Elijah Announces Famine
1Now Elijah17:1 1Kg 17–19; 2Kg 1–2; Mal 4:5; Mt 11:14 the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers,17:1 LXX reads from Tishbe of Gilead17:1 Jdg 12:4 said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives,17:1 1Kg 18:10; 22:14 in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!” 17:1 Dt 11:16–17; Jms 5:17; Rv 11:6
2Then the word of the Lord came to him:
5So he proceeded to do what the Lord commanded. Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan.
6The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening,17:6 Ex 16:8 and he would drink from the wadi.
7After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
Elijah and the Widow
8Then the word of the Lord came to him:
9“Get up, go to Zarephath17:9 Ob 20; Lk 4:26 that belongs to Sidon and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman who is a widow to provide for you there.”
10So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup and let me drink.”17:10 Gn 24:17; Jn 4:7
11As she went 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,17:12 1Kg 17:1 I don’t have anything baked — only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil17:12 2Kg 4:2–7 in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.”17:12 Gn 21:14,16
13Then Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid; go and do as you have said. But first make me a small loaf from it and bring it out to me. Afterward, you may make some for yourself and your son,
15So she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah. Then the woman, Elijah, and her household ate for many days.17:15 Mt 6:11
16The flour jar did not become empty, and the oil jug did not run dry, according to the word of the Lord he had spoken through17:16 Lit by the hand of Elijah.
The Widow’s Son Raised
19But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, brought him up to the upstairs room17:19 Ac 9:37,39 where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.
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