1 Kings 17:4

Contemporary English Version

You can drink water from the creek, and eat the food I've told the ravens to bring you."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.”

Hebrew Names Version
It shall be, that you shall drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.

King James Version
And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

English Standard Version
You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there."

New Century Version
You may drink from the stream, and I have commanded ravens to bring you food there."

New English Translation
Drink from the stream; I have already told the ravens to bring you food there."

Amplified Bible
"You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to sustain you there [with food]."

New American Standard Bible
"And it shall be that you will drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide food for you there."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And thou shalt drinke of the riuer: and I haue comanded the rauens to feede thee there.

Legacy Standard Bible
And it will be that you will drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to sustain you there."

Complete Jewish Bible
You are to drink from the stream, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."

Darby Translation
And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the torrent; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

Easy-to-Read Version
You can get your water from that stream, and I have commanded ravens to bring food to you there."

George Lamsa Translation
And you shall drink from the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.

Good News Translation
The brook will supply you with water to drink, and I have commanded ravens to bring you food there."

Lexham English Bible
It shall be that you shall drink from the wadi, and I have commanded the crows to sustain you there."

Literal Translation
And it shall be, you shall drink of the torrent; and I shall command the ravens to feed you there.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and thou shalt drynke of the ryuer: and I haue commaunded the rauens, that they shal fede the there.

American Standard Version
And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

Bible in Basic English
The water of the stream will be your drink, and by my orders the ravens will give you food there.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thou shalt drinke of the ryuer, and I haue commaunded the rauens to feede thee there.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.'

King James Version (1611)
And it shall bee, that thou shalt drinke of the brooke, and I haue commanded the rauens to feed thee there.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And it shall be that thou shalt drink water of the brook, and I will charge the ravens to feed thee there.

English Revised Version
And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

Berean Standard Bible
And you are to drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and there thou schalt drynke of the stronde; and Y comaundide to crowis, that thei feede thee there.

Young's Literal Translation
and it hath been, from the brook thou dost drink, and the ravens I have commanded to sustain thee there.'

Update Bible Version
And it shall be, that you shall drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.

Webster's Bible Translation
And it shall be, [that] thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

World English Bible
It shall be, that you shall drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.

New King James Version
And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there."

New Living Translation
Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food."

New Life Bible
You will drink from the river. And I have told the ravens to bring food to you there."

New Revised Standard
You shall drink from the wadi, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and it shall be that, of the torrent, shalt thou drink, - and, the ravens, have I commanded to sustain thee, there.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And there thou shalt drink of the torrent: and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

Revised Standard Version
You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there."

Contextual Overview

¹ Elijah was a prophet from Tishbe in Gilead. One day he went to King Ahab and said, "I'm a servant of the living Lord , the God of Israel. And I swear in his name that it won't rain until I say so. There won't even be any dew on the ground." ² Later, the Lord said to Elijah, ³ "Leave and go across the Jordan River so you can hide near Cherith Creek. ⁴ You can drink water from the creek, and eat the food I've told the ravens to bring you." ⁵ Elijah obeyed the Lord and went to live near Cherith Creek. ⁶ Ravens brought him bread and meat twice a day, and he drank water from the creek. ⁷ But after a while, it dried up because there was no rain.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I have commanded: 1 Kings 17:9, 1 Kings 19:5-8, Numbers 20:8, Job 34:29, Job 38:8-13, Job 38:41, Psalms 33:8, Psalms 33:9, Psalms 147:9, Amos 9:3, Amos 9:4, Matthew 4:4, Matthew 4:11

Reciprocal: Genesis 8:7 - a raven Leviticus 11:15 - General 1 Kings 13:28 - the lion had 1 Kings 17:14 - The barrel of meal Jeremiah 37:21 - and that Matthew 6:34 - for Matthew 17:27 - and take Revelation 2:20 - that woman

Cross-References

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 13:16
I will give you more descendants than there are specks of dust on the earth, and someday it will be easier to count the specks of dust than to count your descendants.

Genesis 16:10
I will give you a son, who will be called Ishmael, because I have heard your cry for help. And later I will give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them all.

Genesis 17:1
Abram was ninety-nine years old when the Lord appeared to him again and said, "I am God All-Powerful. If you obey me and always do right,

Genesis 17:18
Then he asked God, "Why not let Ishmael inherit what you have promised me?"

Genesis 22:17
"I will bless you and give you such a large family, that someday your descendants will be more numerous than the stars in the sky or the grains of sand along the beach. They will defeat their enemies and take over the cities where their enemies live.

Genesis 32:12
But you have promised that I would be a success and that someday it will be as hard to count my descendants as it is to count the stars in the sky.

Genesis 48:19
But his father said, "Son, I know what I am doing. It's true that Manasseh's family will someday become a great nation. But Ephraim will be even greater than Manasseh, because his descendants will become many great nations."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook,.... The water of that was to be his drink:

and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there; whereby he should be provided with food to eat; by whom are meant not angels in the form of ravens, as some; nor, as others, Arabians, for there were none of that people near him; nor, as others, merchants, the word being sometimes used of them, for this was not a likely method for privacy; nor, as others, the inhabitants of a place called Oreb, or Orbo; so the Arabic version calls them Orabimi; but we read of no such place near Jordan; the Jews s speak of a city of this name near Bethshean, from whence these Orebim came; and some of them t think they had their name from Oreb, in Judges 7:25 it seems better to interpret them of ravens, as we do, these creatures delighting to be in solitary places, in valleys, and by brooks; nor need it be any objection that they were unclean creatures by the law, since Elijah did not feed upon them, but was fed by them; and supposing any uncleanness by touch, the ceremonial law might be dispensed with in an extraordinary case, as it sometimes was; though it is very remarkable that such creatures should be employed in this way, which are birds of prey, seize on anything they can, live on carrion, and neglect their own young, and yet feed a prophet of the Lord; which shows the power and providence of God in it. Something like this Jerom u relates, of a raven bringing a whole loaf of bread, and laying it before the saints, Paulus and Antonius.

s Bereshit Rabba, sect. 33. fol. 29. 1. t T. Bab. Cholin. fol. 5. 1. Menasseh Ben Israel Conciliat. in Lev. quaest. 3. u In Vita Paul Erem. fol. 82. C.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The ravens - This is the translation of most of the ancient versions; others, omitting the points, which are generally allowed to have no authority, read “Arabians;” others, retaining the present pointing, translate either “merchants” (compare the original of Ezekiel 27:9, Ezekiel 27:27), or “Orbites.” Jerome took it in this last sense, and so does the Arabic Version.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 17:4. I have commanded the ravens to feed thee — Thou shalt not lack the necessaries of life; thou shalt be supplied by an especial providence. See more on this subject at the end of the chapter. 1 Kings 17:24.