At that time there was not enough food in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while.

那地遭遇饥荒。因饥荒甚大，亚伯兰就下埃及去，要在那里暂居。

那地遭遇饥荒。亚伯兰因那地的饥荒严重，就下到埃及，要在那里寄居。

那地遭遇饥荒。亚伯兰因那地的饥荒严重，就下到埃及，要在那里寄居。

当时，那地方闹饥荒，灾情非常严重，亚伯兰便下到埃及暂住。

当时，那地发生饥荒，亚伯兰就下到埃及去，要在那里寄居；因为那地的饥荒十分严重。

当时那地有饥荒。因为那地的饥荒严重，亚伯兰就下埃及去，要在那里寄居。

那地遭遇饑荒。因饑荒甚大，亞伯蘭就下埃及去，要在那裏暫居。

那地遭遇饑荒。亞伯蘭因那地的饑荒嚴重，就下到埃及，要在那裏寄居。

那地遭遇饑荒。亞伯蘭因那地的饑荒嚴重，就下到埃及，要在那裏寄居。

當時，那地方鬧饑荒，災情非常嚴重，亞伯蘭便下到埃及暫住。

當時，那地發生饑荒，亞伯蘭就下到埃及去，要在那裡寄居；因為那地的饑荒十分嚴重。

當時在那地鬧了饑荒，因為饑荒在那地很嚴重，亞伯蘭就下埃及去，要寄居在那裏。

當時那地有饑荒。因為那地的饑荒嚴重，亞伯蘭就下埃及去，要在那裡寄居。

其地適饑且甚、亞伯蘭乃旅於埃及、

適歲大饑、故亞伯蘭往、旅於埃及、

是地適饑、因饑甚、故亞伯蘭往旅伊及、

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.

Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.

At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner.

There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay there for a while because the famine in the land was severe.

Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a time, because the famine was severe in the land.

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.

And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was sore in the land.

There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine in the land was severe.

And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine[ was] grievous in the land.

There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay for a while because the famine was severe.

There was a famine in the land. Abram went down into Egypt to live as a foreigner there, for the famine was severe in the land.

There still wasn’t enough food anywhere in the land.

There they helped the believers gain strength. They told them to remain faithful to what they had been taught.“ We must go through many hard times to enter God’s kingdom,” they said.

There was very little food in the land. The same thing had been true earlier, in Abraham’s time. Isaac went to Abimelek in Gerar. Abimelek was the king of the Philistines.The Lord appeared to Isaac and said,“ Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land where I tell you to live.Stay there for a while. I will be with you and give you my blessing. I will give all these lands to you and your children after you. And I will keep my word that I gave to your father Abraham.

Elisha replied,“ Listen to a message from the Lord. He says,‘ About this time tomorrow, flour won’t cost very much. Even 12 pounds of the finest flour will cost less than half of an ounce of silver. You will also be able to buy 20 pounds of barley for the same price. That’s all you will have to pay for those things at the gate of Samaria.’ ”The king was leaning on an officer’s arm. The officer spoke to the man of God. The officer said,“ Suppose the Lord opens the sky and pours down food on us. Even if he does, could what you are saying really happen?”“ You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha.“ But you won’t eat any of it!”There were four men who had a skin disease. They were at the entrance of the gate of Samaria. They said to one another,“ Why should we stay here until we die?Suppose we say,‘ We’ll go into the city.’ There isn’t any food there, and we’ll die. But if we stay here, we’ll die anyway. So let’s go over to Aram’s army camp. Let’s give ourselves up. If they spare us, we’ll live. If they kill us, we’ll die.”At sunset they got up and went to Aram’s army camp. They arrived at the edge of it. But no one was there.The Lord had caused the soldiers of Aram to hear a noise. It sounded like chariots and horses and a huge army. So the soldiers said to one another,“ Listen! The king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings. He has paid them to attack us!”So the soldiers of Aram had run away at sunset. They had left their tents and horses and donkeys behind. They had left the camp just as it was. And they had run for their lives.The men who had a skin disease arrived at the edge of the camp. They entered one of the tents. They ate and drank. Then they took silver, gold and clothes. They went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent. They took some things from it and hid them also.

But there wasn’t any food in the whole area. In fact, there wasn’t enough food anywhere. The people of Egypt and Canaan lost their strength because there wasn’t enough food to go around.

They wandered from nation to nation. They wandered from one kingdom to another.

“ I have told you these things, so that you can have peace because of me. In this world you will have trouble. But be encouraged! I have won the battle over the world.”

For three years in a row there wasn’t enough food in the land. That was while David was king. So David asked the Lord why he wasn’t blessing his people. The Lord said,“ It is because Saul and his family committed murder. He put the people of Gibeon to death.”

There was a time when Israel didn’t have kings to rule over them. But they had leaders to help them. This is a story about some things that happened during that time. There wasn’t enough food in the land of Judah. So a man went to live for a while in the country of Moab. He was from Bethlehem in Judah. His wife and two sons went with him.

Elijah was from Tishbe in the land of Gilead. He said to Ahab,“ I serve the Lord. He is the God of Israel. You can be sure that he lives. And you can be just as sure that there won’t be any dew or rain on the whole land. There won’t be any during the next few years. It won’t come until I say so.”Then a message came to Elijah from the Lord. He said,“ Leave this place. Go east and hide in the Kerith Valley. It is east of the Jordan River.You will drink water from the brook. I have directed some ravens to supply you with food there.”So Elijah did what the Lord had told him to do. He went to the Kerith Valley. It was east of the Jordan River. He stayed there.The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning. They also brought him bread and meat in the evening. He drank water from the brook.Some time later the brook dried up. It hadn’t rained in the land for quite a while.A message came to Elijah from the Lord. He said,“ Go right away to Zarephath in the region of Sidon. Stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.”So Elijah went to Zarephath. He came to the town gate. A widow was there gathering sticks. He called out to her. He asked,“ Would you bring me a little water in a jar? I need a drink.”She went to get the water. Then he called out to her,“ Please bring me a piece of bread too.”“ I don’t have any bread,” she replied.“ And that’s just as sure as the Lord your God is alive. All I have is a small amount of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I’m gathering a few sticks to take home. I’ll make one last meal for myself and my son. We’ll eat it. After that, we’ll die.”Elijah said to her,“ Don’t be afraid. Go home. Do what you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me. Make it out of what you have. Bring it to me. Then make some for yourself and your son.The Lord is the God of Israel. He says,‘ The jar of flour will not be used up. The jug will always have oil in it. You will have flour and oil until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’ ”She went away and did what Elijah had told her to do. So Elijah had food every day. There was also food for the woman and her family.The jar of flour wasn’t used up. The jug always had oil in it. That’s what the Lord had said would happen. He had spoken that message through Elijah.Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. He got worse and worse. Finally he stopped breathing.The woman said to Elijah,“ You are a man of God. What do you have against me? Did you come to bring my sin out into the open? Did you come to kill my son?”

A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. He told Jeremiah there wouldn’t be any rain in the land. The Lord said,

He turned land that produced crops into a salty land where nothing could grow. He did it because the people who lived there were evil.

“ There was not enough food for all Egypt and Canaan. This brought great suffering. Jacob and his sons couldn’t find food.

Elisha returned to Gilgal. There wasn’t enough food to eat in that area. The group of the prophets was meeting with Elisha. So he said to his servant,“ Put the large pot over the fire. Cook some stew for these prophets.”

Israel’s sons were among the people who went to buy grain. There wasn’t enough food in the land of Canaan.

There wasn’t enough food anywhere in the city. It was surrounded for so long that people had to weigh out two pounds of silver for a donkey’s head. They had to weigh out two ounces of silver for half a pint of seed pods.

The person who does what is right may have many troubles. But the Lord saves him from all of them.

Elisha had brought a woman’s son back to life. He had said to her,“ Go away with your family. Stay for a while anywhere you can. The Lord has decided that there won’t be enough food in the land. That will be true for seven years.”The woman did just as the man of God told her to. She and her family went away. They stayed in the land of the Philistines for seven years.

“ I am God. I am the God of your father,” he said.“ Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt. There I will make you into a great nation.I will go down to Egypt with you. I will surely bring you back again. And when you die, Joseph will close your eyes with his own hand.”