TRV
Translation
King James Version
And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?
Complete Jewish Bible
She said to Eliyahu, "What do you have against me, you man of God? Did you come to me just to remind me how sinful I am by killing my son?"
Berean Standard Bible
“O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”
American Standard Version
And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? thou art come unto me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son!
World English Bible Messianic
She said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, you man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to memory, and to kill my son!”
Geneva Bible (1599)
And she said vnto Eliiah, What haue I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come vnto me to call my sinne to remembrance, and to slay my sonne?
Young's Literal Translation
And she saith unto Elijah, `What--to me and to thee, O man of God? thou hast come unto me to cause mine iniquity to be remembered, and to put my son to death!'
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In the KJVVerse 9,336 of 31,102
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Commentary on 1 Kings 17 verses 17–24
17 ¶ And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.
18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?
19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.
20 And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?
21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.
22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.
24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.
We have here a further recompence made to the widow for her kindness to the prophet; as if it were a small thing to be kept alive, her son, when dead, is restored to life, and so restored to her. Observe,
I. The sickness and death of the child. For aught that appears he was her only son, the comfort of her widowed estate. He was fed miraculously, and yet that did not secure him from sickness and death. Your fathers did eat manna, and are dead, but there is bread of which a man may eat and not die, which was given for the life of the world, Joh 6:49, Joh 6:50. The affliction was to this widow as a thorn in the flesh, lest she should be lifted up above measure with the favours that were done her and the honours that were put upon her. 1. She was nurse to a great prophet, was employed to sustain him, and had strong reason to think the Lord would do her good; yet now she loses her child. Note, We must not think it strange if we meet with very sharp afflictions, even when we are in the way of duty, and of eminent service to God. 2. She was herself nursed by miracle, and kept a good house without charge or care, by a distinguishing blessing from heaven; and in the midst of all this satisfaction she was thus afflicted. Note, When we have the clearest manifestations of God's favour and good-will towards us, even then we must prepare for the rebukes of Providence. Our mountain never stands so strong but it may be moved, and therefore, in this world, we must always rejoice with trembling.
II. Her pathetic complaint to the prophet of this affliction. It should seem, the child died suddenly, else she would have applied to Elijah, while he was sick, for the cure of him; but being dead, dead in her bosom, she expostulates with the prophet upon it, rather to give vent to her sorrow than in any hope of relief, Kg1 17:18. 1. She expresses herself passionately: What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? How calmly had she spoken of her own and her child's death when she expected to die for want (Kg1 17:12) - that we may eat, and die! Yet now that her child dies, and not so miserably as by famine, she is extremely disturbed at it. We may speak lightly of an affliction at a distance, but when it toucheth us we are troubled, Job 4:5. Then she spoke deliberately, now in haste; the death of her child was now a surprise to her, and it is hard to keep our spirits composed when troubles come upon us suddenly and unexpectedly, and in the midst of our peace and prosperity. She calls him a man of God, and yet quarrels with him as if he had occasioned the death of her child, and is ready to which she had never seen him, forgetting past mercies and miracles: "What have I done against thee?" (so some understand it), "Wherein have I offended thee, or been wanting in my duty? Show me wherefore thou contendest with me." 2. Yet she expresses herself penitently: "Hast thou come to call my sin to thy remembrance, as the cause of the affliction, and so to call it to my remembrance, as the effect of the affliction?" Perhaps she knew of Elijah's intercession against Israel, and, being conscious to herself of sin, perhaps her former worshipping of Baal the god of the Sidonians, she apprehends he had made intercession against her. Note, (1.) When God removes our comforts from use he remembers our sins against us, perhaps the iniquities of our youth, though long since past, Job 13:26. Our sins are the death of our children. (2.) When God thus remembers our sins against us he designs thereby to make us remember them against ourselves and repent of them.
III. The prophet's address to God upon this occasion. He gave no answer to her expostulation, but brought it to God, and laid the case before him, not knowing what to say to it himself. He took the dead child from the mother's bosom to his own bed, Kg1 17:19. Probably he had taken a particular kindness to the child, and found the affliction his own more than by sympathy. He retired to his chamber, and, 1. He humbly reasons with God concerning the death of the child, Kg1 17:20. He sees death striking by commission from God: Thou hast brought this evil for is there any evil of this kind in the city, in the family, and the Lord has not done it? He pleads the greatness of the affliction to the poor mother: "It is evil upon the widow; thou art the widow's God, and dost not usually bring evil upon widows; it is affliction added to the afflicted." He pleads his own concern: "It is the widow with whom I sojourn; wilt thou, that art my God, bring evil upon one of the best of my benefactors? I shall be reflected upon, and others will be afraid of entertaining me, if I bring death into the house where I come." 2. He earnestly begs of God to restore the child to life again, Kg1 17:21. We do not read before this of any that were raised to life; yet Elijah, by a divine impulse, prays for the resurrection of this child, which yet will not warrant us to do the like. David expected not, by fasting and prayer, to bring his child back to life (Sa2 12:23), but Elijah had a power to work miracles, which David had not. He stretched himself upon the child, to affect himself with the case and to show how much he was affected with it and how desirous he was of the restoration of the child - he would if he could put life into him by his own breath and warmth; also to give a sign of what God would do by his power, and what he does by his grace, in raising dead souls to a spiritual life; the Holy Ghost comes upon them, overshadows them, and puts life into them. He is very particular in his prayer: I pray thee let this child's soul come into him again, which plainly supposes the existence of the soul in a state of separation from the body, and consequently its immortality, which Grotius thinks God designed by this miracle to give intimation and evidence of, for the encouragement of his suffering people.
