The First Book of the Kings

⭑ Douay-Rheims :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 17 -

And Elias the Thesbite of the inhabitants of Galaad said to Achab: As the Lord liveth the God of Israel, in whose sight I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to the words of my mouth.

And the word of the Lord came to him, saying:

Get thee hence, and go towards the east and hide thyself by the torrent of Carith, which is over against the Jordan,

And there thou shalt drink of the torrent: and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

So he went, and did according to the word of the Lord: and going, he dwelt by the torrent Carith, which is over against the Jordan.

And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of tile torrent.

But after some time the torrent was dried up, for it had not rained upon the earth.

The Widow of Zarephath

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying:

Arise, and go to Sarephta of the Sidonians, and dwell there: for I have commanded a widow woman there to feed thee.

He arose, and went to Sarephta. And when he was come to the gate of the city, he saw the widow woman gathering sticks, and he called her, and said to her: Give me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

And when she was going to fetch it he called after her, saying: Bring me also, I beseech thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.

And she answered: As the Lord thy God liveth, I have no bread, but only a handful of meal in a pot, and a little oil in a cruse: behold I am gathering two sticks that I may go in and dress it, for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

And Elias said to her: Fear not, but go, and do as thou hast said: but first make for me of the same meal a little hearth cake, and bring it to me: and after make for thyself and thy son.

For thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: The pot of meal shall not waste, nor the cruse of oil be diminished, until the day wherein the Lord will give rain upon the face of the earth.

She went and did according to the word of Elias: and he ate, and she, and her house: and from that day

The pot of meal wasted not, and the cruse of oil was not diminished, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke in the hand of Elias.

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son

And it came to pass after this that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick, and the sickness was very grievous, so that there was no breath left in him.

And she said to Elias: What have I to do with thee, thou man of God? art thou come to me that my iniquities should be remembered, and that thou shouldst kill my son?

And Elias said to her: Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him into the upper chamber where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.

And he cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord my God, hast thou afflicted also the widow, with whom I am after a so maintained, so as to kill her son?

And he stretched, and measured himself upon the child three times, and cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord my God, let the soul of this child, I beseech thee, return into his body.

And the Lord heard the voice of Elias: and the soul of the child returned into him, and he revived.

And Elias took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber to the house below, and delivered him to his mother, and said to her: Behold thy son liveth.

And the woman said to Elias: Now, by this I know that thou art a man of God, and the word of the Lord in thy mouth is true.

Elijah the Tishbite, who was one of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

Then the LORD’s word came to him, saying,

“Go away from here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan.

You shall drink from the brook. I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

So he went and did according to the LORD’s word, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith that is before the Jordan.

The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.

After a while, the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

The Widow of Zarephath

The LORD’s word came to him, saying,

“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.”

So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.”

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

She said, “As the LORD your God lives, I don’t have anything baked, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jar. Behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you have said; but make me a little cake from it first, and bring it out to me, and afterward make some for you and for your son.

For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘The jar of meal will not run out, and the jar of oil will not fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.’”

She went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and she, he, and her household ate many days.

The jar of meal didn’t run out and the jar of oil didn’t fail, according to the LORD’s word, which he spoke by Elijah.

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son

After these things, the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.

She said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, you man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to memory, and to kill my son!”

He said to her, “Give me your son.” He took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the room where he stayed, and laid him on his own bed.

He cried to the LORD and said, “LORD my God, have you also brought evil on the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?”

He stretched himself on the child three times, and cried to the LORD and said, “LORD my God, please let this child’s soul come into him again.”

The LORD listened to the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

Elijah took the child and brought him down out of the room into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, “Behold, your son lives.”

The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the LORD’s word in your mouth is truth.”