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Sunday, July 27th, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Contemporary English Version

1 Kings 17:16

The Lord kept the promise that his prophet Elijah had made, and she did not run out of flour or oil.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Barrel;   Blessing;   Elijah;   Hospitality;   Minister, Christian;   Miracles;   Oil;   Poor;   Readings, Select;   Women;   Zarephath;   Thompson Chain Reference - Bible Stories for Children;   Children;   Home;   Pleasant Sunday Afternoons;   Providence, Divine;   Religion;   Stories for Children;   Supplies, Divine;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Miracles Wrought through Servants of God;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Elijah;   Miracle;   Zarephath;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Elijah;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Word;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Barrel;   Cruse;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Elijah;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Barrel;   Cruse;   Jug;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Oil;   Zarephath;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ahab;   Haggai;   Zarephath;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Feeding the Multitudes;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Barrel;   Cruse;   Miracles;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chief parables and miracles in the bible;   Cruse;   Elijah;   Zarephath;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Barrel;   Cruse;   Elisha;   Oil;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Amittai;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The flour jar did not become empty, and the oil jug did not run dry, according to the word of the Lord he had spoken through Elijah.
Hebrew Names Version
The jar of meal didn't empty, neither did the jar of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Eliyah.
King James Version
And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord , which he spake by Elijah.
English Standard Version
The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
New Century Version
The jar of flour and the jug of oil were never empty, just as the Lord , through Elijah, had promised.
New English Translation
The jar of flour was never empty and the jug of oil never ran out, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
Amplified Bible
The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, in accordance with the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah.
New American Standard Bible
The bowl of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil become empty, in accordance with the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah.
Geneva Bible (1587)
The barrell of the meale wasted not, nor the oyle was spent out of the cruse, according to the worde of the Lorde, which he spake by the hand of Eliiah.
Legacy Standard Bible
The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of Yahweh which He spoke by the hand of Elijah.
Complete Jewish Bible
The pot of meal did not get used up, nor did there fail to be oil in the jug, in fulfillment of the word of Adonai spoken through Eliyahu.
Darby Translation
The meal in the barrel did not waste, neither did the oil in the cruse fail, according to the word of Jehovah which he had spoken through Elijah.
Easy-to-Read Version
The jar of flour and the jug of oil were never empty. This happened just as the Lord said through Elijah.
George Lamsa Translation
And the pot of flour was not spent, neither did the cruse of oil diminish, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Elijah.
Good News Translation
As the Lord had promised through Elijah, the bowl did not run out of flour nor did the jar run out of oil.
Lexham English Bible
The jar of flour was not emptied and the jug of olive oil did not run out, according to the word of Yahweh which he spoke by the hand of Elijah.
Literal Translation
the pitcher of meal was not consumed, and the jar of oil did not fail, according to the Word of Jehovah that He spoke by the hand of Elijah.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The meel in the pitcher was not mynished, and the oyle in the cruse fayled not, acordinge to the worde of ye LORDE which he spake by Elias.
American Standard Version
The jar of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spake by Elijah.
Bible in Basic English
The store of meal did not come to an end, and the bottle was never without oil, as the Lord had said by the mouth of Elijah.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the meale wasted not out of the barrell, neither was the oyle spent out of the cruse, according to the word of the Lorde which he spake by the hande of Elias.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
The jar of meal was not spent, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which He spoke by Elijah.
King James Version (1611)
And the barrell of meale wasted not, neither did the cruse of oyle faile, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Eliiah.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the pitcher of meal failed not, and the cruse of oil was not diminished, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by the hand of Eliu.
English Revised Version
The barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.
Berean Standard Bible
The jar of flour was not exhausted and the jug of oil did not run dry, according to the word the LORD had spoken through Elijah.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And fro that dai the pot of mele failide not, and the vessel of oile was not abatid, bi the word of the Lord, which he hadde spoke in the hond of Elie.
Young's Literal Translation
the pitcher of meal was not consumed, and the dish of oil did not lack, according to the word of Jehovah that He spake by the hand of Elijah.
Update Bible Version
The jar of meal did not waste, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by Elijah.
Webster's Bible Translation
[And] the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Elijah.
World English Bible
The jar of meal didn't empty, neither did the jar of oil fail, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by Elijah.
New King James Version
The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.
New Living Translation
There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
New Life Bible
The jar of flour was not used up, and the jar of oil did not become empty. It happened as was spoken by the word of the Lord through Elijah.
New Revised Standard
The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The jar of meal, did not waste, - and, the cruse of oil, did not fail, - according to the word of Yahweh, which he spake through Elijah.
Douay-Rheims Bible
The pot of meal wasted not, and the cruise of oil was not diminished according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke in the hand of Elias.
Revised Standard Version
The jar of meal was not spent, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD which he spoke by Eli'jah.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah.