IV. The resurrection of the child, and the great satisfaction it gave to the mother: the child revived, Kg1 17:22. See the power of prayer and the power of him that hears prayer, who kills and makes alive. Elijah brought him to his mother, who, we may suppose, could scarcely believe her own eyes, and therefore Elijah assures her it is her own: "It is thy son that liveth; see it is thy own, and not another," Kg1 17:23. The good woman hereupon cries out, Now I know that thou art a man of God; though she knew it before, by the increase of her meal, yet the death of her child she took so unkindly that she began to question it (a good man surely would not serve her so); but now she was abundantly satisfied that he had both the power and goodness of a man of God, and will never doubt of it again, but give up herself to the direction of his word and the worship of the God of Israel. Thus the death of the child (like that of Lazarus, Joh 11:4) was for the glory of God and the honour of his prophet.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 17–24. Public domain.
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Ephrem the SyrianAD 373
ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 17:2
Observe carefully the tears of that woman, and see her humility in her grief, because she does not at all blame the judgment of God or rise against the prophet. In the humility of her intellect, she recognizes that that sentence struck her because of her guilt, and she says to the prophet, “You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance.”
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
The widow of Zarephath, overwhelmed by the sudden and tragic death of her son, confronts the prophet Elijah with a desperate and accusatory lament. Her words reveal a profound grief intertwined with a deeply held belief that the presence of the holy "man of God" has exposed her hidden sins, thereby provoking divine judgment that resulted in her son's demise. This poignant moment captures the raw human tendency to seek immediate causes for suffering, often linking it to personal unworthiness or divine retribution, setting the stage for God's surprising demonstration of life-giving power.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse is rich in Dialogue, capturing the raw, emotional outburst of the grieving widow directly to Elijah. This direct speech immediately immerses the reader in the drama and her profound distress. A prominent device is Dramatic Irony, as the audience knows Elijah is an agent of God's provision and life, not judgment, yet the widow tragically misinterprets his presence and purpose. Her accusation serves as a powerful setup for the subsequent miraculous display of God's life-giving power. The phrase "What have I to do with thee?" functions as an Idiom, conveying a deep sense of separation and antagonism, highlighting her perception of Elijah as an unwelcome, judgmental force. Her words also embody Lament and Accusation, expressing profound sorrow and directly blaming Elijah (and by extension, God) for her son's death, rooted in a common ancient belief linking suffering to sin.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This verse profoundly illustrates the ancient human tendency to interpret suffering, particularly the death of a child, as direct divine punishment for sin. The widow's immediate assumption that Elijah's presence has "called her sin to remembrance" and resulted in her son's death reflects a widespread theological framework, prevalent even in Israel, that often linked calamity directly to specific moral failings. This perspective, while containing an element of truth regarding the consequences of sin, often oversimplified God's complex interaction with human suffering, failing to account for His sovereign purposes beyond immediate retribution or His redemptive power to overcome death. It sets the stage for God to demonstrate His power not in judgment, but in life-giving grace, challenging simplistic notions of divine causality in suffering.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The widow's desperate cry resonates deeply with the universal human experience of grief and the profound search for meaning in suffering. When tragedy strikes, it is a natural, albeit often misguided, impulse to assign blame, whether to ourselves, others, or even God. Her assumption that Elijah's holiness brought judgment upon her highlights our innate tendency to view God primarily through the lens of retribution, especially when we feel exposed or unworthy. This passage challenges us to examine our own theology of suffering: Do we immediately connect every misfortune to personal sin, overlooking God's broader redemptive purposes and His capacity for grace? Do we misinterpret the presence of God's messengers or His Spirit as a source of condemnation rather than a catalyst for healing and restoration? The narrative encourages us to cultivate a deeper trust in God's character, recognizing that even in the face of death, He is the God of life, and His ultimate desire is not to "slay our sons" but to bring life and restoration. It calls us to lament honestly, but also to wait expectantly for God's surprising work, even when circumstances seem to point only to despair and judgment.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did the widow immediately assume her son's death was due to her sin being "called to remembrance"?
Answer: The widow's assumption reflects a common ancient Near Eastern and even Israelite understanding that severe illness and death, especially of a child, were often direct divine punishments for sin. In her cultural context, the presence of a holy "man of God" like Elijah was believed to intensify God's presence, making any hidden sin apparent and potentially triggering divine judgment. She likely felt her unworthiness was exposed by his holiness, leading her to conclude that God had "remembered" her transgressions and exacted a penalty through her son's death. This was a prevalent, though often simplistic, theological framework for understanding suffering, particularly before the fuller revelation of God's character and purposes in the New Testament.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The widow's desperate cry in 1 Kings 17:18 foreshadows the ultimate revelation of God's power over sin and death in Jesus Christ. While the widow feared Elijah's presence would "call her sin to remembrance" for judgment, Jesus, the true "man of God," came not to condemn the world but to save it (John 3:17). He is the one who truly takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), not by calling it to remembrance for punishment, but by bearing it himself on the cross, offering forgiveness and reconciliation. Furthermore, Jesus demonstrated ultimate authority over death, raising the dead not once but multiple times, including the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:35-43), the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17), and his friend Lazarus (John 11:38-44). These acts, culminating in His own resurrection, reveal Him as the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25), fulfilling the promise of life that Elijah's miracle only hinted at, and offering eternal life to all who believe, freeing them from the fear that sin leads inevitably to death and judgment.