And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall drink from the brook. I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
- BSB And you are to drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
- NKJV And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
- NASB And it shall be that you will drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide food for you there.”
- NLT Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.”
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
God promises to sustain Elijah at the brook, commanding ravens to bring him food.
Overview
The Lord assures Elijah of provision: water from the brook and food delivered by ravens, birds normally regarded as unclean and scavenging. That God commands even ravens to serve His prophet displays His sovereign control over all creation. This wilderness provision recalls the manna of the exodus and foreshadows Jesus' teaching that the heavenly Father feeds the birds and will surely care for His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 1 Kgs 17:9Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
- Ps 147:9He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.
- Job 38:41Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.
- Matt 4:4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
- 1 Kgs 19:5–8And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
- Ps 33:8–9Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
- Matt 4:11Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
- Job 38:8–13Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
- Job 34:29When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:
- Num 20:8Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
- Amos 9:3–4And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:
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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 17:4 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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