1 Kings 18
1 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.”
And the days are many, and the word of Jehovah hath been unto Elijah in the third year, saying, 'Go, appear unto Ahab, and I give rain on the face of the ground;'
2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria,
and Elijah goeth to appear unto Ahab. And the famine is severe in Samaria,
3 and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD,
and Ahab calleth unto Obadiah, who [is] over the house — and Obadiah hath been fearing Jehovah greatly,
4 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.)
and it cometh to pass, in Jezebel's cutting off the prophets of Jehovah, that Obadiah taketh a hundred prophets, and hideth them, fifty men in a cave, and hath sustained them with bread and water —
5 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.”
and Ahab saith unto Obadiah, 'Go through the land, unto all fountains of waters, and unto all the brooks, if so be we find hay, and keep alive horse and mule, and do not cut off any of the cattle.'
6 So they divided the land to explore. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.
And they apportion to themselves the land, to pass over into it; Ahab hath gone in one way by himself, and Obadiah hath gone in another way by himself;
7 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?”
and Obadiah [is] in the way, and lo, Elijah — to meet him; and he discerneth him, and falleth on his face, and saith, 'Art thou he — my lord Elijah?'
8 “It is I,” he answered. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here!’”
And he saith to him, 'I [am]; go, say to thy lord, Lo, Elijah.'
9 But Obadiah replied, “How have I sinned, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death?
And he saith, 'What have I sinned, that thou art giving thy servant into the hand of Ahab — to put me to death?
10 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.
Jehovah thy God liveth, if there is a nation and kingdom whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee; and they said, He is not, then he caused the kingdom and the nation to swear, that it doth not find thee;
11 And now you say, ‘Go tell your master that Elijah is here!’
and now, thou art saying, Go, say to thy lord, Lo, Elijah;
12 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.
and it hath been, I go from thee, and the Spirit of Jehovah doth lift thee up, whither I know not, and I have come to declare to Ahab, and he doth not find thee, and he hath slain me; and thy servant is fearing Jehovah from my youth.
13 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.
'Hath it not been declared to my lord that which I have done in Jezebel's slaying the prophets of Jehovah, that I hide of the prophets of Jehovah a hundred men, fifty by fifty in a cave, and sustained them with bread and water?
14 And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord that Elijah is here!’ He will kill me!”
and now thou art saying, Go, say to my lord, Lo, Elijah — and he hath slain me!'
15 Then Elijah said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to Ahab today.”
And Elijah saith, 'Jehovah of Hosts liveth, before whom I have stood, surely to-day I appear unto him.'
16 So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah.
And Obadiah goeth to meet Ahab, and declareth [it] to him, and Ahab goeth to meet Elijah,
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
and it cometh to pass at Ahab's seeing Elijah, that Ahab saith unto him, 'Art thou he — the troubler of Israel?'
18 “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.
And he saith, 'I have not troubled Israel, but thou and the house of thy father, in your forsaking the commands of Jehovah, and thou goest after the Baalim;
19 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.”
and now, send, gather unto me all Israel, unto the mount of Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the shrine, four hundred — eating at the table of Jezebel.'
20 So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.
And Ahab sendeth among all the sons of Israel, and gathereth the prophets unto the mount of Carmel;
21 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.
and Elijah cometh nigh unto all the people, and saith, 'Till when are ye leaping on the two branches? — if Jehovah [is] God, go after Him; and if Baal, go after him;' and the people have not answered him a word.
22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.
And Elijah saith unto the people, 'I — I have been left a prophet of Jehovah — by myself; and the prophets of Baal [are] four hundred and fifty men;
23 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.
and let them give to us two bullocks, and they choose for themselves the one bullock, and cut it in pieces, and place [it] on the wood, and place no fire; and I — I prepare the other bullock, and have put [it] on the wood, and fire I do not place; —
24 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.”
and ye have called in the name of your god, and I — I call in the name of Jehovah, and it hath been, the god who answereth by fire — He [is] the God.' And all the people answer and say, 'Good [is] the word.'
25 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.”
And Elijah saith to the prophets of Baal, 'Choose for you the one bullock, and prepare first, for ye [are] the multitude, and call ye in the name of your god, and place no fire.'
26 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.
And they take the bullock that [one] gave to them, and prepare, and call in the name of Baal from the morning even till the noon, saying, 'O Baal, answer us!' and there is no voice, and there is none answering; and they leap on the altar that one had made.
27 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!”
And it cometh to pass, at noon, that Elijah playeth on them, and saith, 'Call with a loud voice, for he [is] a god, for he is meditating, or pursuing, or on a journey; it may be he is asleep, an doth awake.'
28 So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them.
And they call with a loud voice, and cut themselves, according to their ordinance, with swords and with spears, till a flowing of blood [is] on them;
29 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.
and it cometh to pass, at the passing by of the noon, that they feign themselves prophets till the going up of the present, and there is no voice, and there is none answering, and there is none attending.
30 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.
And Elijah saith to all the people, 'Come nigh unto me;' and all the people come nigh unto him, and he repaireth the altar of Jehovah that is broken down;
31 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.”
and Elijah taketh twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of Jehovah was, saying, 'Israel is thy name;'
32 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.
and he buildeth with the stones an altar, in the name of Jehovah, and maketh a trench, as about the space of two measures of seed, round about the altar.
33 Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood,
And he arrangeth the wood, and cutteth in pieces the bullock, and placeth [it] on the wood, and saith, 'Fill ye four pitchers of water, and pour on the burnt-offering, and on the wood;
34 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.
and he saith, 'Do [it] a second time;' and they do [it] a second time; and he saith, 'Do [it] a third time;' and they do [it] a third time;
35 So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
and the water goeth round about the altar, and also, the trench he hath filled with water.
36 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.
And it cometh to pass, at the going up of the [evening -]present, that Elijah the prophet cometh nigh and saith, 'Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to-day let it be known that Thou [art] God in Israel, and I Thy servant, that by Thy word I have done the whole of these things;
37 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.”
answer me, O Jehovah, answer me, and this people doth know that Thou [art] Jehovah God; and Thou hast turned their heart backward.'
38 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.
And there falleth a fire of Jehovah, and consumeth the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and the water that [is] in the trench it hath licked up.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
And all the people see, and fall on their faces, and say, 'Jehovah, He [is] the God, Jehovah, He [is] the God.'
40 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.
And Elijah saith to them, 'Catch ye the prophets of Baal; let not a man escape of them;' and they catch them, and Elijah bringeth them down unto the stream Kishon, and doth slaughter them there.
41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
And Elijah saith to Ahab, 'Go up, eat and drink, because of the sound of the noise of the shower.'
42 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.
And Ahab goeth up to eat, and to drink, and Elijah hath gone up unto the top of Carmel, and he stretcheth himself out on the earth, and he placeth his face between his knees,
43 “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.”
and saith unto his young man, 'Go up, I pray thee, look attentively the way of the sea;' and he goeth up and looketh attentively, and saith, 'There is nothing;' and he saith, 'Turn back,' seven times.
44 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.’”
And it cometh to pass, at the seventh, that he saith, 'Lo, a little thickness as the palm of a man is coming up out of the sea.' And he saith, 'Go up, say unto Ahab, 'Bind — and go down, and the shower doth not restrain thee.'
45 Meanwhile, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain began to fall. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.
And it cometh to pass, in the meantime, that the heavens have become black — thick clouds and wind — and the shower is great; and Ahab rideth, and goeth to Jezreel,
46 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.
and the hand of Jehovah hath been on Elijah, and he girdeth up his loins, and runneth before Ahab, till thine entering Jezreel.
