1 Kings 18
1 After many days, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go and show yourself to Ahab, so that I may grant rain upon the face of the earth.”
Now after a long time, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go and let Ahab see you, so that I may send rain on the earth.
2 Therefore, Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. For there was a severe famine in Samaria.
So Elijah went to let Ahab see him. Now there was no food to be had in Samaria.
3 And Ahab called Obadiah, the manager of his household. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly.
And Ahab sent for Obadiah, the controller of the king's house. (Now Obadiah had the fear of the Lord before him greatly;
4 For when Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord, he took one hundred prophets, and concealed them, fifty and fifty, in caves. And he fed them with bread and water.
For when Jezebel was cutting off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred of them, and kept them secretly in a hole in the rock, fifty at a time, and gave them bread and water.)
5 Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go into the land, to all fountains of water, and to all the valleys, for perhaps we will be able to find plants, and save the horses and mules, so that the beasts of burden may not perish entirely.”
And Ahab said to Obadiah, Come, let us go through all the country, to all the fountains of water and all the rivers, and see if there is any grass to be had for the horses and the transport beasts, so that we may be able to keep some of the beasts from destruction.
6 And they divided the regions among themselves, so that they might travel through them. Ahab went one way alone, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
So they went through all the country, covering it between them; Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another by himself.
7 And while Obadiah was on the way, Elijah met him. And when he had recognized him, he fell on his face, and he said, “Are you not my lord Elijah?”
And while Obadiah was on his way, he came face to face with Elijah; and seeing who it was, he went down on his face and said, Is it you, my lord Elijah?
8 And he responded to him: “I am. Go and tell your lord that Elijah is here.”
And Elijah in answer said, It is I; now go and say to your lord, Elijah is here.
9 And he said: “How have I sinned that you would deliver me, your servant, into the hand of Ahab, so that he would put me to death?
And he said, What sin have I done, that you would give up your servant into the hand of Ahab, and be the cause of my death?
10 As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom to which my lord has not sent, seeking you. And when all responded, ‘He is not here,’ he swore each kingdom and nation to an oath, because you were not found at all.
By the life of the Lord your God, there is not a nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent in search of you; and when they said, He is not here; he made them take an oath that they had not seen you.
11 And now, you say to me, ‘Go and tell your lord that Elijah is here.’
And now you say, Go, say to your lord, Elijah is here.
12 And when I will have departed from you, the Spirit of the Lord will transport you to a place that I do not know. And entering, I will report to Ahab. And he, not finding you, will put me to death. Yet your servant has feared the Lord from his infancy.
And straight away, when I have gone from you, the spirit of the Lord will take you away, I have no idea where, so that when I come and give word to Ahab, and he sees you not, he will put me to death: though I, your servant, have been a worshipper of the Lord from my earliest years.
13 Has it not been revealed to you, my lord, what I did when Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord: how I hid one hundred men from the prophets of the Lord, fifty and fifty, in caves, and how I fed them with bread and water?
Has my lord not had word of what I did when Jezebel was putting the Lord's prophets to death? how I kept a hundred of them in a secret hole in the rock, fifty at a time, and gave them bread and water?
14 And now you say: ‘Go and tell your lord that Elijah is here,’ so that he may kill me!”
And now you say, Go and say to your Lord, Elijah is here; and he will put me to death.
15 And Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whose face I stand, this day I will appear to him.”
And Elijah said, By the life of the Lord of armies, whose servant I am, I will certainly let him see me today.
16 Therefore, Obadiah went away to meet Ahab, and he reported to him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.
So Obadiah went to Ahab and gave him the news; and Ahab went to see Elijah.
17 And when he had seen him, he said, “Are you the one who is disturbing Israel?”
And when he saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, Is it you, you troubler of Israel?
18 And he said: “I have not troubled Israel. But it is you, and the house of your father, who have abandoned the commandments of the Lord, and have followed the Baals.
Then he said in answer, I have not been troubling Israel, but you and your family; because, turning away from the orders of the Lord, you have gone after the Baals.
19 Yet truly now, send and gather to me all of Israel, on Mount Carmel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of the sacred groves, who eat from the table of Jezebel.”
Now send, and get Israel together before me at Mount Carmel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal who get their food at Jezebel's table.
20 Ahab sent to all the sons of Israel, and he gathered together the prophets on mount Carmel.
So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and got the prophets together at Mount Carmel.
21 Then Elijah, drawing near to all the people, said: “How long will you waver between two sides? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal is, then follow him.” And the people did not respond a word to him.
And Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long will you go on balancing between two opinions? if the Lord is God, then give worship to him; but if Baal, give worship to him. And the people said not a word in answer.
22 And Elijah said again to the people: “I alone remain as a prophet of the Lord. But the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men.
Then Elijah said to the people, I, even I, am the only living prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
23 Let two oxen be given to us. And let them choose one ox for themselves, and, cutting it into pieces, let them set it on the wood. But they may not place fire under it. And I will prepare the other ox, and set it on the wood. But I will not place fire under it.
Now, let them give us two oxen; and let them take one for themselves, and have it cut up, and put it on the wood, but put no fire under it; I will get the other ox ready, and put it on the wood, and put no fire under it.
24 Call upon the names of your gods. And I will call on the name of my Lord. And the God who will have heeded with fire, let him be God.” And in response, all the people said, “Excellent proposition.”
