1 Kings 17 | King James Version

King James Version

1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. 2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of 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. 8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11 And as she was going to fetch it , he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. 12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an 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 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. 14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. 15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. 16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah. 17 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 sore, that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? 19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 20 And he cried 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? 21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child' soul come into him again. 22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. 24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.

New International Reader’s Version

1 Elijah was from Tishbe in the land of Gilead. He said to Ahab, ‘I serve the LORD. He is the God of Israel. You can be sure that he lives. And you can be just as sure that there won’t be any dew or rain on the whole land. There won’t be any during the next few years. It won’t come until I say so.’

Elijah announces no dew or rain Elijah is fed by ravens

2 Then a message came to Elijah from the LORD. He said, 3 ‘Leave this place. Go east and hide in the Kerith Valley. It is east of the River Jordan. 4 You will drink water from the brook. I have instructed some ravens to supply you with food there.’ 5 So Elijah did what the LORD had told him to do. He went to the Kerith Valley. It was east of the River Jordan. He stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning. They also brought him bread and meat in the evening. He drank water from the brook.

Elijah and the widow at Zarephath

7 Some time later the brook dried up. It hadn’t rained in the land for quite a while. 8 A message came to Elijah from the LORD. He said, 9 ‘Go right away to Zarephath in the region of Sidon. Stay there. I have instructed a widow there to supply you with food.’ 10 So Elijah went to Zarephath. He came to the town gate. A widow was there gathering sticks. He called out to her. He asked, ‘Would you bring me a little water in a jar? I need a drink.’ 11 She went to get the water. Then he called out to her, ‘Please bring me a piece of bread too.’ 12 ‘I don’t have any bread,’ she replied. ‘And that’s just as sure as the LORD your God is alive. All I have is a small amount of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I’m gathering a few sticks to take home. I’ll make one last meal for myself and my son. We’ll eat it. After that, we’ll die.’ 13 Elijah said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid. Go home. Do what you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me. Make it out of what you have. Bring it to me. Then make some for yourself and your son. 14 The LORD is the God of Israel. He says, “The jar of flour will not be used up. The jug will always have oil in it. You will have flour and oil until the day the LORD sends rain on the land.” ’ 15 She went away and did what Elijah had told her to do. So Elijah had food every day. There was also food for the woman and her family. 16 The jar of flour wasn’t used up. The jug always had oil in it. That’s what the LORD had said would happen. He had spoken that message through Elijah. 17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He got worse and worse. Finally he stopped breathing. 18 The woman said to Elijah, ‘You are a man of God. What do you have against me? Did you come to bring my sin out into the open? Did you come to kill my son?’ 19 ‘Give me your son,’ Elijah replied. He took him from her arms. He carried him to the upstairs room where he was staying. He put him down on his bed. 20 Then Elijah cried out to the LORD. He said, ‘LORD my God, I’m staying with this widow. Have you brought pain and sorrow even to her? Have you caused her son to die?’ 21 Then he lay down on the boy three times. He cried out to the LORD. He said, ‘LORD my God, give this boy’s life back to him!’ 22 The LORD answered Elijah’s prayer. He gave the boy’s life back to him. So the boy lived. 23 Elijah picked up the boy. He carried him down from the upstairs room into the house. He gave him to his mother. He said, ‘Look! Your son is alive!’ 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God. I know that the message you have brought from the LORD is true.’