Then he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on this widow who has opened her home to me, by causing her son to die?”
Parallel translations
- WEB He cried to Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh my God, have you also brought evil on the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?”
- KJV And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?
- NKJV Then he cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?”
- NASB And he called to the Lord and said, “Lord, my God, have You also brought catastrophe upon the widow with whom I am staying, by causing her son to die?”
- NLT Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?”
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
Elijah cries out to God, honestly wrestling with why this calamity has befallen the widow who sheltered him.
Overview
Elijah brings his perplexity directly to the Lord, lamenting the death of the son of his gracious host. His prayer models honest, faith-filled wrestling that takes hard questions to God rather than away from Him. Such candid intercession shows that genuine faith can voice grief and confusion while still trusting God to act.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Jas 5:15–18And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
- Matt 21:22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
- Josh 7:8–9O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies?
- 1 Kgs 18:36–37At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command.
- Exod 17:4Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What should I do with these people? A little more and they will stone me!”
- 2 Kgs 19:15And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD: “O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.
- 1 Sam 7:8–9and said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”
- Ps 99:6Moses and Aaron were among His priests; Samuel was among those who called on His name. They called to the LORD and He answered.
- Gen 18:23–25Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
- Ps 73:13–14Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure; in innocence I have washed my hands.
- Jer 12:1Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?
- 2 Kgs 19:4Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.”
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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 17:20 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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