1 Kings 17:21 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!"

◄ 1 Kings 17:21 ►

New International Version
Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the LORD, “LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

New Living Translation
And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, please let this child’s life return to him.”

English Standard Version
Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this child’s life come into him again.”

Berean Standard Bible
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!”

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.”

New American Standard Bible
Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times, and called to the LORD and said, “LORD, my God, please, let this boy’s life return to him.”

NASB 1995
Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return to him.”

NASB 1977
Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the LORD, and said, “O LORD my God, I pray Thee, let this child’s life return to him.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to Yahweh and said, “O Yahweh my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return to him.”

Amplified Bible
Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times, and called to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, please let this child’s life return to him.”

Christian Standard Bible
Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times. He cried out to the LORD and said, “LORD my God, please let this boy’s life come into him again! ”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times. He cried out to the LORD and said, “My LORD God, please let this boy’s life return to him!”

American Standard Version
And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto Jehovah, and said, O Jehovah my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.

Contemporary English Version
Elijah stretched himself out over the boy three times, while praying, "LORD God, bring this boy back to life!"

English Revised Version
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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then Elijah stretched himself over the boy three times and called to the LORD, "LORD my God, please make this child's life return to him."

Good News Translation
Then Elijah stretched himself out on the boy three times and prayed, "O LORD my God, restore this child to life!"

International Standard Version
Then he stretched himself three times and cried out to the LORD, "LORD my God, please cause the soul of this little boy to return to him."

Majority Standard Bible
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!”

NET Bible
He stretched out over the boy three times and called out to the LORD, "O LORD, my God, please let this boy's breath return to him."

New Heart English Bible
And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called out to the LORD, and said, "LORD my God, please let this child's soul come into him again."

Webster's Bible Translation
And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried to the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.

World English Bible
He stretched himself on the child three times, and cried to Yahweh and said, “Yahweh my God, please let this child’s soul come into him again.”

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
And he stretches himself out on the boy three times, and calls to YHWH and says, “O YHWH my God, please let the soul of this boy return into his midst”;

Young's Literal Translation
And he stretcheth himself out on the lad three times, and calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, 'O Jehovah my God, let turn back, I pray Thee, the soul of this lad into his midst;'

Smith's Literal Translation
And he will measure upon the child three times, and he will call to Jehovah, and say, Jehovah my God wilt thou turn back now the soul of this child within his inner part?

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he stretched, and measured himself upon the child three times, and cried to the Lord, and said: 0 Lord my God, let the soul of this child, I beseech thee, return into his body.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And he stretched himself out beside the boy three times. And he cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord, my God, let the soul of this boy, I beg you, return to his body.”

New American Bible
Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and he called out to the LORD: “LORD, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child.”

New Revised Standard Version
Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this child’s life come into him again.”

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
Then he stretched himself upon the boy three times and cried to the LORD and said, O LORD my God, let this boy's soul return to him again.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And he was stretched out on the boy three times, and he called LORD JEHOVAH and said: “LORD JEHOVAH my God, let the soul of this boy return within him!”

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
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 back into him.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And he breathed on the child thrice, and called on the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, let, I pray thee, the soul of this child return to him.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Elijah Raises the Widow's Son
…20Then 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?” 21Then 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!” 22And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah, and the child’s life returned to him, and he lived.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

2 Kings 4:32-35
When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his bed. / So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD. / Then Elisha got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eye to eye, and hand to hand. As he stretched himself out over him, the boy’s body became warm. ...

Acts 9:40-41
Then Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down and prayed, and turning toward her body, he said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. / Peter took her by the hand and helped her up. Then he called the saints and widows and presented her to them alive.

Luke 7:14-15
Then He went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. “Young man,” He said, “I tell you, get up!” / And the dead man sat up and began to speak! Then Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Mark 5:41-42
Taking her by the hand, Jesus said, “Talitha koum!” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” / Immediately the girl got up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). And at once they were utterly astounded.

John 11:43-44
After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” / The man who had been dead came out with his hands and feet bound in strips of linen, and his face wrapped in a cloth. “Unwrap him and let him go,” Jesus told them.

Hebrews 11:35
Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

Matthew 9:25
After the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.

2 Kings 13:21
Once, as the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders, so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. And as soon as his body touched the bones of Elisha, the man was revived and stood up on his feet.

