1 Kings 17
1 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!”
And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, As Jehovah the God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except by my word.
2 Then Yahweh said to Elijah,
And the word of Jehovah came to him saying,
3 “[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].
Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the torrent Cherith, which is before the Jordan.
4 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.”
And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the torrent; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
5 So Elijah did what Yahweh commanded him to do. He went and camped alongside Kerith Brook.
And he went and did according to the word of Jehovah; he went and abode by the torrent Cherith, which is before the Jordan.
6 Crows bought bread and meat to him every morning and every evening, and he drank [water] from the brook.
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the torrent.
7 But after a while, the water in the brook dried up, because rain did not fall anywhere in the land.
And it came to pass after a while that the torrent dried up, for there had been no rain in the land.
8 Then Yahweh said to Elijah,
And the word of Jehovah came to him saying,
9 “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.”
Arise, go to Zarephath, which is by Zidon, and abide there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to maintain thee.
10 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?”
And he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the entrance of the city, behold, a widow woman was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
11 While she was going to get it, he called out to her, “Bring me a piece of bread, too!”
And she went to fetch [it], and he called to her and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.
12 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].”
And she said, As Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse; and 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 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.
And Elijah said to her, Fear not; go, do as thou hast said; but make me thereof a little cake first; and bring it to me; and afterwards make for thee and for thy son.
14 [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]!’”
For thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: The meal in the barrel shall not waste, neither shall the oil in the cruse fail, until the day that Jehovah sendeth rain upon the face of the earth!
15 So the woman did exactly what Elijah told her to do. And she and her son and Elijah had enough food every day,
And she went and did according to the word of Elijah; and she, and he, and her house, ate a whole year.
16 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.
The meal in the barrel did not waste, neither did the oil in the cruse fail, according to the word of Jehovah which he had spoken through Elijah.
17 Some time later, the woman’s son became sick. He continued to get worse, and finally he died.
And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.
18 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?”
And she said to Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come to me to call mine iniquity to remembrance, and to slay my son?
19 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.
And he said to her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the upper chamber where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.
20 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]
And he cried to Jehovah and said, Jehovah, my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?
21 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.
And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried to Jehovah and said, Jehovah, my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again!
22 Yahweh heard what Elijah prayed, and [he caused] the boy [to] become alive again [DOU].
And Jehovah heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came into him again, and he lived.
23 Elijah carried the boy down [the steps] and gave him to his mother. He said, “Look, your son is alive!”
And Elijah took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, See, thy son lives.
24 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!”
And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of Jehovah in thy mouth is truth.
