1 Kings 17

Elijah Predicts Drought

1Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 3“Go from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan [River]. 4“You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to sustain you there [with food].” 5So he went and did in accordance with the word of the LORD; he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 6And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he would drink from the brook. 7It happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

8Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10So he set out and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks [for firewood]. He called out to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a jar, so that I may drink.” 11As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” 12But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar. See, I am gathering a few sticks so that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it [as our last meal] and die.” 13Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. Just make me a little bread from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. 14“For this is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted nor shall the jar of oil be empty until the day that the LORD sends rain [again] on the face of the earth.’” 15She went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, in accordance with the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah.

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son 17It happened after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18So she said to Elijah, “What [problem] is there between you and me, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to mind and to put my son to death?” 19He said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her arms and carried him up to the upper room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed. 20He called to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, have You brought further tragedy to the widow with whom I am staying, by causing her son to die?” 21Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times, and called to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, please let this child’s life return to him.” 22The LORD heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived. 23Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the [lower part of the] house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.” 24Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.”