1 Kings 17 · Verse 12

1 Kings 17:12

And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
1 Kings 17:12, King James Version

1 Kings 17:12 in other translations

BSBBut she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”
WEBShe said, “As the LORD your God lives, I don’t have anything baked, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jar. Behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
ASVAnd she said, As Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in the jar, and a little oil in the cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
YLTAnd she saith, ‘Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but the fulness of the hand of meal in a pitcher, and a little oil in a dish; and lo, I am gathering two sticks, and have gone in and prepared it for myself, and for my son, and we have eaten it--and died.'
DARBYAnd she said, As Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse; and behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
BBEThen she said, By the life of the Lord your God, I have nothing but a little meal in my store, and a drop of oil in the bottle; and now I am getting two sticks together so that I may go in and make it ready for me and my son, so that we may have a meal before our death.
WebsterAnd she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

What does 1 Kings 17:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 17:8-16

8-16. the word of the Lord came to him--Zarephath, Sarepta, now Surafend, whither he was directed to go, was far away on the western coast of Palestine, about nine miles south of Sidon, and within the dominions of Jezebel's impious father, where the famine also prevailed. Meeting, at his entrance into the town, the very woman who was appointed by divine providence to support him, his faith was severely tested by…

Read the full comment on 1 Kings 17:8-16 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 A handful of meal in a barrel - The word כד cad is to be understood as implying an earthen jar; not a wooden vessel, or barrel of any kind. In the East they preserve their corn and meal in such vessels; without which precaution the insects would destroy them. Travellers in Asiatic countries abound with observations of this kind. The word cruse, צפחת tsappachath, says Jarchi, signifies what in our tongue is expressed by bouteille, a bottle. Jarchi was a French rabbin.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Kings 17:8-16

Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, and some, it is likely, would have bidden him welcome to their houses; yet he is sent to honour and bless with his presence a city of Sidon, a Gentile city, and so becomes the first prophet of the Gentiles. Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet, to show her how powerless was her malice, God will find a hiding-place for him even in her own country. The person…

Read the full comment on 1 Kings 17:8-16 →

1 Kings 17:12 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַתֹּ֗אמֶרva.To.merand she saidH559
חַי\־chai-[by] [the] lifeH2416
יְהוָ֤הYah.wehof YahwehH3068
אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙'e.lo.Hei.khaGod yourH430
אִם\־'im-ifH518
יֶשׁ\־yesh-thereH3426
לִ֣יlito me
מָע֔וֹגma.'og[is] foodH4580
כִּ֣יkithatH3588
אִם\־'im-exceptH518
מְלֹ֤אme.Lo'[the] fullness ofH4393
כַף\־khaf-a palm ofH3709
קֶ֙מַח֙ke.machflourH7058
בַּכַּ֔דba.Kadin <the> jarH3537
וּמְעַט\־u.me.'at-and a little ofH4592
שֶׁ֖מֶןShe.menoilH8081
בַּצַּפָּ֑חַתba.tza.Pa.chatin <the> jugH6835
וְהִנְנִ֨יve.hi.Niand here IH2005
מְקֹשֶׁ֜שֶׁתme.ko.She.shet[am] gatheringH7197
שְׁנַ֣יִםshe.Na.yimtwoH8147
עֵצִ֗ים'e.Tzimwood<s>H6086
וּבָ֙אתִי֙u.Va.tiand I will goH935
וַעֲשִׂיתִ֙יהוּ֙va.'a.si.Ti.huand I will prepare itH6213
לִ֣יlifor myself
וְלִבְנִ֔יve.liv.Niand for son myH1121
וַאֲכַלְנֻ֖הוּva.'a.khal.Nu.huand we will eat itH398
וָמָֽתְנוּ\׃va.Ma.te.nuand we will dieH4191

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Kings 17:12

  • Matthew 15:33-34

    And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.

  • 1 Kings 17:1

    And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

  • 2 Kings 4:2-7

    And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. …

  • Genesis 21:16

    And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.

  • Ezekiel 12:18-19

    Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness; And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord God of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein.

  • 1 Samuel 26:10

    David said furthermore, As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.

  • 1 Samuel 14:45

    And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.

  • Jeremiah 4:2

    And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

  • Jeremiah 5:2

    And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely.

  • 1 Samuel 14:39

    For, as the Lord liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him.

  • Joel 1:15-16

    Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?

  • Lamentations 4:9

    They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
As the Lord.
1; 1Sa 14:39,45; 20:3,21; 25:26; 26:10; 2Sa 15:21; Jer 4:2; 5:2
but an handful.
2Ki 4:2-7; Mt 15:33,34
that we may eat it.
Ge 21:16; Jer 14:18; La 4:9; Eze 12:18,19; Joe 1:15,16

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Kings 17:11

    And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

  • 1 Kings 17:12

    And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

  • 1 Kings 17:13

    And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

Read all of 1 Kings 17

1 Kings 17:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y ella respondió: Vive Jehová Dios tuyo, que no tengo pan cocido; que solamente un puñado de harina tengo en la tinaja, y un poco de aceite en una botija: y ahora cogía dos serojas, para entrarme y aderezarlo para mí y para mi hijo, y que lo comamos, y nos muramos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et elle dit: L’ Éternel ton Dieu est vivant, que je n’ai pas un morceau de pain cuit, rien qu’une poignée de farine dans un pot, et un peu d’huile dans une cruche; et voici, je ramasse deux bûchettes, afin que j’entre, et que je prépare cela pour moi et pour mon fils; puis nous le mangerons et nous mourrons.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und sie sprach: So wahr Jehova, dein Gott lebt, wenn ich einen Kuchen habe außer einer Handvoll Mehl im Topfe und ein wenig Öl im Kruge! und siehe, ich lese ein paar Holzstücke auf und will hineingehen und es mir und meinem Sohne bereiten, daß wir es essen und dann sterben.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Quæ respondit: Vivit Dominus Deus tuus, quia non habeo panem, nisi quantum pugillus capere potest farinæ in hydria, et paululum olei in lecytho: en colligo duo ligna ut ingrediar et faciam illum mihi et filio meo, ut comedamus, et moriamur.