1 Kings 17:6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

◄ 1 Kings 17:6 ►

Parallel Verses

New International Version
The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

English Standard Version
And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

New American Standard Bible
The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook.

King James Bible
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and he drank from the wadi.

International Standard Version
Crows would bring him bread and meat both in the morning and in the evening, and he would drink from the brook.

American Standard Version
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of tile torrent.

Darby Bible Translation
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the torrent.

Young's Literal Translation
and the ravens are bringing to him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and of the brook he drinketh.

Commentaries

Matthew Henry's Commentary

17:1-7 God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased with the idolaters, and would chastise them by the want of rain, which it was not in the power of the gods they served to bestow. Elijah was commanded to hide himself. If Providence calls us to solitude and retirement, it becomes us to go: when we cannot be useful, we must be patient; and when we cannot work for God, we must sit still quietly for him. The ravens were appointed to bring him meat, and did so. Let those who have but from hand to mouth, learn to live upon Providence, and trust it for the bread of the day, in the day. God could have sent angels to minister to him; but he chose to show that he can serve his own purposes by the meanest creatures, as effectually as by the mightiest. Elijah seems to have continued thus above a year. The natural supply of water, which came by common providence, failed; but the miraculous supply of food, made sure to him by promise, failed not. If the heavens fail, the earth fails of course; such are all our creature-comforts: we lose them when we most need them, like brooks in summer. But there is a river which makes glad the city of God, that never runs dry, a well of water that springs up to eternal life. Lord, give us that living water!

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

6. the ravens brought him bread—The idea of such unclean and voracious birds being employed to feed the prophet has appeared to many so strange that they have labored to make out the Orebim, which in our version has been rendered "ravens," to be as the word is used (in Eze 27:27) "merchants"; or Arabians (2Ch 21:16; Ne 4:7); or, the citizens of Arabah, near Beth-shan (Jos 15:6; 18:18). But the common rendering is, in our opinion, preferable to these conjectures. And, if Elijah was miraculously fed by ravens, it is idle to inquire where they found the bread and the flesh, for God would direct them. After the lapse of a year, the brook dried up, and this was a new trial to Elijah's faith.