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alone, and strangle my children with hunger? [I do not wish to strangle, but I wish to do good;] I know the abundance of my Master. But nevertheless the widow was not troubled nor did she consider any such wickedness, nor did she say: You are the one who made this famine, and you want to be fed by me with the leftovers of the famine? nor did she say that, You have passed through so much of the world, and have you come to me to destroy my children with hunger, you who are the cause of the famine? but the woman, becoming like Abraham, went in and did according to the word of the prophet, and the widow was to be seen as more hospitable than Abraham. For he, being wealthy, entertained angels; but she, expecting death from famine, entertained the prophet. And nature was to be seen being despised, and hospitality being honored; one could see her bowels being cast aside, and the prophet being received; she prepared a tomb for a whole company of children; for as far as the widow's choice was concerned, they had died, but through the philanthropy of God, they lived and were strengthened. I do not know how to praise the widow; how she despised her children and practiced hospitality, how nature itself was not benumbed, how her womb was not altered, how her bowels were not dissolved seeing a whole company of children about to be destroyed by famine. But she rose above all things, and entertained the prophet. When the prophet took and ate, he then gave the rewards; the widow sowed hospitality, and immediately she reaped the full ear of hospitality. For what does Elijah say to her? As the Lord lives, the jar of flour will not fail, and the cruse of oil will not run short. And the widow's right hand became a winepress, and her left a threshing floor, and handfuls providing fruit in time of need, and through the word of the prophet feeding the widow. The widow's house became a winepress and a threshing floor; no heavy rain, no light rain, no spring, no summer, no heat, no compelling winds, no changes of season, but only one word going forth, and this being brought forth from its own will, supplied abundance to the widow. Then from there, to cut the story short, he went to Ahab the king. I speak now of his good deeds, so that if you should see him sinning, you may learn the grace of God has philanthropy. What then did Ahab say to him? Are you the one who troubles Israel? And he to him: No, but you and your father's house. Did you see the boldness of the prophet, how he rebuked the king? Then when he was sitting on the mountain, a captain of fifty came to him saying: Man of God, come down, the king calls you. And he to him: If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.

Then a second time another captain of fifty says: Man of God, come down, the king has need of you. And what did Elijah say to him? If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty. Then again when he came to the contest of prayer 50.733 he called the priests of Baal of shame, saying, Let us pray, and he said: You make an altar by yourselves, and choose two bulls, and place wood for the one bull, and do not put fire on it, and I will do likewise; and you call on the name of your gods, and I on the name of my God, and it shall be that whichever god answers by fire, he is the true God. Then the priests of shame made an altar, and began to call upon Baal, saying: