1 Kings 17 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

Elijah Predicts a Drought

1Ki 17:1Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe[fn] in 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.”

1Ki 17:2

1Ki 17:2And the word of the LORD came to him:

1Ki 17:3

1Ki 17:3“Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.

1Ki 17:4

1Ki 17:4You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

1Ki 17:5

1Ki 17:5So he went and did according to the word of the LORD. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan.

1Ki 17:6

1Ki 17:6And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

1Ki 17:7

1Ki 17:7And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

The Widow of Zarephath

1Ki 17:8

1Ki 17:8Then the word of the LORD came to him,

1Ki 17:9

1Ki 17:9“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”

1Ki 17:10

1Ki 17:10So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.”

1Ki 17:11

1Ki 17:11And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

1Ki 17:12

1Ki 17:12And she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”

1Ki 17:13

1Ki 17:13And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son.

1Ki 17:14

1Ki 17:14For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’”

1Ki 17:15

1Ki 17:15And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days.

1Ki 17:16

1Ki 17:16The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son

1Ki 17:17

1Ki 17:17After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.

1Ki 17:18

1Ki 17:18And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!”

1Ki 17:19

1Ki 17:19And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed.

1Ki 17:20

1Ki 17:20And he cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?”

1Ki 17:21

1Ki 17:21Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this child’s life[fn] come into him again.”

1Ki 17:22

1Ki 17:22And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.

1Ki 17:23

1Ki 17:23And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.”

1Ki 17:24

1Ki 17:24And 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.”

See the ESV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

ESV Footnotes

(17:1)

Septuagint; Hebrew of the settlers

(17:21)

Or soul; also verse 22

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Books and Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.

1 Kings Chapter 17 — Additional Translations: