New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!”
1
And then this happened: Elijah the Tishbite, from among the settlers of Gilead, confronted Ahab: "As surely as God lives, the God of Israel before whom I stand in obedient service, the next years are going to see a total drought - not a drop of dew or rain unless I say otherwise."
2 Then the LORD said to Elijah,
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God then told Elijah,
3 “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River.
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"Get out of here, and fast. Head east and hide out at the Kerith Ravine on the other side of the Jordan River.
4 Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.”
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You can drink fresh water from the brook; I've ordered the ravens to feed you."
5 So Elijah did as the LORD told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan.
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Elijah obeyed God's orders. He went and camped in the Kerith canyon on the other side of the Jordan.
6 The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook.
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And sure enough, ravens brought him his meals, both breakfast and supper, and he drank from the brook.
7 But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land.
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Eventually the brook dried up because of the drought.
8 Then the LORD said to Elijah,
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Then God spoke to him:
9 “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”
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"Get up and go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I've instructed a woman who lives there, a widow, to feed you."
10 So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?”
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So he got up and went to Zarephath. As he came to the entrance of the village he met a woman, a widow, gathering firewood. He asked her, "Please, would you bring me a little water in a jug? I need a drink."
11 As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.”
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As she went to get it, he called out, "And while you're at it, would you bring me something to eat?"
12 But she said, “I swear by the LORD your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”
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She said, "I swear, as surely as your God lives, I don't have so much as a biscuit. I have a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a bottle; you found me scratching together just enough firewood to make a last meal for my son and me. After we eat it, we'll die."
13 But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son.
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Elijah said to her, "Don't worry about a thing. Go ahead and do what you've said. But first make a small biscuit for me and bring it back here. Then go ahead and make a meal from what's left for you and your son.
14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the LORD sends rain and the crops grow again!”
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This is the word of the God of Israel: 'The jar of flour will not run out and the bottle of oil will not become empty before God sends rain on the land and ends this drought.'"
15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days.
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And she went right off and did it, did just as Elijah asked. And it turned out as he said - daily food for her and her family.
16 There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the LORD had promised through Elijah.
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The jar of meal didn't run out and the bottle of oil didn't become empty: God's promise fulfilled to the letter, exactly as Elijah had delivered it!
17 Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died.
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Later on the woman's son became sick. The sickness took a turn for the worse - and then he stopped breathing.
18 Then she said to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?”
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The woman said to Elijah, "Why did you ever show up here in the first place - a holy man barging in, exposing my sins, and killing my son?"
19 But Elijah replied, “Give me your son.” And he took the child’s body from her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed.
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Elijah said, "Hand me your son."
20 Then Elijah cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?”
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Then he prayed, "O God, my God, why have you brought this terrible thing on this widow who has opened her home to me? Why have you killed her son?"
21 And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, please let this child’s life return to him.”
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Three times he stretched himself out full-length on the boy, praying with all his might, "God, my God, put breath back into this boy's body!"
22 The LORD heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived!
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God listened to Elijah's prayer and put breath back into his body - he was alive!
23 Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. “Look!” he said. “Your son is alive!”
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Elijah picked the boy up, carried him downstairs from the loft, and gave him to his mother. "Here's your son," said Elijah, "alive!"
24 Then the woman told Elijah, “Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the LORD truly speaks through you.”
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The woman said to Elijah, "I see it all now - you are a holy man. When you speak, God speaks - a true word!"
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.