And now word came to Achab from Elias, the man of Thesbe, that dwelt in Galaad, As the Lord I serve is a living God, in these years that are coming neither dew nor rain shall fall, without word of mine to command it.

Upon this, Elias himself had a message from the Lord,

Withdraw thyself, and make thy way eastwards; thou shalt find a hiding-place in the valley of the Kerith, that flows to meet the Jordan.

There the river shall provide drink for thee, and the ravens, at my command, shall feed thee.

Withdraw himself he did, as the Lord bade him, and made his way to the river Kerith, that flows to meet the Jordan; there he took up his abode.

Morn and eve the ravens brought him bread, morn and eve they brought him meat, and of the river’s water he drank,

till, after a while, the land was parched, and the river dried up.

Then the Lord said to him,

Bestir thyself, and make thy way to Sarephtha, a town in Sidon, where thou shalt make thy dwelling, at my command, a widow there will support thee.

So he rose up and went to Sarephtha, and he had but reached the city gate when he met a woman gathering fire-wood; whereupon he called out to her, asking her to give him a cup of water to drink.

And as she went to fetch it, he cried after her, And when thou dost bring it, bring me, too, a mouthful of bread.

Why, she told him, as surely as the Lord thou servest is a living God, I have no food except a handful of flour at the bottom of a jar, and a drop of oil left in a cruet. Even now I am gathering a stick or two, to serve my son and me for our last meal.

Have no fear, Elias said; go home on this errand of thine; only use the flour to make me a little girdle-cake first, and bring it me here; cook what is left for thyself and thy son.

This message the Lord God of Israel has for thee: There shall be no lack of flour in the jar, nor shall the oil waste in the cruet, till the Lord sends rain on this parched earth.

At that, she went and did Elias’ bidding, and there was a meal for him and for her and for all her household; and from that day onwards

there was still flour in the jar, still oil left in the cruet, as the Lord’s message through Elias had promised her.

Afterwards, the housewife’s son fell sick; and so violently did his disease take hold of him that at last he breathed no longer.

Upon this, the woman said to Elias, Servant of God, why didst thou meddle with me? Didst thou come here to confront me, after all, with the record of my sins, and hand over my son to death?

Give me thy son, said Elias, and took the boy from her bosom; then carried him up to the room where he himself lodged, and laid him down on the bed.

O Lord my God, said he, must thou bring trouble even upon this widow, who is all my support, by taking her son’s life away?

Then, three times, he measured his whole length upon the child’s body, crying out to the Lord, O Lord my God, send back life into the boy’s limbs.

So Elias prayed, and the Lord granted his prayer; the boy’s life returned to him, and he revived.

And when Elias took him down from the upper room into the house below, gave him back to his mother and shewed her that her son lived,

the woman said to Elias, This proves to me that thou art God’s servant indeed, and his promise on thy lips is true.