Verse Lens · Expanded explanation

1 Kings 17:18 Explained in Context

Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.

Selected verse

Verse 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?

King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions

Quick Meaning

This verse advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence: “And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “The widow's son dies and lives again.”

The son stops breathing, and the mother names fear and blame

This verse is one part of that explanation in 1 Kings 17:17–24. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.

Read It With

  • 1 Kings 17:17–24

Read 1 Kings 17:18 with 17:17–24. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Brings death into the preserved household when the widow's son stops breathing; has the widow recognize Elijah and the truth of the LORD's word through this restoration.

Why This Verse Appears Here

Within “The widow's son dies and lives again,” 1 Kings 17:18 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 1 Kings 17:8–16 establishes this prior movement: Introduces another divine instruction after Cherith fails; attributes the continuing flour and oil to the divine word spoken through Elijah. 1 Kings 17:17–24 reverses or redirects the preceding movement; that demonstrated relationship, rather than database adjacency alone, explains its placement.

Read 1 Kings 17:17–24 together

Why these verses belong together: The widow's son dies and lives again is the complete reviewed scene, prayer, oracle, list, or regnal notice bounded at 17:17–17:24.

Verse 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.

Verse 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?

Verse 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.

Verse 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?

Verse 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.

Verse 22. And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

Verse 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.

Verse 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.

Follow the Context

  1. Brings death into the preserved household when the widow's son stops breathing
  2. Has the widow recognize Elijah and the truth of the LORD's word through this restoration

What This Verse Is Not Saying

1 Kings 17:18 does not permit the wording “And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The unit does not blame a child or parent for illness or death, promise that every child will be healed, or turn grief and restored life into a technique, payment, or measure of faith.

What Remains True

Faithful care keeps bodily need, grief, danger, agency, and honest uncertainty visible rather than converting suffering into blame or a promised formula. This unit tests that truth through brings death into the preserved household when the widow's son stops breathing; has the widow recognize Elijah and the truth of the LORD's word through this restoration. In 1 Kings 17:18, the concrete line “And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.

Teach It Back

In 70–220 words, explain 1 Kings 17:18's role in 17:17–24. Paraphrase “And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art…,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.

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Continue in Context

Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.

Read 1 Kings 17:17–24 — The widow's son dies and lives again
Sources used for this Verse Lens

How certain is this explanation? probable

These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.

Exact location: 1 Kings 17:17–24, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Kings

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

Supports: Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, name, clause, and older-English checks; this is not a critical apparatus or historical proof.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 17:17–24

Open source ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible: 1 Kings with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2006

Supports: Only printed unit-level translation, lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and verse-numbering notes; silence is not evidence.

Exact location: NET Bible 1 Kings PDF, printed pp. 618–619, translation and translator notes for 17:17–24

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