Hear us, Baal, hear us. But when much prayer had been made there was no one who heard (for there was no voice, and there was no hearing), then Elijah waited patiently while they prayed; and when he saw that their effort was great, but no one was answering, he mocked them, saying: Cry aloud, lest your god be sleeping. Then when it was midday, and the hour had advanced, he says to them: Stand aside from now on, so that I too may make my burnt offering; and he made an altar, and placed the wood, and said: Bring water around the altar,

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μόνος, καὶ λιμῷ τὰ τέκνα πνῖξαι; [Πνῖξαι οὐ θέλω, ἀλλ' εὐεργετῆσαι θέλω·] οἶδα τὴν ἀφθονίαν τοῦ ἐμοῦ ∆εσπότου. Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἡ χήρα οὐκ ἐταράχθη οὐδὲ ἐνενόησέ τι τοιοῦτον ἀτό πημα, οὔτε εἶπε· Σὺ εἶ ὁ τὸν λιμὸν τοῦτον ποιήσας, καὶ ἐν τοῖς λειψάνοις τοῦ λιμοῦ διατραφῆναι θέλεις παρ' ἐμοῦ; οὔτε εἶπεν, ὅτι Τοσοῦτον κόσμον παρ ῆλθες, καὶ πρὸς ἐμὲ ἦλθες λιμῷ καταφθεῖραι τὰ παι δία μου, αὐτὸς αἴτιος τοῦ λιμοῦ γενόμενος; ἀλλ' Ἀβραμιαία τις γενομένη ἡ γυνὴ εἰσελθοῦσα ἐποίησε κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦ προφήτου, καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ μᾶλλον τὴν χήραν φιλοξενεστέραν. Ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ εὔπορος ὢν, ἐξένισεν ἀγγέλους· αὕτη δὲ ἐκ λιμοῦ προσδοκῶσα θάνατον, ἐξένισε τὸν προφήτην. Καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν τὴν φύσιν καταφρονουμένην, καὶ φιλοξενίαν τιμωμένην· ἦν ἰδεῖν σπλάγχνα ῥιπτόμενα, καὶ προ φήτην δεχόμενον· ὁλόκληρον δῆμον τέκνων τάφον εἰργάσατο· ὅσον γὰρ εἰς προαίρεσιν τῆς χήρας, ἐκεῖνα τετελευτήκασιν, ὅσον δὲ διὰ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρω πίαν, ἔζων καὶ ἐκρατύνοντο. Οὐκ οἶδα πῶς ἐγκω μιάσω τὴν χήραν· πῶς τέκνων κατεφρόνησεν καὶ φιλοξενίαν ἐποίησε, πῶς ἡ φύσις αὐτὴ οὐ κατενάρ κησε, πῶς ἡ μήτρα οὐκ ἠλλοιώθη, πῶς τὰ σπλάγχνα οὐ διελύθη βλέποντα δῆμον ὁλόκληρον τέκνων ὑπὸ λιμοῦ μέλλοντα φθείρεσθαι. Ἀλλ' ἀνωτέρω πάντων ἐγένετο, καὶ τὸν προφήτην ἐξένισεν. Ὡς ἔλαβε δὴ ὁ προφήτης, καὶ ἔφαγε, λοιπὸν τὰς ἀμοιβὰς ἀποδίδω σιν· ἔσπειρε φιλοξενίαν ἡ χήρα, καὶ εὐθὺς τὸν στά χυν κομῶντα τῆς φιλοξενίας ἐθέρισε. Τί γάρ φησι πρὸς αὐτὴν Ἠλίας; Ζῇ Κύριος, ἡ ὑδρία τοῦ ἀλεύ ρου οὐκ ἐκλείψει, καὶ ὁ καμψάκης τοῦ ἐλαίου οὐκ ἐλαττονήσει. Καὶ ἐγένετο ἡ δεξιὰ τῆς χήρας ληνὸς, καὶ ἡ ἀριστερὰ ἅλων, καὶ δράγματα ἐν ἀνάγκῃ τὸν καρπὸν παρέχοντα, καὶ διὰ τοῦ λόγου τοῦ προφήτου τὴν χήραν διατρέφοντα. Ληνὸς καὶ ἅλων ἐγένετο ἡ οἰκία τῆς χήρας· οὐ βροχὴ, οὐχ ὑετὸς, οὐκ ἔαρ, οὐ θέρος, οὐ καῦμα, οὐκ ἀνέμων ἀνάγκαι, οὐ καιρῶν ἀλλαγαὶ, ἀλλὰ μόνον εἷς λόγος προελθὼν, καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκείας γνώμης ἐξενεχθεὶς, χορηγεῖ τὴν ἀφθονίαν τῇ χήρᾳ. Εἶτα ἐκεῖθεν, ἵνα συντέμω τὸν λόγον, ἀπῆλθε πρὸς Ἀχαὰβ τὸν βασιλέα. Λέγω νῦν αὐτοῦ τὰ κατορθώματα, ἵνα ἐὰν ἴδης αὐτὸν ἁμαρ τήσαντα, μάθῃς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριν ἔχουσαν φιλανθρωπίαν. Τί οὖν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Ἀχαάβ; Σὺ εἶ ὁ δια στρέφων τὸν Ἰσραήλ; Ὁ δὲ πρὸς αὐτόν· Οὐχὶ, ἀλλὰ σὺ καὶ ὁ οἶκος τοῦ πατρός σου. Εἶδες παῤ ῥησίαν προφήτου, πῶς τὸν βασιλέα ἤλεγξεν; Εἶτα ὅτε ἐν τῷ ὄρει ἐκαθέζετο, καὶ ἦλθε πρὸς αὐτὸν πεν τηκόνταρχος λέγων· Ἄνθρωπε τοῦ Θεοῦ, κατάβηθι, ὁ βασιλεύς σε καλεῖ· ὁ δὲ πρὸς αὐτόν· Καὶ εἰ ἐγὼ ἄνθρωπος τοῦ Θεοῦ, καταβήτω πῦρ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ καταφαγέτω σε καὶ τοὺς πεντήκοντά σου.

