Kings III 18
1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Eliu in the third year, saying, Go, and appear before Achaab, and I will bring rain upon the face of the earth.
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 And Eliu went to appear before Achaab: and the famine [was] severe in Samaria.
So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria,
3 And Achaab called Abdiu the steward. Now Abdiu feared the Lord greatly.
and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD,
4 And it came to pass when Jezabel struck the prophets of the Lord, that Abdiu took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.
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 And Achaab said to Abdiu, Come, and let us go through the land, and to the fountains of water, and to the brooks, if by any means we may find grass, and may save the horses and mules, and so they will not perish from the tents.
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 And they made a division of the way between them to pass through it: Achaab went one way, and Abdiu went by another way alone.
So they divided the land to explore. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.
7 And Abdiu was alone in the way; and Eliu came alone to meet him: and Abdiu hasted, and fell upon his face, and said, My lord Eliu, are you [indeed] he?
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 And Eliu said to him, I [am]: go say to your master, Behold, Eliu [is here].
“It is I,” he answered. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here!’”
9 And Abdiu said, What sin have I committed, that you give your servant into the hand of Achaab to kill me?
But Obadiah replied, “How have I sinned, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death?
10 [As] the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom, whither my lord has not sent to seek you; and if they said, He is not [here], then has he set fire to the kingdom and its territories, because he has not found you.
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 And now you say, Go, tell your lord, Behold, Eliu [is here].
And now you say, ‘Go tell your master that Elijah is here!’
12 And it shall come to pass when I shall have departed from you, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry you to a land which I know not, and I shall go in to tell the matter to Achaab, and he will not find you and will kill me: yet your servant fears the Lord from his youth.
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 Has it not been told to you my lord, what I did when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, that I hid a hundred men of the prophets of the Lord, by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?
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 And now you say to me, Go, say to your master, Behold, Eliu [is here]: and he shall kill me.
And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord that Elijah is here!’ He will kill me!”
15 And Eliu said, [As] the Lord of Hosts before whom I stand lives, today I will appear before him.
Then Elijah said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to Ahab today.”
16 And Abdiu went to meet Achaab, and told him: and Achaab hasted forth, and went to meet Eliu.
So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah.
17 And it came to pass when Achaab saw Eliu, that Achaab said to Eliu, Are you he that perverts Israel?
When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
18 And Eliu said, I do not pervert Israel; but it is you and your father's house, in that you forsake the Lord your God, and you have gone after Baalim.
“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 And now send, gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel, and the prophets of shame four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, that eat [at] Jezabel's table.
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 And Achaab sent to all Israel, and gathered all the prophets to mount Carmel.
So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.
21 And Eliu drew near to them all: and Eliu said to them, How long will you halt on both feet? if the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him. And the people answered not a word.
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 And Eliu said to the people, I am left, the only one prophet of the Lord; and the prophets of Baal [are] four hundred and fifty men, and the prophets of the groves four hundred.
Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.
23 Let them give us two oxen, and let them choose one for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire [on] the wood: and I will dress the other bullock, and put on no fire.
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 And do you call loudly on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord my God, and it shall come to pass that the God who shall answer by fire, he [is] God. And all the people answered and said, The word which you have spoken [is] good.
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 And Eliu said to the prophets of shame, Choose to yourselves one calf, and dress it first, for you [are] many; and call you on the name of your god; but apply no fire.
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 And they took the calf and dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning till noon, and said, hear us, O Baal, hear us. And there was no voice, neither was there hearing, and they ran up and down on the altar which they [had] made.
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 And it was noon, and Eliu the Thesbite mocked them, and said, Call with a loud voice, for he is a god; for he is meditating, or else perhaps he is engaged in business, or perhaps he is asleep, and is to be awaked.
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 And they cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves according to their custom with knives and lancets until the blood gushed out upon them.
So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them.
29 And they prophesied until the evening came; and it came to pass as it was the time of the offering of the sacrifice, that Eliu the Thesbite spoke to the prophets of the abominations, saying, Stand by for the present, and I will offer my sacrifice. And they stood aside and departed.
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 And Eliu said to the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near to him.
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 And Eliu took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, as the Lord spoke to him, saying, Israel shall be your name.
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 And he built up the stones in the name of the Lord, and repaired the altar that had been broken down; and he made a trench that would hold two measures of seed round about the altar.
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 And he piled the cleft wood on the altar which he [had] made, and divided the whole burnt offering, and laid [it] on the wood, and laid [it] in order on the altar, and said, Fetch me four pitchers of water, and pour [it] on the whole burnt offering, and on the wood. And they did so.
Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood,
34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
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 And the water ran round about the altar, and they filled the trench with water.
So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 And Eliu cried aloud to the heaven, and said, Lord God of Abraam, and Isaac, and Israel, answer me, O Lord, answer me this day by fire, and let all this people know that you are the Lord, the God of Israel, and I [am] your servant, and for your sake I have wrought these works.
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 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, and let this people know that you are the Lord God, and you have turned back the heart of this people.
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 Then fire fell from the Lord out of heaven, and devoured the whole burnt offerings, and the wood and the water that was in the trench, and the fire licked up the stones and the earth.
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 And all the people fell upon their faces, and said, Truly the Lord [is] God; he [is] God.
When all the people saw this, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
40 And Eliu said to the people, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them; and Eliu brings them down to the brook Kisson, and he killed them there.
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 And Eliu said to Achaab, Go up, and eat and drink, for [there is] a sound of the coming of rain.
And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
42 And Achaab went up to eat and to drink; and Eliu went up to Carmel, and stooped to the ground, and put his face between his knees,
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 and said to his servant, Go up, and look towards the sea. And the servant looked, and said, There is nothing: and Eliu said, Do you then go again seven times.
“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 And the servant went again seven times: and it came to pass at the seventh time, that, behold, a little cloud like the sole of a man's foot brought water; and he said, Go up, and say to Achaab, make ready your chariot, and go down, lest the rain overtake you.
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 And it came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Achaab wept, and went to Jezrael.
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 And the hand of the Lord [was] upon Eliu, and he girded up his loins, and ran before Achaab to Jezrael.
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.