Genesis 22:9-12
When they arrived at the place God had designated, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, atop the wood. / Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. / Just then the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. ...

James 5:17-18
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. / Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops.

1 Samuel 1:27
I prayed for this boy, and since the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him,

Job 33:23-26
Yet if there is a messenger on his side, one mediator in a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him, / to be gracious to him and say, ‘Spare him from going down to the Pit; I have found his ransom,’ / then his flesh is refreshed like a child’s; he returns to the days of his youth. ...

Psalm 30:2-3
O LORD my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me. / O LORD, You pulled me up from Sheol; You spared me from descending into the Pit.

Isaiah 38:1-5
In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’” / Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, / saying, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. ...

Jeremiah 32:17
“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!

Treasury of Scripture

And he stretched himself on the child three times, and cried to the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray you, let this child's soul come into him again.

2 Kings 4:33-35
He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD…

Acts 10:10
And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,

O Lord my God.

Acts 9:40
But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

Hebrews 11:19
Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

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1 Kings 17

1. Elijah, having prophesied against Ahab,
3. is sent to Cherith where the ravens feed him.
8. He is sent to the widow of Zarephath
17. He raises the widow's son
24. The woman believes him

Berean Study Bible

Then he stretched himself out over the child
This phrase describes the prophet Elijah's physical action, which is both symbolic and significant. The Hebrew word for "stretched" is "madad," which implies an act of measuring or extending oneself. This act of stretching over the child can be seen as a representation of Elijah's deep empathy and identification with the child's plight. In the ancient Near Eastern context, such physical acts were often seen as a means of transferring life or invoking divine intervention. Elijah's action here is a profound demonstration of faith and a precursor to the miracles of Jesus, who also performed acts of healing through touch.

three times
The number three in the Bible often signifies completeness or divine perfection. In this context, Elijah's repetition of the act three times underscores his persistence in prayer and his unwavering faith in God's power to restore life. The use of "three" can also be seen as a foreshadowing of the resurrection of Christ, who rose on the third day, symbolizing victory over death and the completeness of God's redemptive plan.

and cried out to the LORD
The phrase "cried out" is translated from the Hebrew word "qara," which means to call out or proclaim. This is not a mere whisper or silent prayer; it is a fervent, passionate plea to God. Elijah's cry to the LORD reflects the intensity of his faith and his reliance on God's power. In the historical context, prophets often served as intermediaries between God and the people, and Elijah's cry is a testament to his role as a faithful servant who trusts in God's ability to perform miracles.

'O LORD my God
This invocation is deeply personal and reverent. The use of "O LORD" (Yahweh) signifies a direct appeal to the covenant-keeping God of Israel. By saying "my God," Elijah expresses a personal relationship with the Almighty, highlighting the intimacy and trust he has in God's character and promises. This phrase is a reminder of the personal nature of faith and the importance of a direct, personal relationship with God.

please let this boy’s life return to him!
Elijah's request is straightforward yet profound. The Hebrew word for "life" is "nephesh," which can also mean soul or breath. Elijah is asking for the restoration of the boy's very essence, his life force. This plea is a powerful reminder of God's sovereignty over life and death. In the broader scriptural context, it points to the hope of resurrection and the belief in God's power to restore and renew. Elijah's prayer is an act of faith that anticipates the ultimate resurrection through Christ, who is the source of eternal life.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(21) He stretched himself upon the child.--To suppose that this implies merely the use of some natural means of reviving the dead, is simply to explain the whole description away. The idea in this passage (as in 2Kings 4:34; 2Kings 13:21, and, perhaps, Acts 20:10) clearly is of a certain healing "virtue," attaching in measure to the person of the prophets, as without measure it belonged to our Lord Himself (Luke 8:45-46). But it is to be noted that in the case of the prophet, the power to heal or raise up is made distinctly conditional on prayer, "the Lord heard the voice of Elijah."

