1 Kings 17:13

Verse

“Do not be afraid,” Elijah said to her. “Go and do as you have said. But first make me a small cake of bread from what you have, and bring it out to me. Afterward, make some for yourself and your son,

American Standard Version (1901)

And 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.

Bible in Basic English

And Elijah said to her, Have no fear; go and do as you have said, but first make me a little cake of it and come and give it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.

Free Bible Version

Elijah said to her, “Don't be afraid. Go home and do what you said. But first make me a small loaf of bread from what you have and bring it to me. Then make something for yourself and your son.

Geneva Bible 1599

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.

King James (Authorized) Version

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

Translation for Translators

But Elijah said to her, “Do not be worried! Go home and do what you said that you were going to do. But first, bake me a little loaf of bread and bring it to me. After you do that, take what is left and prepare some food for you and your son.

Unlocked Literal Bible

Elijah said to her, “Do not fear. Go and do as you have said, but make me a little bread first and bring it out to me. Then afterward make some for you and for your son.

Noah Webster Bible

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

World English Bible

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.

Young's Literal Translation

And Elijah saith unto her, 'Fear not, go, do according to thy word, only make for me thence a little cake, in the first place, and thou hast brought out to me; and for thee and for thy son make — last;

Context

The Widow of Zarephath

¹²But she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”¹³“Do not be afraid,” Elijah said to her. “Go and do as you have said. But first make me a small cake of bread from what you have, and bring it out to me. Afterward, make some for yourself and your son,¹⁴for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be exhausted and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain upon the face of the earth.’”

Sermons

Trust in the Lord Alone for All Your Needs

Zac Poonen

Summary

In this verse, Elijah asks the widow of Zarephath to bring him a little bread before she makes some for herself and her son. This request may seem insensitive, but it demonstrates Elijah's faith in God's provision. He assures her that if she obeys, her jar of flour will not be used up and her jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land. Elijah's trust in God's miraculous provision encourages the widow to step out in faith and experience God's abundant blessings in her time of need.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

But make me thereof a little cake first - This was certainly putting the widow's faith to an extraordinary trial: to take and give to a stranger, of whom she knew nothing, the small pittance requisite to keep her child from perishing, was too much to be expected.

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

In order, however, to determine with indisputable certainty whether this believing Gentile was the protectress assigned him by the Lord, Elijah comforted her, and at the same time desired her first of all to bake him a little cake משּׁם, i.e., of the last of the meal in the Kad and of the oil in the pitcher, and then to bake for herself and her son, adding this promise: Jehovah the God of Israel will not let the meal in the Kad and the oil in the pitcher fail, till He sends rain upon the earth again. And the widow did according to his word. She gave up the certain for the uncertain, because she trusted the word of the Lord, and received the reward of her believing confidence in the fact that during the whole time of the drought she suffered from no want of either meal or oil. This act of the pious Gentile woman, who had welcomed with a simple heart the knowledge of the true God that had reached her from Israel, must have been the source of strong consolation to Elijah in the hour of conflict, when his faith was trembling because of the multitude of idolaters in Israel. If the Lord Himself had raised up true worshipers of His name among the Gentiles, his work in Israel could not be put to shame. The believing widow, however, received from the prophet not only a material blessing, but a spiritual blessing also. For, as Christ tells His unbelieving contemporaries to their shame (Luk 4:25-26), Elijah was not sent to this widow in order that he might be safely hidden at her house, although this object was better attained thereby than by his remaining longer in Israel; but because of her faith, namely, to strengthen and to increase it, he was sent to her, and not to one of the many widows in Israel, many of whom would also have received the prophet if they had been rescued by him from the pressure of the famine. And the miraculous increase of the meal and oil did not merely subserve the purpose of keeping the prophet and the widow alive; but the relief of her bodily need was also meant to be a preparatory means of quieting her spiritual need as well. On the Chethb תתּן, see at Kg1 6:19. In Kg1 17:15 the Keri והוּה היא is an unnecessary emendation of the Chethb והיא הוּא; the feminine form ותּאכל is occasioned primarily by the preceding verbs, and may be taken as an indefinite neuter: "and there ate he and she." The offence which Thenius has taken at ימים (days) has no foundation, if we do not understand the sentence as referring merely to their eating once of the bread just baked, but take it generally as signifying that in consequence of their acting according to the word of Jehovah, they (Elijah, the widow, and her family) ate for days, i.e., until God sent rain again (Kg1 17:14).

1 Kings 17:13

The Widow of Zarephath

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

American Standard Version (1901)

And 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.

Bible in Basic English

And Elijah said to her, Have no fear; go and do as you have said, but first make me a little cake of it and come and give it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.

Free Bible Version

Elijah said to her, “Don't be afraid. Go home and do what you said. But first make me a small loaf of bread from what you have and bring it to me. Then make something for yourself and your son.

Geneva Bible 1599

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.

King James (Authorized) Version

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

Translation for Translators

Unlocked Literal Bible

Elijah said to her, “Do not fear. Go and do as you have said, but make me a little bread first and bring it out to me. Then afterward make some for you and for your son.

Noah Webster Bible

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

World English Bible

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.

Young's Literal Translation

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

1 Kings 17:13

Verse

Context

The Widow of Zarephath

Sermons

Summary

Commentary

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes

1 Kings 17:13

The Widow of Zarephath

Trust in the Lord Alone for All Your Needs

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes