[17:8] Then the Lord said to Elijah,
[17:9] “Now go to the town of Zarephath, near Sidon, and stay there. I have commanded a widow who lives there to feed you.”
[17:10] 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.
[17:11] And as she was going to get it, he called out, “And please bring me some bread, too.”
[17:12] 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.”
[17:13] “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.
[17:14] 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.’”
[17:15] The widow went and did as Elijah had told her, and all of them had enough food for many days.
[17:16] As the Lord had promised through Elijah, the bowl did not run out of flour nor did the jar run out of oil.
[17:17] Some time later the widow's son got sick; he got worse and worse, and finally he died.
[17:18] 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?”
[17:19] “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.
[17:20] 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!”
[17:21] Then Elijah stretched himself out on the boy three times and prayed, “O Lord my God, restore this child to life!”
[17:22] The Lord answered Elijah's prayer; the child started breathing again and revived.
[17:23] Elijah took the boy back downstairs to his mother and said to her, “Look, your son is alive!”
[17:24] She answered, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the Lord really speaks through you!”