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 21. -And he stretched himself [marg. measured himself, but Gesenius holds that stretch out is the primary meaning of the root] upon the child [cf. 2 Kings 4:34. The commentators are again at variance as to whether these words imply the use of natural means or not. Those who hold that the child was dead naturally adopt the negative, and some (Keil, Rawlinson, al.) compare with it the action of our Lord in the case of the blind, deaf and dumb (Matthew 9:35; Luke 7:14; John 9:6, 7). But surely the circumstances and the purpose alike, in these latter cases, were entirely different. The object of the touch, of anointing the eyes, etc., in these cases of healing, appears to have been to awaken a sufficient faith - without which "He could do no miracle" (Matthew 13:58) - in men whose infirmities of blindness, deafness, etc., prevented their attaining faith through the ordinary channels of seeing and hearing the merciful and gracious Son of man. But here the child, if not dead, was senseless. We are driven, therefore, to the belief that the prophet "used rational means for warming and revivifying" the child, "not with the hope that of themselves they would prove effectual, but in the sure confidence that God, in answer to his weeping supplication, would impart supernatural force to the natural human agencies," Bahr] three times [Not only in his prayer but also in this triple repetition do we recognize Elijah's profound conviction that only by the Almighty power of God could the child be restored, and that whatever means were used, God alone could make them effectual. For three is the number and signature of the Godheads" die eigentlieh gottliche Zahl, die Signatur des gottlichen Wesens" (Bahr, Symb. 1:143). Hence it is, inter alia, that "the calling upon the name of Jehovah in the old covenant" - he might have added, "and in the new;" cf. Mark 14:39, 41; 2 Corinthians 12:8 - "was a threefold act:" Psalm 55:17; Daniel 6:10, 13; Numbers 6:24-26; Isaiah 6:3 (Bahr). The correspondence with 2 Corinthians 12:8 is very striking] and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray Thee [Heb. now] let this child's soul come into him [Heb. upon his inside עַל is here, as elsewhere, used for אֵל again. [Though נֶפֶשׁ, here translated "soul," constantly means "life," yet it by no means settles the question whether the child was really living or dead. For,

(1) the, primary meaning of the word is breath (Gesen., Thesaurus, s.v.), and

(2) the words might with perfect propriety, even if we interpret "life" or "soul," be used of one who lay in a lifeless and inanimate condition. Massillon's graphic language (vol. 1. p. 91, ed. 1858), showing the contrast between Elijah's procedure and that of our blessed Lord (Luke 7:14; Luke 8:54; John 11:43), is worth citing here: "Elie ressuscite des morts, il est vrai; mais il est oblige de se coucher plusieurs fois sur le corps de l'enfant qu'il ressuscite; il souffle, il se retrecit, it s'agite; on voit bien qu'il invoque une puissance etrangere; qu'il rappelle de l'empire de ta mort une ame qui n'est pas soumise a savoix, et qu'il n'est pas lui-meme le maitre de la mort et de la vie: Jesus-Christ ressuscite les morts comme il fait les actions les plus communes; il parle en maitre a ceux qui dorment d'un sommeil eternel, et l'on sent bien qu'il est le Dieu des morts comme des vivants, jamais plus tranquille que lorsqu'il opere les plus grandes choses."]

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

Then he stretched himself out
וַיִּתְמֹדֵ֤ד (way·yiṯ·mō·ḏêḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hitpael - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 4058: To stretch, to measure, to be extended

over
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the child
הַיֶּ֙לֶד֙ (hay·ye·leḏ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3206: Something born, a lad, offspring

three
שָׁלֹ֣שׁ (šā·lōš)
Number - feminine singular
Strong's 7969: Three, third, thrice

times
פְּעָמִ֔ים (pə·‘ā·mîm)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 6471: A beat, foot, anvil, occurrence

and cried out
וַיִּקְרָ֥א (way·yiq·rā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7121: To call, proclaim, read

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the LORD,
יְהוָ֖ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

“O LORD
יְהוָ֣ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

my God,
אֱלֹהָ֔י (’ĕ·lō·hāy)
Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

please
נָ֛א (nā)
Interjection
Strong's 4994: I pray', 'now', 'then'

let this
הַזֶּ֖ה (haz·zeh)
Article | Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

boy’s
הַיֶּ֥לֶד (hay·ye·leḏ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3206: Something born, a lad, offspring

life
נֶֽפֶשׁ־ (ne·p̄eš-)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

return
תָּ֥שָׁב (tā·šāḇ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect Jussive - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again

to
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

him!”
קִרְבּֽוֹ׃ (qir·bōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7130: The nearest part, the center

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OT History: 1 Kings 17:21 He stretched himself on the child three (1Ki iKi i Ki 1 Kg 1kg)