Then she said to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?”
Parallel translations
- WEB She said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, you man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to memory, and to kill my son!”
- KJV And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?
- BSB “O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”
- NKJV So she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”
- NASB So she said to Elijah, “Why is my business any of yours, you man of God? Yet you have come to me to bring my wrongdoing to remembrance, and to put my son to death!”
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 grieving widow accuses Elijah of coming to expose her sin and cause her son's death.
Overview
In her anguish the widow connects the calamity to her own guilt, fearing the prophet's holy presence has brought judgment. Her words reflect a common ancient assumption linking suffering directly to personal sin. The verse honestly portrays the raw distress of grief and the questions it raises about God's dealings, which the rest of the story will answer with mercy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Luke 5:8But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord.”
- 2 Kgs 3:13Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother.” The king of Israel said to him, “No, for Yahweh has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”
- John 2:4Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My hour has not yet come.”
- Luke 4:34saying, “Ah! what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are: the Holy One of God!”
- 2 Sam 16:10The king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? Because he curses, and because Yahweh has said to him, ‘Curse David;’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’”
- Mark 5:7and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, don’t torment me.”
- 2 Sam 19:22David said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should be adversaries to me today? Shall any man be put to death today in Israel? For don’t I know that I am king over Israel today?”
- Ezek 21:23–24It shall be to them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths to them; but he brings iniquity to memory, that they may be taken.
- Job 13:26For you write bitter things against me, and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth:
- 1 Kgs 18:9He said, “How have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?
- Mark 5:15–17They came to Jesus, and saw him who had been possessed by demons sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, even him who had the legion; and they were afraid.
- 2 Chr 35:21But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, “What have I to do with you, you king of Judah? I come not against you today, but against the house with which I have war. God has commanded me to make haste. Beware that it is God who is with me, that he not destroy you.”
- Mark 6:16But Herod, when he heard this, said, “This is John, whom I beheaded. He has risen from the dead.”
- Job 13:23How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my disobedience and my sin.
- Gen 42:21–22They said to one another, “We are certainly guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us, and we wouldn’t listen. Therefore this distress has come upon us.”
- Gen 50:17‘You shall tell Joseph, “Now please forgive the disobedience of your brothers, and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ Now, please forgive the disobedience of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
- Gen 50:15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully pay us back for all the evil which we did to him.”
- Luke 8:28When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, “What do I have to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torment me!”
- 1 Kgs 13:1Behold, a man of God came out of Judah by Yahweh’s word to Beth El; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.
- 1 Sam 16:4Samuel did that which Yahweh spoke, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”
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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 17:18 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
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