, saying:
3 Go from here in the direction of the east, and keep yourself in a secret place by the stream Cherith, east of Jordan.
Get thee hence, and go towards the east and hide thyself by the torrent of Carith, which is over against the Jordan,
4 The water of the stream will be your drink, and by my orders the ravens will give you food there.
And there thou shalt drink of the torrent: and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
5 So he went and did as the Lord said, living by the stream Cherith, east of Jordan.
So he went, and did according to the word of the Lord: and going, he dwelt by the torrent Carith, which is over against the Jordan.
6 And the ravens took him bread in the morning and meat in the evening; and the water of the stream was his drink.
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of tile torrent.
7 Now after a time the stream became dry, because there was no rain in the land.
But after some time the torrent was dried up, for it had not rained upon the earth.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying:
9 Up! go now to Zarephath, in Zidon, and make your living-place there; I have given orders to a widow woman there to see that you have food.
Arise, and go to Sarephta of the Sidonians, and dwell there: for I have commanded a widow woman there to feed thee.
10 So he got up and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the door of the town, he saw a widow woman getting sticks together; and crying out to her he said, Will you give me a little water in a vessel for my drink?
He arose, and went to Sarephta. And when he was come to the gate of the city, he saw the widow woman gathering sticks, and he called her, and said to her: Give me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
11 And when she was going to get it, he said to her, And get me with it a small bit of bread.
And when she was going to fetch it he called after her, saying: Bring me also, I beseech thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.
12 Then she said, By the life of the Lord your God, I have nothing but a little meal in my store, and a drop of oil in the bottle; and now I am getting two sticks together so that I may go in and make it ready for me and my son, so that we may have a meal before our death.
And she answered: As the Lord thy God liveth, I have no bread, but only a handful of meal in a pot, and a little oil in a cruse: behold I am gathering two sticks that I may go in and dress it, for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
13 And Elijah said to her, Have no fear; go and do as you have said, but first make me a little cake of it and come and give it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.
And Elias said to her: Fear not, but go, and do as thou hast said: but first make for me of the same meal a little hearth cake, and bring it to me: and after make for thyself and thy son.
14 For this is the word of the Lord, the God of Israel: The store of meal will not come to an end, and the bottle will never be without oil, till the day when the Lord sends rain on the earth.
For thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: The pot of meal shall not waste, nor the cruse of oil be diminished, until the day wherein the Lord will give rain upon the face of the earth.
15 So she went and did as Elijah said; and she and he and her family had food for a long time.
She went and did according to the word of Elias: and he ate, and she, and her house: and from that day
16 The store of meal did not come to an end, and the bottle was never without oil, as the Lord had said by the mouth of Elijah.
The pot of meal wasted not, and the cruse of oil was not diminished, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke in the hand of Elias.
17 Now after this, the son of the woman of the house became ill, so ill that there was no breath in him.
And it came to pass after this that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick, and the sickness was very grievous, so that there was no breath left in him.
18 And she said to Elijah, What have I to do with you, O man of God? have you come to put God in mind of my sin, and to put my son to death?
And she said to Elias: What have I to do with thee, thou man of God? art thou come to me that my iniquities should be remembered, and that thou shouldst kill my son?
19 And he said to her, Give your son to me. And lifting him out of her arms, he took him up to his room and put him down on his bed.
And Elias said to her: Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him into the upper chamber where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.
20 And crying to the Lord he said, O Lord my God, have you sent evil even on the widow whose guest I am, by causing her son's death?
And he cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord my God, hast thou afflicted also the widow, with whom I am after a so maintained, so as to kill her son?
21 And stretching herself out on the child three times, he made his prayer to the Lord, saying, O Lord my God, be pleased to let this child's life come back to him again.
And he stretched, and measured himself upon the child three times, and cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord my God, let the soul of this child, I beseech thee, return into his body.
22 And the Lord gave ear to the voice of Elijah, and the child's spirit came into him again, and he came back to life.
And the Lord heard the voice of Elias: and the soul of the child returned into him, and he revived.
23 And Elijah took the child down from his room into the house and gave him to his mother and said to her, See, your son is living.
And Elias took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber to the house below, and delivered him to his mother, and said to her: Behold thy son liveth.
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, Now I am certain that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is true.
And the woman said to Elias: Now, by this I know that thou art a man of God, and the word of the Lord in thy mouth is true.

< 1 Kings 17 >