1 *Kings 17

₁The prophet Elijah was from the town of Tishbe in Gilead. He said to King Ahab: ‘There will be no rain or dew this year or the next few years. The rain or dew will fall only when I say so. This is sure, as sure as the Lord lives. He is the God of Israel whom I serve.’

₂Then the Lord said to Elijah: ₃‘You must go away. Go east over the Jordan River and hide in the Kerith Valley. ₄You can drink water from the stream in the valley and I have told the ravens to bring you food.’

₅Elijah did what the Lord told him. He went to the Kerith Valley on the other side of the Jordan River to stay there. ₆Every morning and every evening the ravens brought him bread and meat and he had water from the stream in the valley.

₇It did not rain and later there was no more water in the Kerith Valley. ₈Then the Lord said to Elijah: ₉‘You must go to the town of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Go and stay there. I have told a widow who lives there to give you food.’

₁₀Elijah went to Zarephath and when he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there getting wood to make a fire. He called her and said: ‘Please give me a jar of water to drink.’ ₁₁She went to get the water and Elijah said: ‘Please bring me a piece of bread too.’ ₁₂She said: ‘I do not have any bread. That is as true as the Lord your God lives. I have only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a bottle. I am getting wood to make a fire to make the last meal for my son and myself, and then we will have no food and we will die.’

₁₃Elijah said to her: ‘Do not worry. Go and do what you have said, but first make me a small loaf of bread and bring it to me, and then you can make bread for yourself and your son. ₁₄The Lord God of Israel says the jar of flour will not become empty and there will always be enough olive oil in the bottle until the day when the Lord makes it rain again in the land.’ ₁₅The widow went home and she did what Elijah told her and every day she had food to eat, she and Elijah and her family. ₁₆The jar of flour did not become empty and there was always olive oil in the bottle, as the Lord had told Elijah to tell her.

₁₇Some time later the son of the widow became sick in their house. He was very sick and he died. ₁₈The widow said to Elijah: ‘Man of God, what have I done wrong to you? Why do you do this to me? Did you come to me so that my son would die because I have sinned?’ ₁₉He told her: ‘Bring your son to me.’ Elijah took the boy from her and carried him into his room where he stayed. He put the boy on his bed ₂₀and he prayed to the Lord and said: ‘O Lord my God, why have You done such a bad thing to this poor widow? She said I can stay here, and now You have let her son to die. Why?’ ₂₁Then Elijah bowed over the boy 3 times and he prayed to the Lord and said: ‘O Lord my God, please let this boy live again.’

₂₂The Lord did what Elijah asked. The boy started breathing again and he was alive. ₂₃Elijah carried the boy down into the house. He gave him to his mother and said: ‘Here is your son. He lives.’ ₂₄The woman said to Elijah: ‘Now I know you are really a man of God. The things that God tells you to say are the truth.’