1 KINGS 17

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Elijah Predicts a Drought  17:1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. The Widow of Zarephath8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 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. Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” 19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. 20 And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” 22 And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” 24 And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

PSALM 128

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Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the LordA Song of Ascents.
128:1

Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,

who walks in his ways! 2

You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;

you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
3

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

within your house;

your children will be like olive shoots

around your table. 4

Behold, thus shall the man be blessed

who fears the Lord.
5

The Lord bless you from Zion!

May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem

all the days of your life! 6

May you see your children’s children!

Peace be upon Israel!

PSALM 129

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They Have Afflicted Me from My YouthA Song of Ascents.
129:1

“Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth”—

let Israel now say— 2

“Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,

yet they have not prevailed against me. 3

The plowers plowed upon my back;

they made long their furrows.” 4

The Lord is righteous;

he has cut the cords of the wicked. 5

May all who hate Zion

be put to shame and turned backward! 6

Let them be like the grass on the housetops,

which withers before it grows up, 7

with which the reaper does not fill his hand

nor the binder of sheaves his arms, 8

nor do those who pass by say,

“The blessing of the Lord be upon you!

We bless you in the name of the Lord!”

PROVERBS 6

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Practical Warnings6:1

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,

have given your pledge for a stranger, 2

if you are snared in the words of your mouth,

caught in the words of your mouth, 3

then do this, my son, and save yourself,

for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:

go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. 4

Give your eyes no sleep

and your eyelids no slumber; 5

save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,

like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6

Go to the ant, O sluggard;

consider her ways, and be wise. 7

Without having any chief,

officer, or ruler, 8

she prepares her bread in summer

and gathers her food in harvest. 9

How long will you lie there, O sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep? 10

A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest, 11

and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and want like an armed man.
12

A worthless person, a wicked man,

goes about with crooked speech, 13

winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,

points with his finger, 14

with perverted heart devises evil,

continually sowing discord; 15

therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;

in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.
16

There are six things that the Lord hates,

seven that are an abomination to him: 17

haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

and hands that shed innocent blood, 18

a heart that devises wicked plans,

feet that make haste to run to evil, 19

a false witness who breathes out lies,

and one who sows discord among brothers. Warnings Against Adultery20

My son, keep your father’s commandment,

and forsake not your mother’s teaching. 21

Bind them on your heart always;

tie them around your neck. 22

When you walk, they will lead you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

and when you awake, they will talk with you. 23

For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,

and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, 24

to preserve you from the evil woman,

from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. 25

Do not desire her beauty in your heart,

and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; 26

for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,

but a married woman hunts down a precious life. 27

Can a man carry fire next to his chest

and his clothes not be burned? 28

Or can one walk on hot coals

and his feet not be scorched? 29

So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;

none who touches her will go unpunished. 30

People do not despise a thief if he steals

to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, 31

but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold;

he will give all the goods of his house. 32

He who commits adultery lacks sense;

he who does it destroys himself. 33

He will get wounds and dishonor,

and his disgrace will not be wiped away. 34

For jealousy makes a man furious,

and he will not spare when he takes revenge. 35

He will accept no compensation;

he will refuse though you multiply gifts.