1 Kings 17:4
New International Version
You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.”

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

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

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

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

NASB 1995
“It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.”

NASB 1977
“And it shall be that you shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you 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.”

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

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

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

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And you are to drink from the torrent, and I have commanded the ravens that they will nourish you there.”

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

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

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

GOD'S WORD® Translation
You can drink from the stream, and I've commanded 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."

International Standard Version
You will be able to drink from that brook, and I've commanded some crows to sustain you there."

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

Literal Standard Version
and it has been [that] you drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to sustain you there.”

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

New American Bible
You shall drink of the wadi, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there.

NET Bible
Drink from the stream; I have already told the ravens to bring you food there."

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

New Heart English Bible
And it shall be that you will drink from the wadi. 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
You shall drink from the brook. I have commanded the ravens to feed you 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.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Ravens Feed Elijah
3“Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. 4And you are to drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5So Elijah did what the LORD had told him, and he went and lived by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan.…

Cross References
1 Kings 17:3
"Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan.

1 Kings 17:5
So Elijah did what the LORD had told him, and he went and lived by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan.

1 Kings 17:9
"Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."


Treasury of Scripture

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

I have commanded

1 Kings 17:9
Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

1 Kings 19:5-8
And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat…

Numbers 20:8
Take 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.

Jump to Previous
Brook Commanded Drink Feed Food Ordered Orders Provide Ravens Stream Sustain Torrent Water
Jump to Next
Brook Commanded Drink Feed Food Ordered Orders Provide Ravens Stream Sustain Torrent Water
1 Kings 17
1. Elijah, having prophesied against Ahab,
3. is sent to Cherith where the ravens feed him.
8. He is sent to the widow of Zarephath
17. He raises the widow's son
24. The woman believes him














(4) The ravens.--Of the accuracy of this rendering, which is that of almost all the ancient versions and of Josephus, there can be little doubt. The singularly prosaic interpretations, substituted for this striking and significant record of miracle by some ancient and modern writers (adopting slight variations of the Hebrew vowel points)--such as "Arabs," "merchants," "inhabitants of a city Orbi or the rock Oreb"--seem to have arisen simply from a desire to get rid of what seemed a strange miracle, at the cost (be it observed) of substituting for it a gross improbability; for how can it be supposed that such regular sustenance by human hands of the persecuted prophet could have gone on in the face of the jealous vigilance of the king? But it is idle to seek to explain away one wonder in a life and an epoch teeming with miracles. It is notable, indeed, that the critical period of the great Baal apostasy, and of the struggle of Elijah and Elisha against it, is the second great epoch of recorded miracle in the Old Testament--the still more critical epoch of Moses and Joshua being the first. It is hardly less idle to determine that this or that miracle is so improbable, as to introduce any difficulty of acceptance which does not apply to miracles in general.

Verse 4. - And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook [There was clearly nothing miraculous about the supply of water. No miracle was wrought even to continue the supply, ver. 7]; and I have commanded [cf. ver. 9; Isaiah 5:6; Amos 9:3, etc.] the ravens to feed thee there. [Despite the general agreement of scholars that by ערבים we must understand "ravens," I think probability favours the meaning Orbites, i.e., inhabitants of Orbo. In support of the received rendering is the very powerful consideration, that it is the interpretation of all the versions (except the Arabic) and of Josephus, who, beyond all question, represented the belief current in his own time (Ant. 8:13. 2). It is also certain that elsewhere in Scripture we find some of the inferior animals supernaturally constrained to effect God's purposes, both of mercy and of judgment (1 Kings 13:24; 2 Kings 2:24; Daniel 6:22; 2 Peter 2:16), though never it must be said, in so rational and methodical a way. Nor can it rightly be contended that the words "I have commanded," צִוִתִי, imply human agency, for elsewhere we find the Almighty commanding (same word) the serpent (Amos 9:3) and the clouds (Isaiah 5:6; Psalm 78:23). It is not, however, a sufficient account of this narrative to say that the prophet merely helped himself to the food which the ravens, whose habitat was in the Wady Cherith, brought, day by day, to their nests and their young. For, not to insist on the words, מְבִיאִים לו bringing to him (ver. 6), the expressions '" bread (or food, לֶחֶם) and flesh," and "morning and evening" certainly point to something more than such a fortuitous supply. Whether the Orebim were "ravens" or not, they certainly acted in an intelligent and rational way: they brought food, that is to say, to the prophet, and they brought it for months together with unfailing regularity. But against this view the following considerations may be urged.

