The Tanakh · JPS 1917 Translation

1 Kings 17

Jewish Publication Society 1917 · Nevi'im — the Prophets

1 Kings chapter 17 — part of the Nevi'im — the Prophets in the Jewish Bible. In the classic JPS 1917 translation it opens: “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said unto Ahab: 'As HaShem, the G-d of Israel, liveth, before whom I stand, there…” — the complete text of all 24 verses is below, free to read online.

1And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said unto Ahab: 'As HaShem, the G-d of Israel, liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.'

2And the word of HaShem came unto him, saying:

3'Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan.

4And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.'

5So he went and did according unto the word of HaShem; for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan.

6And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

7And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

8And the word of HaShem came unto him, saying:

9'Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain thee.'

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: 'Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.'

11And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said: 'Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.'

12And she said: 'As HaShem thy G-d liveth, I have not a cake, only a handful of meal in the jar, and a little oil in the cruse; and, 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.'

13And Elijah said unto her: 'Fear not; go and do as thou hast said; but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it forth unto me, and afterward make for thee and for thy son.

14For thus saith HaShem, the G-d of Israel: The jar of meal shall not be spent, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that HaShem sendeth rain upon the land.'

15And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

16The jar of meal was not spent, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of HaShem, which He spoke by Elijah.

17And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.

18And she said unto Elijah: 'What have I to do with thee, O thou man of G-d? art thou come unto me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?'

19And he said unto her: 'Give me thy son.' And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the upper chamber, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.

20And he cried unto HaShem, and said: 'O HaShem my G-d, hast Thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?'

21And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto HaShem, and said: 'O HaShem my G-d, I pray thee, let this child's soul come back into him.'

22And HaShem hearkened unto the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back into him, and he revived.

23And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the upper chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother; and Elijah said: 'See, thy son liveth.'

24And the woman said to Elijah: 'Now I know that thou art a man of G-d, and that the word of HaShem in thy mouth is truth.'

24 verses · JPS 1917 (public domain)

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