1 Kings 17
1 Then said Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gil'ad, unto Achab, As the Lord the God of Israel liveth, before whom I have stood, there shall not be in these years dew or rain, except according to my word.
Elijah was [a prophet] who lived in Tishbe [town] in [the] Gilead [region]. One day he [went to] King Ahab and said to him, “Yahweh is the God whom we Israelis [worship] and the God whom I worship and serve. Just as certainly as Yahweh lives, there will be no dew or rain for the next few years, if I do not command rain to fall!”
2 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
Then Yahweh said to Elijah,
3 Go away from here, and turn thyself eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Kerith, which is to the east of the Jordan.
“[Because you have made the king angry with you, escape from the king and, ] go to the east, to the Kerith Brook, east of where it flows into the Jordan [River].
4 And it shall be, that out of the brook shalt thou drink; and the ravens have I ordained to sustain thee there.
You will be able to drink water from the brook, and [you will be able to eat what] the crows [bring to you, because] I have commanded them to bring food to you.”
5 And he went and did according to the word of the Lord; and he went and remained by the brook Kerith, that is to the east of the Jordan.
So Elijah did what Yahweh commanded him to do. He went and camped alongside Kerith Brook.
6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening: and out of the brook he used to drink.
Crows bought bread and meat to him every morning and every evening, and he drank [water] from the brook.
7 And it came to pass after a while that the brook dried up; because there had been no rain in the land.
But after a while, the water in the brook dried up, because rain did not fall anywhere in the land.
8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
Then Yahweh said to Elijah,
9 Arise, go unto Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and remain there: behold, I have ordained there a widow-woman to sustain thee.
“Go and live in Zarephath [village], near Sidon [city]. There is a widow there who will give you food to eat. I have [already] told her what to do about that.”
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, there was there a widow-woman gathering sticks of wood: and he called her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
So [Elijah did what God said]. He went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow who was gathering sticks. He said to her, “Would you please bring me a cup of water?”
11 And as she went to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.
While she was going to get it, he called out to her, “Bring me a piece of bread, too!”
12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have nothing baked, but a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a cruise: and, behold, I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I may go in and prepare it for me and my son; and when we have eaten it, we shall have to die.
But she replied, “Your God knows that what I am telling you is true: I do not have even one piece of bread in my house. I have only a handful of flour in a jar, and a little [olive] oil in a jug. I was gathering a few sticks to use these to [make a fire and] cook one more meal, and then after my son and I eat that, we will die [from hunger].”
13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said; but make me thereof a little cake at first, and bring it out unto me, and for thee and for thy son shalt thou prepare [something] afterward.
But Elijah said to her, “Do not be worried! Go home and do what you said that you were going to do. But first, bake me a little loaf of bread and bring it to me. After you do that, take what is left and prepare some food for you and your son.
14 For thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel, The jar of meal shall not fail, neither shall the cruise of oil diminish, until the day that the Lord giveth rain upon the face of the earth.
[I know that you will be able to do that, ] because Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], says this: ‘There will always be plenty of flour and [olive] oil left in your containers, until the time when I send rain again [and the crops grow again]!’”
15 And she went and did according to the word of Elijah: and she, and he, and her household, did eat [many] days.
So the woman did exactly what Elijah told her to do. And she and her son and Elijah had enough food every day,
16 The jar of meal failed not, nor did the cruise of oil diminish, according to the word of the Lord, which he had spoken through means of Elijah.
because the flour in the jar was never finished, and the jug of oil was never empty. That happened just like Yahweh had told Elijah that it would happen.
17 And it came to pass after these events, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness became very severe, until that at length there was no breath left in him.
Some time later, the woman’s son became sick. He continued to get worse, and finally he died.
18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O man of God? thou art come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son!
So the woman went to Elijah and said to him, “You are a prophet; so why have you done this to me? Have you come here to punish me for my sins by causing my son to die?”
19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the upper chamber, in which he abode, and he laid him upon his own bed.
But Elijah replied, “Give your son to me.” So she gave her son to him, and he took the boy’s [body] from her and carried it up [the steps] to the room where he stayed. He laid the boy’s [body] on his bed.
20 And he called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?
Then Elijah cried out to Yahweh, “O Yahweh my God, this widow [has kindly allowed] me to stay in her home. So why have you brought this tragedy to her and caused her son to die?” [RHQ]
21 And he stretched himself out over the child three times, and called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, let, I pray thee, the soul of this child return again within him.
Then Elijah stretched himself on top of the boy’s [body] and called out to Yahweh saying, “Yahweh my God, please allow this boy to become alive again!” He did this three times.
22 And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah: and the soul of the child returned into him, and he revived.
Yahweh heard what Elijah prayed, and [he caused] the boy [to] become alive again [DOU].
23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the upper chamber into the house, and gave him unto his mother; and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.
Elijah carried the boy down [the steps] and gave him to his mother. He said, “Look, your son is alive!”
24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this do I know, that thou art a man of God, and the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.
The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know [for certain] that you are a prophet and that the words that you speak are truly from Yahweh!”