Εἶτα ἐκ δευτέρου ἄλλος πεντηκόνταρχός φησιν· Ἄνθρωπε τοῦ Θεοῦ, κατάβηθι, ὁ βασιλεὺς χρείαν σου ἔχει. Καὶ τί πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Ἠλίας; Καὶ εἰ ἐγὼ ἄνθρωπος τοῦ Θεοῦ, καταβήτω πῦρ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρα νοῦ, καὶ καταφαγέτω σε καὶ τοὺς πεντήκοντά σου. Εἶτα πάλιν ὅτε ἦλθεν εἰς συμβολὴν τῆς εὐχῆς 50.733 ἐκάλεσε τοὺς ἱερεῖς τῆς Βαὰλ τῆς αἰσχύνης λέγων, Εὐξώμεθα, καὶ εἶπε· Ποιήσατε ὑμεῖς θυσιαστή ριον καταμόνας, καὶ ἐκλέξατε δύο βόας, καὶ ἐπί θετε ξύλα κατὰ τὸν ἕνα βοῦν, καὶ πῦρ μὴ ἐπίθετε, κἀγὼ ποιήσω οὕτω· καὶ ἐπικαλεῖσθε ἐν ὀνόματι θεῶν ὑμῶν, κἀγὼ ἐν ὀνόματι τοῦ Θεοῦ μου, καὶ ἔσται, ὃς ἂν θεὸς ἐπακούσῃ ἐν πυρὶ, οὗτος Θεὸς ἀληθινός. Εἶτα ἐποίησαν οἱ ἱερεῖς τῆς αἰσχύνης θυ σιαστήριον, καὶ ἤρξαντο ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὴν Βαὰλ λέ γοντες· Ἐπάκουσον ἡμῶν, Βαὰλ, ἐπάκουσον ἡμῶν. Ὡς δὲ πολλῆς εὐχῆς γενομένης οὐδεὶς ἦν ὁ ἐπ ακούων (Οὐκ ἦν γὰρ φωνὴ, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἀκρόασις), εἶτα ἐξεδέχετο ὁ Ἠλίας μακροθυμῶν εὐχομένων ἐκείνων· ὡς δὲ εἶδεν ὅτι πολλὴ μὲν αὐτῶν ἡ διάτασις, οὐδεὶς δὲ ὁ ὑπακούων, κωμῳδεῖ αὐτοὺς λέγων· Βοήσατε μέγα, μή ποτε καθεύδῃ ἡ θεὸς ὑμῶν. Εἶτα ὡς μεσημβρία γέγονε, καὶ προέκοψεν ἡ ὥρα, λέγει αὐτοῖς· Μετάστητε ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν, ἵνα ποιήσω κἀγὼ τὸ ὁλοκαύτωμά μου· καὶ ἐποίησε θυσιαστήριον, καὶ ἐπέθηκε τὰ ξύλα, καὶ εἶπε· Φέρετε ὕδωρ κύκλῳ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου,