1 And Eliiah the Tishbite one of the inhabitats of Gilead sayde vnto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liueth, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dewe nor rayne these yeeres, but according to my worde. 2 And the worde of the Lord came vnto him, saying, 3 Go hence, and turne thee Eastwarde, and hide thy selfe in the riuer Cherith, that is ouer against Iorden, 4 And thou shalt drinke of the riuer: and I haue comanded the rauens to feede thee there. 5 So he went and did according vnto the word of the Lord: for he went, and remained by the riuer Cherith that is ouer against Iorden. 6 And the rauens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the euening, and he dranke of the riuer. 7 And after a while the riuer dryed vp, because there fell no rayne vpon the earth. 8 And the worde of the Lord came vnto him, saying, 9 Vp, and get thee to Zarephath, which is in Zidon, and remaine there: beholde, I haue commanded a widow there to sustaine thee. 10 So he arose, and went to Zarephath: and when he came to the gate of the citie, beholde, the widowe was there gathering stickes: and he called her, and sayde, Bring me, I pray thee, a litle water in a vessel, that I may drinke. 11 And as she was going to fet it, he called to her, and sayde, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsell of bread in thine hand. 12 And shee sayde, As the Lord thy God liueth, I haue not a cake, but euen an handfull of meale in a barrel, and a litle oyle in a cruse: and behold, I am gathering a fewe stickes for to go in, and dresse it for me and my sonne, that we may eate it, and dye. 13 And Eliiah said vnto her, Feare not, come, do as thou hast sayd, but make me thereof a litle cake first of all, and bring it vnto mee, and afterward make for thee, and thy sonne. 14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The meale in the barrel shall not be wasted, neither shall the oyle in the cruse be diminished, vnto the time that the Lord send rayne vpon the earth. 15 So she went, and did as Eliiah sayd, and she did eate: so did he and her house for a certaine time. 16 The barrell of the meale wasted not, nor the oyle was spent out of the cruse, according to the worde of the Lord, which he spake by the hand of Eliiah. 17 And after these things, the sonne of the wife of the house fell sicke, and his sicknesse was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said vnto Eliiah, What haue I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come vnto me to call my sinne to remembrance, and to slay my sonne? 19 And he said vnto her, Giue me thy sonne. and he tooke him out of her bosome, and caryed him vp into a chamber, where he abode, and laid him vpon his owne bed. 20 Then he called vnto the Lord, and sayde, O Lord my God, hast thou punished also this widowe, with whome I soiourne, by killing her sonne? 21 And he stretched himselfe vpon the childe three times, and called vnto the Lord, and saide, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this childes soule come into him againe. 22 Then the Lord heard the voyce of Eliiah, and the soule of the child came into him againe, and he reuiued. 23 And Eliiah tooke the childe, and brought him downe out of the chamber into the house, and deliuered him vnto his mother, and Eliiah sayd, Behold, thy sonne liueth. 24 And the woman saide vnto Eliiah, Now I knowe that thou art a man of God, and that the worde of the Lord in thy mouth is true.
Elijah and the Drought
1 A prophet named Elijah, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to King Ahab, “In the name of the Lord, the living God of Israel, whom I serve, I tell you that there will be no dew or rain for the next two or three years until I say so.”
2 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 3 “Leave this place and go east and hide yourself near Cherith Brook, east of the Jordan. 4 The brook will supply you with water to drink, and I have commanded ravens to bring you food there.”
5 Elijah obeyed the Lord's command, and went and stayed by Cherith Brook. 6 He drank water from the brook, and ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and every evening. 7 After a while the brook dried up because of the lack of rain.
Elijah and the Widow in Zarephath
8 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 9 “Now go to the town of Zarephath, near Sidon, and stay there. I have commanded a widow who lives there to feed you.” 10 So Elijah went to Zarephath, and as he came to the town gate, he saw a widow gathering firewood. “Please bring me a drink of water,” he said to her. 11 And as she was going to get it, he called out, “And please bring me some bread, too.”
12 She answered, “By the living Lord your God I swear that I don't have any bread. All I have is a handful of flour in a bowl and a bit of olive oil in a jar. I came here to gather some firewood to take back home and prepare what little I have for my son and me. That will be our last meal, and then we will starve to death.”
13 “Don't worry,” Elijah said to her. “Go on and prepare your meal. But first make a small loaf from what you have and bring it to me, and then prepare the rest for you and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The bowl will not run out of flour or the jar run out of oil before the day that I, the Lord, send rain.’”
15 The widow went and did as Elijah had told her, and all of them had enough food for many days. 16 As the Lord had promised through Elijah, the bowl did not run out of flour nor did the jar run out of oil.
17 Some time later the widow's son got sick; he got worse and worse, and finally he died. 18 She said to Elijah, “Man of God, why did you do this to me? Did you come here to remind God of my sins and so cause my son's death?”
19 “Give the boy to me,” Elijah said. He took the boy from her arms, carried him upstairs to the room where he was staying, and laid him on the bed. 20 Then he prayed aloud, “O Lord my God, why have you done such a terrible thing to this widow? She has been kind enough to take care of me, and now you kill her son!” 21 Then Elijah stretched himself out on the boy three times and prayed, “O Lord my God, restore this child to life!” 22 The Lord answered Elijah's prayer; the child started breathing again and revived.
23 Elijah took the boy back downstairs to his mother and said to her, “Look, your son is alive!”
24 She answered, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the Lord really speaks through you!”