1
Basi Eliya Mtishbi, wa wageni wa Gileadi, akamwambia Ahabu, Kama Bwana, Mungu wa Israeli, aishivyo, ambaye ninasimama mbele zake, hakutakuwa na umande wala mvua miaka hii, ila kwa neno langu.
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”
2
Neno la Bwana likamjia, kusema,
Then a revelation from the LORD came to Elijah:
3
Ondoka hapa, geuka, uende upande wa mashariki, ujifiche karibu na kijito cha Kerithi kinachokabili Yordani.
“Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan.
4
Itakuwa utakunywa maji ya kile kijito; nami nimewaamuru kunguru wakulishe huko.
And you are to drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
5
Basi akaenda akafanya kama alivyosema Bwana; kwa kuwa akaenda akakaa karibu na kijito cha Kerithi, kinachokabili Yordani.
So Elijah did what the LORD had told him, and he went and lived by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan.
6
Kunguru wakamletea mkate na nyama asubuhi, na mkate na nyama jioni, akanywa maji ya kile kijito.
The ravens would bring him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the brook.
7
Ikawa, baada ya siku kupita, kile kijito kikakatika, kwa sababu mvua haikunyesha katika nchi.
Some time later, however, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
8
Neno la Bwana likamjia, kusema,
Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah:
9
Ondoka, uende Sarepta, ulio mji wa Sidoni, ukae huko. Tazama, nimemwagiza mwanamke mjane wa huko akulishe.
“Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
10
Basi, akaondoka, akaenda Sarepta; hata alipofika langoni pa mji, kumbe! Mwanamke mjane alikuwako akiokota kuni; akamwita, akamwambia, Niletee, nakuomba, maji kidogo chomboni nipate kunywa.
So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink.”
11
Alipokuwa akienda kuleta, akamwita akasema, Niletee, nakuomba, kipande cha mkate mkononi mwako.
And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread.”
12
Naye akasema, Kama Bwana, Mungu wako, aishivyo, sina mkate, ila konzi ya unga katika pipa, na mafuta kidogo katika chupa; nami ninaokota kuni mbili ili niingie nijipikie nafsi yangu na mwanangu, tuule tukafe.
But 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.”
13
Eliya akamwambia, Usiogope; enenda ukafanye kama ulivyosema; lakini unifanyie kwanza mkate mdogo ukaniletee; kisha ujifanyie nafsi yako na mwanao.
“Do not be afraid,” Elijah said to her. “Go and do as you have said. But first make me a small cake of bread from what you have, and bring it out to me. Afterward, make some for yourself and your son,
14
Kwa kuwa Bwana, Mungu wa Israeli, asema hivi, Lile pipa la unga halitapunguka, wala ile chupa ya mafuta haitaisha, hata siku ile Bwana atakapoleta mvua juu ya nchi.
for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be exhausted and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain upon the face of the earth.’”
15
Basi akaenda, akafanya kama alivyosema Eliya; na yeye mwenyewe, na Eliya, na nyumba yake, wakala siku nyingi.
So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her household.
16
Lile pipa la unga halikupunguka, wala ile chupa ya mafuta haikuisha, sawasawa na neno la Bwana alilolinena kwa kinywa cha Eliya.
The jar of flour was not exhausted and the jug of oil did not run dry, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Elijah.
17
Ikawa, baada ya hayo, mwana wake yule mwanamke, bibi wa nyumba ile, akaugua; ugonjwa wake ukazidi hata akawa hana pumzi tena.
Later, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill, and his sickness grew worse and worse, until no breath remained in him.
18
Akamwambia Eliya, Nina nini nawe, Ee mtu wa Mungu? Je! Umenijia ili dhambi yangu ikumbukwe, ukamwue mwanangu?
“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?”
19
Akamwambia, Nipe mwanao. Akamtoa katika kifua chake, akamchukua juu chumbani mle alimokaa mwenyewe, akamlaza kitandani pake.
But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.
20
Akamwomba Bwana, akanena, Ee Bwana, Mungu wangu, je! Umemtenda mabaya mjane huyu ninayekaa kwake hata kumfisha mwanawe.
Then he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on this widow who has opened her home to me, by causing her son to die?”
21
Akajinyosha juu ya mtoto mara tatu, akamwomba Bwana, akanena, Ee Bwana, Mungu wangu, nakusihi, roho ya mtoto huyu imrudie ndani yake tena.
Then he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, please let this boy’s life return to him!”
22
Bwana akaisikia sauti ya Eliya; na roho ya mtoto ikamrudia, akafufuka.
And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah, and the child’s life returned to him, and he lived.
23
Eliya akamtwaa mtoto, akamchukua toka orofani mpaka chini ya nyumba ile, akampa mama yake. Eliya akanena, Tazama, mwanao yu hai.
Then Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. “Look, your son is alive,” Elijah declared.
24
Mwanamke akamwambia Eliya, Sasa najua ya kuwa wewe ndiwe mtu wa Mungu, na ya kuwa neno la Bwana kinywani mwako ni kweli.
Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is truth.”