Contextual Overview

8 The Lord told Elijah, 9 "Go to the town of Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I've told a widow in that town to give you food." 10 When Elijah came near the town gate of Zarephath, he saw a widow gathering sticks for a fire. "Would you please bring me a cup of water?" he asked. 11 As she left to get it, he asked, "Would you also please bring me a piece of bread?" 12 The widow answered, "In the name of the living Lord your God, I swear that I don't have any bread. All I have is a handful of flour and a little olive oil. I'm on my way home now with these few sticks to cook what I have for my son and me. After that, we will starve to death." 13 Elijah said, "Everything will be fine. Do what you said. Go home and fix something for you and your son. But first, please make a small piece of bread and bring it to me. 14 The Lord God of Israel has promised that your jar of flour won't run out and your bottle of oil won't dry up before he sends rain for the crops." 15 The widow went home and did exactly what Elijah had told her. She and Elijah and her family had enough food for a long time. 16 The Lord kept the promise that his prophet Elijah had made, and she did not run out of flour or oil.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the barrel: Matthew 9:28-30, Matthew 19:26, Luke 1:37, Luke 1:45, John 4:50, John 4:51

according: 1 Kings 13:5

by Elijah: Heb. by the hand of Elijah, 1 Kings 16:12

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 4:5 - she went

Cross-References

Genesis 1:28
God gave them his blessing and said: Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth.
Genesis 12:2
I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others.
Genesis 17:6
I will give you a lot of descendants, and in the future they will become great nations. Some of them will even be kings.
Genesis 17:10
As the sign that you are keeping this promise, you must circumcise every man and boy in your family.
Genesis 17:14
Any man who isn't circumcised hasn't kept his promise to me and cannot be one of my people.
Genesis 24:60
They gave Rebekah their blessing and said, "We pray that God will give you many children and grandchildren and that he will help them defeat their enemies."
Isaiah 49:23
The kings and queens of those nations where they were raised will come and bow down. They will take care of you just like a slave taking care of a child. Then you will know that I am the Lord . You won't be disappointed if you trust me."
Romans 9:9
Sarah, "At this time next year I will return, and you will already have a son."
1 Peter 3:6
For example, Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her true children, if you do right and don't let anything frighten you.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah. There being a continual increase and supply of both, through the mighty power of God working a continued miracle; just as the loaves and fishes were increased while the disciples were eating, Matthew 14:19.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This is the first recorded miracle of its kind - a supernatural and inexplicable multiplication of food (compare 2 Kings 4:42-44; Matthew 14:15-21; Matthew 15:32-38). The sacred record does not explain these miracles; but if the explanations sometimes suggested - that there was a transformation of previously existing matter into meal, oil, fish, and bread - be the true one, the marvel of the thing would not be much greater than that astonishing natural chemistry by which, in the growth of plants, particles of water, air, and earth are transmuted into fruits and grains of corn, and so fitted to be human food. There would be a difference in the agency employed and in the time occupied in the transmutation, but the thing done would be almost the same.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 17:16. The barrel of meal wasted not — She continued to take out of her jar and out of her bottle the quantity of meal and oil requisite for the consumption of her household; and without carefully estimating what was left, she went with confidence each time for a supply, and was never disappointed. This miracle was very like that wrought by Jesus at the marriage at Cana in Galilee: as the servants drew the water out of the pots, they found it turned into wine; and thus they continued to draw wine from the water-pots till the guests had been sufficiently supplied.


 
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