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1 Kings 17 :: Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

Elijah Announces Famine
1Ki 17:1

Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers,[fn] said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command! ”

1Ki 17:2

Then the word of the LORD came to him:

1Ki 17:3

“Leave here, turn eastward, and hide at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan.

1Ki 17:4

“You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.”

1Ki 17:5

So he proceeded to do what the LORD commanded. Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan.

1Ki 17:6

The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and he would drink from the wadi.

1Ki 17:7

After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

Elijah and the Widow
1Ki 17:8

Then the word of the LORD came to him:

1Ki 17:9

“Get up, go to Zarephath that belongs to Sidon and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman who is a widow to provide for you there.”

1Ki 17:10

So 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.”

1Ki 17:11

As she went to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”

1Ki 17:12

But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I don’t have anything baked ​— ​only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil 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.”

1Ki 17:13

Then 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,

1Ki 17:14

“for this is what the LORD God of Israel says, ‘The flour jar will not become empty and the oil jug will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the surface of the land.’ ”

1Ki 17:15

So she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah. Then the woman, Elijah, and her household ate for many days.

1Ki 17:16

The flour jar did not become empty, and the oil jug did not run dry, according to the word of the LORD he had spoken through[fn] Elijah.

The Widow’s Son Raised
1Ki 17:17

After this, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. His illness got worse until he stopped breathing.

1Ki 17:18

She said to Elijah, “Man of God, what do you have against me? Have you come to call attention to my iniquity so that my son is put to death? ”

1Ki 17:19

But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, brought him up to the upstairs room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.

1Ki 17:20

Then he cried out to the LORD and said, “LORD my God, have you also brought tragedy on the widow I am staying with by killing her son? ”

1Ki 17:21

Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times. He cried out to the LORD and said, “LORD my God, please let this boy’s life come into him again! ”

1Ki 17:22

So the LORD listened to Elijah, and the boy’s life came into him again, and he lived.

1Ki 17:23

Then Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upstairs room into the house, and gave him to his mother. Elijah said, “Look, your son is alive.”

1Ki 17:24

Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know you are a man of God and the LORD’s word from your mouth is true.”

CSB Footnotes
LXX reads from Tishbe of Gilead
Lit by the hand of
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1 Kings Chapter 17 — Additional Translations: