Første Kongebog 18
1 Lang Tid efter, i det tredje Aar, kom HERRENS Ord saaledes: »Gaa hen og træd frem for Akab, saa vil jeg sende Regn over Jorden!«
After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.”
2 Da gav Elias sig paa Vej for at træde frem for Akab. Da Hungersnøden blev trykkende i Samaria,
So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria,
3 kaldte Akab Paladsøversten Obadja til sig. Obadja var en Mand, der alvorligt frygtede HERREN,
and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD,
4 og dengang Jesabel lod HERRENS Profeter udrydde, tog han og skjulte hundrede Profeter, halvtredsindstyve i een Hule og halvtredsindstyve i en anden, og sørgede for Brød og Vand til dem.
for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
5 Akab sagde nu til Obadja: »Kom, lad os drage rundt i Landet til alle Vandkilder og Bække, om vi mulig kan finde saa meget Græs, at vi kan holde Liv i Hestene og Muldyrene og slippe for at dræbe noget af Dyrene!«
Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock.”
6 Saa delte de Landet, som de skulde gennemvandre, mellem sig, saaledes at Akab og Obadja drog hver sin Vej.
So they divided the land to explore. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.
7 Medens nu Obadja var undervejs, se, da traadte Elias ham i Møde; Obadja genkendte ham og faldt paa sit Ansigt og sagde: »Er det dig, min Herre Elias?«
Now as Obadiah went on his way, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
8 Han svarede: »Ja, det er mig! Gaa hen og sig til din Herre, at Elias er her!«
“It is I,” he answered. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here!’”
9 Men han sagde: »Hvormed har jeg dog syndet, siden du vil give din Træl i Akabs Haand, for at han kan slaa mig ihjel?
But Obadiah replied, “How have I sinned, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death?
10 Saa sandt HERREN din Gud lever, der er ikke et Folk eller Rige, min Herre ikke har sendt Bud til for at lede efter dig; og blev der sagt, at du ikke var der, tog han Riget og Folket i Ed paa, at de ikke havde fundet dig.
As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you.
11 Og nu siger du, at jeg skal gaa hen og sige til min Herre, at Elias er her!
And now you say, ‘Go tell your master that Elijah is here!’
12 Hvis nu HERRENS Aand, naar jeg har forladt dig, fører dig bort til et Sted, jeg ikke kender, og jeg kommer og melder det til Akab, og han ikke finder dig, lader han mig dræbe. Og din Træl har dog frygtet HERREN fra Ungdommen af!
I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.
13 Er det ikke kommet min Herre for Øre, hvad jeg gjorde, da Jesabel lod HERRENS Profeter dræbe, hvorledes jeg skjulte hundrede af HERRENS Profeter, halvtredsindstyve i een Hule og halvtredsindstyve i en anden, og sørgede for Brød og Vand til dem?
Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water.
14 Og nu siger du, at jeg skal gaa hen og sige til din Herre, at Elias er her — han lader mig dræbe!«
And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord that Elijah is here!’ He will kill me!”
15 Da sagde Elias: »Saa sandt Hærskarers HERRE lever, han, for hvis Aasyn jeg staar, i Dag vil jeg træde frem for ham.«
Then Elijah said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to Ahab today.”
16 Obadja gik da Akab i Møde og meldte ham det, og Akab gik Elias i Møde.
So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah.
17 Da Akab fik Øje paa Elias, sagde han til ham: »Er det dig, du, som bringer Ulykke over Israel!«
When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
18 Men han svarede: »Det er ikke mig, der har bragt Ulykke over Israel, men dig og din Faders Hus, fordi I har forladt HERREN og holder eder til Ba'alerne!
“I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.
19 Men send nu Bud og kald hele Israel sammen til mig paa Karmels Bjerg og tillige de 450 Ba'alsprofeter og de 400 Asjeraprofeter, som spiser ved Jesabels Bord!«
Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20 Da sendte Akab Bud rundt til alle Israeliterne og samlede Profeterne paa Karmels Bjerg.
So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.
21 Elias traadte saa frem for alt Folket og sagde: »Hvor længe vil I blive ved at halte til begge Sider? Er HERREN Gud, saa hold eder til ham, og er Ba'al Gud, saa hold eder til ham!« Men Folket svarede ham ikke et Ord.
Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word.
22 Da sagde Elias til Folket: »Jeg er den eneste af HERRENS Profeter, der er tilbage, og Ba'als Profeter er 450 Mand;
Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.
23 lad os nu faa to unge Tyre; saa skal de vælge den ene Tyr og hugge den i Stykker og lægge den paa Brændet, men Ild maa de ikke lægge til; den anden vil jeg lave til og lægge paa Brændet, men uden at tænde Ild.
Get two bulls for us. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull for themselves, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. And I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire.
24 Saa skal I paakalde eders Guds Navn, og jeg vil paakalde HERRENS Navn; den Gud, der svarer med Ild, han er Gud!« Alt Folket sagde: »Det Forslag er godt!«
Then you may call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people answered, “What you say is good.”
25 Derpaa sagde Elias til Ba'als Profeter: »Vælg eder den ene Tyr og lav den til først, thi I er de mange, og paakald saa eders Guds Navn, men I maa ikke tænde Ild!«
Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.”
26 Saa tog de Tyren og lavede den til og paakaldte Ba'als Navn fra Morgen til Middag, idet de raabte: »Hør os, Ba'al!« Men ikke en Lyd hørtes, der var ingen, som svarede; og de dansede haltende omkring det Alter, de havde opført.
And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made.
27 Men da det var blevet Middag, haanede Elias dem og sagde: »I maa raabe højt, thi han er jo en Gud! Han er vel faldet i Tanker eller gaaet afsides eller rejst bort, eller han er faldet i Søvn og maa først vaagne!«
At noon Elijah began to taunt them, saying, “Shout louder, for he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or occupied, or on a journey. Perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened!”
28 Da raabte de højt, og som de havde for Skik, saarede de deres Legemer med Sværd og Spyd, til Blodet flød ned ad dem.
So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them.
29 Og da det var over Middag, begyndte de at rase, og det varede lige til hen imod Afgrødeofferets Tid, men ikke en Lyd hørtes, ingen svarede, og ingen agtede derpaa.
Midday passed, and they kept on raving until the time of the evening sacrifice. But there was no response; no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Da sagde Elias til alt Folket: »Kom hen til mig!« Og da alt Folket var kommet hen til ham, satte han HERRENS nedbrudte Alter i Stand.
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people approached him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down.
31 Elias tog tolv Sten, svarende til Tallet paa Jakobs Sønners Stammer, han, til hvem HERRENS Ord lød: »Israel skal dit Navn!«
And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.”
32 Og af disse Sten byggede han et Alter i HERRENS Navn og gravede rundt om Alteret en Rende paa omtrent to Sea Land.
And with the stones, Elijah built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.
33 Derpaa lagde han Brændet tilrette, huggede Tyren i Stykker og lagde den paa Brændet.
Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood,
34 Saa sagde han: »Fyld fire Krukker med Vand og hæld det ud over Brændofferet og Brændet!« Og da de havde gjort det, sagde han: »Een Gang til!« Og da de havde gjort det anden Gang, sagde han: »Een Gang til!« Og de gjorde det endnu en Gang.
and said, “Fill four waterpots and pour the water on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it a second time,” he said, and they did it a second time. “Do it a third time,” he said, and they did it a third time.
35 Det drev af Vand rundt om Alteret, ogsaa Renden fik han fyldt med Vand.
So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 Men ved Afgrødeofferets Tid traadte Profeten Elias frem og sagde: »HERRE, Abrahams, Isaks og Israels Gud! Lad det kendes i Dag, at du er Gud i Israel og jeg din Tjener, og at jeg har gjort alt dette paa dit Ord!
At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command.
37 Hør mig, HERRE, hør mig, for at dette Folk maa kende, at du HERRE er Gud, og at du atter drager deres Hjerte til dig!«
Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again.”
38 Da for HERRENS Ild ned og fortærede Brændofferet og Brændet og Stenene og Jorden; endog Vandet i Renden slikkede den bort.
Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench.
39 Da alt Folket saa det, faldt de paa deres Ansigt og raabte: »HERREN er Gud, HERREN er Gud!«
When all the people saw this, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
40 Men Elias sagde til dem: »Grib Ba'als Profeter, lad ingen af dem slippe bort!« Og de greb dem, og Elias førte dem ned til Kisjonbækken og dræbte dem der.
Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
41 Derpaa sagde Elias til Akab: »Gaa op og spis og drik, thi der høres Susen af Regn.«
And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
42 Da gik Akab op for at spise og drikke; men Elias gik op paa Karmels Top og bøjede sig til Jorden med Ansigtet mellem Knæene.
So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the summit of Carmel, bent down on the ground, and put his face between his knees.
43 Saa sagde han til sin Tjener: »Gaa op og se ud over Havet!« Og han gik op og saa ud, men sagde: »Der er intet!« Syv Gange sagde han til ham: »Gaa derop igen!« Og syv Gange vendte Tjeneren tilbage.
“Go and look toward the sea,” he said to his servant. So the servant went and looked, and he said, “There is nothing there.” Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
44 Men syvende Gang sagde han: »Nu stiger der en lille Sky op af Havet, saa stor som en Mands Haand!« Da sagde Elias: »Gaa hen og sig til Akab: Spænd for og kør hjem, at du ikke skal blive opholdt af Regnen!«
On the seventh time the servant reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.” And Elijah replied, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”
45 Et Øjeblik efter var Himmelen sort af Stormskyer, og der faldt en voldsom Regn. Akab steg til Vogns og kørte til Jizre'el;
Meanwhile, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain began to fall. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.
46 men HERRENS Haand kom over Elias, saa han omgjordede sine Lænder og løb foran Akab lige til Jizre'el.
And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
