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She went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and she, and he, and her house, ate many days.
1 Kings 17:15 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
  • BSB So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her household.
  • NKJV So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.
  • NASB So she went and did everything in accordance with the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days.
  • NLT So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The widow obeys Elijah, and she, her household, and the prophet eat for many days.

Overview

Acting in faith on Elijah's word, the widow is rewarded with sustained provision for her whole household. Her obedience, giving first from almost nothing, becomes the channel of God's abundant care. The episode commends a faith that ventures everything on God's promise and finds Him faithful.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Mark 12:43He called his disciples to himself, and said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury,
  • Gen 6:22Thus Noah did. He did all that God commanded him.
  • Matt 15:28Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
  • Heb 11:17By faith, Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. Yes, he who had gladly received the promises was offering up his one and only son,
  • John 11:40Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”
  • 2 Chr 20:20They rose early in the morning, and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. As they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Yahweh your God, so you will be established! Believe his prophets, so you will prosper.”
  • Rom 4:19–20Without being weakened in faith, he didn’t consider his own body, already having been worn out, (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.
  • Heb 11:7–8By faith, Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared a ship for the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
  • Gen 22:3Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son. He split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went to the place of which God had told him.
  • Gen 12:4So Abram went, as Yahweh had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (8)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Kings videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Kings 17:15YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 KingsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.

How 1 Kings 17:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.