1. It is hardly in accord with God's usual way of working, that he should employ birds of the air and those unclean (Leviticus 11:15; Deuteronomy 14:14) and ravenous birds, to feed and succour His saints, rather than men or angels. Of course, no one who does not altogether repudiate the supernatural will deny for a moment that the Almighty could, had it seemed good to Him, have sustained His prophet by the instrumentality of ravens, just as easily as by any other means. But it appears to be almost a fixed principle of His dealings with men, not to resort to miracles when ordinary means will suffice; or if He does employ miracles, they are never bizarre or fantastic; they are not such as to suggest the idea of fable or legend; they are invariably the simplest and directest means to the end. And it is submitted that this prolonged and methodical ministry of ravens is altogether unlike God's method of procedure on other occasions. It was an angel succoured Hagar and Ishmael in their need (Genesis 16:7). It was an angel fed Elijah himself, a few years later (1 Kings 19:5, 6). They were angels who ministered to our blessed Lord after His long fast (Matthew 4:11). But God's,' chief means," it is always to be remembered, "is man." And it is to be carefully observed that when, about this very time, not one, but one hundred prophets were threatened, just as Elijah was, with death, no miracle was wrought to save their lives or to supply their wants, but they were fed by human agency, with bread and water (1 Kings 18:13). But it is still more significant that elsewhere in this narrative, which is characterized by the profoundest sobriety and reticence, there is what we may almost call a studied absence of the miraculous element. No miracle is wrought to protect Elijah against Jezebel, but he must consult for his own safety by flight. He is sent to the brook Cherith, because there is water there; in other words, God chose that hiding place in order to obviate the necessity for a miracle. And when the water of the brook dries up, no miracle is wrought to prolong the supply, but the prophet, at the risk of detection, must go forth and seek it elsewhere. And at Zarephath he is fed, not by ravens, but by human agency - by a widow woman. It is true a miracle appears to have been wrought, but the narrative has so little idea of effect and gives so little prominence to the supernatural that even that is doubted. To put the interpretation of "ravens," consequently, on the word ערבים, provided it will yield any other meaning, appears to be to do violence to the spirit of the context, and to the tenour of Scripture generally.

2. It is somewhat difficult to believe that such a prodigy as this, so altogether unique and irregular, would not have been mentioned, had it really happened, elsewhere in Scripture. The absence of all reference thereto is remarkable, when we consider how constantly the ministry of Elijah and its lessons (Luke 4:25, 26; Luke 9:54; James 5:17; Revelation 11:5, 6) are referred to in the New Testament; but when we observe what an admirable and unequalled illustration of God's providential care this incident would have supplied to some of our Lord's discourses, and notably to that of Luke 12:22 sqq., this silence becomes almost suspicious.

3. Despite the practical unanimity of the versions, the interpretation "ravens" has been disputed from very early times. St. Jerome among Christians, Rabbi Judah Hakkodesh and Kimchi amongst Jews - these are but some of those who have repudiated this rendering. . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
And
וְהָיָ֖ה (wə·hā·yāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

you are to drink
תִּשְׁתֶּ֑ה (tiš·teh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 8354: To imbibe

from the brook,
מֵהַנַּ֣חַל (mê·han·na·ḥal)
Preposition-m, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5158: A stream, a winter torrent, a, valley, a shaft

and I have commanded
צִוִּ֔יתִי (ṣiw·wî·ṯî)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 6680: To lay charge (upon), give charge (to), command, order

the ravens
הָעֹרְבִ֣ים (hā·‘ō·rə·ḇîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 6158: A raven

to feed you
לְכַלְכֶּלְךָ֖ (lə·ḵal·kel·ḵā)
Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 3557: To keep in, to measure, to maintain

there.”
שָֽׁם׃ (šām)
Adverb
Strong's 8033: There, then, thither


Links
1 Kings 17:4 NIV
1 Kings 17:4 NLT
1 Kings 17:4 ESV
1 Kings 17:4 NASB
1 Kings 17:4 KJV

1 Kings 17:4 BibleApps.com
1 Kings 17:4 Biblia Paralela
1 Kings 17:4 Chinese Bible
1 Kings 17:4 French Bible
1 Kings 17:4 Catholic Bible

OT History: 1 Kings 17:4 It shall be that you shall drink (1Ki iKi i Ki 1 Kg 1kg)
1 Kings 17:3
Top of Page
Top of Page