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 Eliu the prophet, the Thesbite of Thesbae of Galaad, said to Achaab, As the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be these years dew nor rain, except by the word of my mouth.
2 Then Yahweh said to Elijah,
And the word of the Lord came to Eliu, [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].
Depart hence eastward, and hide you by the brook of Chorrath, that is before 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] you shall drink water of the brook, and I will charge the ravens to feed you there.
5 So Elijah did what Yahweh commanded him to do. He went and camped alongside Kerith Brook.
And Eliu did according to the word of the Lord, and he sat by the brook of Chorrath before 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 loaves in the morning, and flesh in the evening and he drank water of the brook.
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 some time, that the brook was dried up, because there had been no rain upon the earth.
8 Then Yahweh said to Elijah,
And the word of the Lord came to Eliu, [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, and go to Sarepta of the Sidonian [land]: behold, I have there commanded a widow-woman to maintain you.
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 Sarepta, and came to the gate of the city: and, behold, a widow-woman was there gathering sticks; and Eliu cried after her, and said to her, Fetch me, I pray you, 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 Eliu cried after her, and said, Bring me, I pray you, a morsel of the bread that is in your 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 the woman said, [As] the Lord your God lives, I have not a cake, but only a handful of meal in the pitcher, and a little oil in a cruse, and, behold, I am going to gather two sticks, and I shall go in and dress it for myself and my children, and we shall 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 Eliu said to her, Be of good courage, go in and do according to your word: but make me thereof a little cake, and you shall bring [it] out to me first, and you shall make [some] for yourself and your children last.
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 says the Lord, The pitcher of meal shall not fail, and the cruse of oil shall not diminish, until the day that the Lord gives rain upon 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 the woman went and did [so], and did eat, she, and he, and her children.
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.
And the pitcher of meal failed not, and the cruse of oil was not diminished, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by the hand of Eliu.
17 Some time later, the woman’s son became sick. He continued to get worse, and finally he died.
And it came to pass afterward, that the son of the woman the mistress of the house was sick; and his sickness was very severe, until 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 Eliu, What have I to do with you, O man of God? have you come in to me to bring my sins to remembrance, and to kill 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 Eliu said to the woman, Give me your son. And he took him out of her bosom, and took him up to the chamber in which he himself lodged, and laid him on the 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 Eliu cried aloud, and said, Alas, O Lord, the witness of the widow with whom I sojourn, you have wrought evil [for her] in 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 breathed on the child thrice, and called on the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, let, I pray you, the soul of this child return to him.
22 Yahweh heard what Elijah prayed, and [he caused] the boy [to] become alive again [DOU].
And it was so, and the child cried out,
23 Elijah carried the boy down [the steps] and gave him to his mother. He said, “Look, your son is alive!”
and he brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother; and Eliu said, See, your 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 Eliu, Behold, I know that you [are] a man of God, and the word of the Lord in your mouth [is] true.