And do you make prayers to your god, and I will make a prayer to the Lord: and it will be clear that the one who gives an answer by fire is God. And all the people in answer said, It is well said.
25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal: “Choose for yourselves one ox, and prepare it first. For you are many. And call on the names of your gods, but do not place fire under it.”
Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Take one ox for yourselves and get it ready first, for there are more of you; and make your prayers to your god, but put no fire under.
26 And when they had taken an ox, which he had given to them, they prepared it. And they called on the name of Baal, from morning even until midday, saying, “O Baal, heed us.” And there was no voice, nor did anyone respond. And so they leaped upon the altar that they had made.
So they took the ox which was given them, and made it ready, crying out to Baal from morning till the middle of the day, and saying, O Baal, give ear to us. But there was no voice and no answer. And they were jumping up and down before the altar they had made.
27 And when it was now midday, Elijah ridiculed them, saying: “Cry out with a louder voice. For he is a god, and perhaps he is talking, or at an inn, or on a journey, or certainly he may be asleep, and must be awakened.”
And in the middle of the day, Elijah made sport of them, saying, Give louder cries, for he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or he may have gone away for some purpose, or he may be on a journey, or by chance he is sleeping and has to be made awake.
28 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and they cut themselves, in accord with their ritual, with knives and lancets, until they were entirely covered in blood.
So they gave loud cries, cutting themselves with knives and swords, as was their way, till the blood came streaming out all over them.
29 Then, after midday had passed, and they were prophesying, the time had arrived when the sacrifice is usually offered. And there was no voice heard, neither did anyone heed or respond to the praying.
And from the middle of the day they went on with their prayers till the time of the offering; but there was no voice, or any answer, or any who gave attention to them.
30 Elijah said to all the people, “Draw near to me.” And as the people were drawing near to him, he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down.
Then Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me; and all the people came near. And he put up again the altar of the Lord which had been broken down.
31 And he took twelve stones, in accord with the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”
And Elijah took twelve stones, the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the Lord had said, Israel will be your name:
32 And he built from the stones an altar to the name of the Lord. And he made a trench for water, like two furrows of plowed land, all around the altar.
And with the stones he made an altar to the name of the Lord; and he made a deep drain all round the altar, great enough to take two measures of seed.
33 And he arranged the wood, and he cut the ox into pieces, and he placed it on the wood.
And he put the wood in order, and, cutting up the ox, put it on the wood. Then he said, Get four vessels full of water and put it on the burned offering and on the wood. And he said, Do it a second time, and they did it a second time;
34 And he said, “Fill four containers with water, and pour it over the holocaust, and over the wood.” And again, he said, “Do this a second time.” And when they had done it a second time, he said, “Do it also a third time.” And they did so a third time.
And he said, Do it a third time, and they did it a third time.
35 And the water was running down around the altar, and the pit of the trench was filled with water.
And the water went all round the altar, till the drain was full.
36 And when it was now time for the holocaust to be offered, the prophet Elijah, drawing near, said: “O Lord, God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, reveal this day that you are the God of Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have acted, in all these things, in accord with your precept.
Then at the time of the offering, Elijah the prophet came near and said, O Lord, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be seen this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things by your order.
37 Heed me, O Lord, heed me, so that this people may learn that you are the Lord God, and that you have converted their heart again.”
Give me an answer, O Lord, give me an answer, so that this people may see that you are God, and that you have made their hearts come back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell down and devoured the holocaust, and the wood, and the stones, and even the dust, and it absorbed the water that was in the trench.
Then the fire of the Lord came down, burning up the offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and drinking up the water in the drain.
39 And when all the people had seen it, they fell upon their face, and they said: “The Lord himself is God! The Lord himself is God!”
And when the people saw it, they all went down on their faces, and said, The Lord, he is God, the Lord, he is God.
40 And Elijah said to them, “Apprehend the prophets of Baal, and do not let even one of them escape.” And when they had apprehended them, Elijah led them down to the torrent Kishon, and he put them to death there.
And Elijah said to them, Take the prophets of Baal, let not one of them get away. So they took them, and Elijah made them go down to the stream Kishon, and put them to death there.
41 And Elijah said to Ahab “Ascend; eat and drink. For there is the sound of an abundance of rain.”
Then Elijah said to Ahab, Up! take food and drink, for there is a sound of much rain.
42 Ahab ascended, so that he might eat and drink. But Elijah ascended to the top of Carmel, and bending down to the ground, he placed his face between his knees.
So Ahab went up to have food and drink, while Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he went down on the earth, putting his face between his knees.
43 And he said to his servant, “Ascend, and gaze out toward the sea.” And when he had ascended, and had contemplated, he said, “There is nothing.” And again, he said to him, “Return seven times.”
And he said to his servant, Go now, and take a look in the direction of the sea. And he went up, and after looking said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times; and he went seven times.
44 And at the seventh time, behold, a little cloud ascended from the sea like the footstep of a man. And he said: “Ascend, and say to Ahab, ‘Yoke your chariot, and descend; otherwise, the rain may prevent you.’”
And the seventh time he said, I see a cloud coming up out of the sea, as small as a man's hand. Then he said, Go up and say to Ahab, Get your carriage ready and go down or the rain will keep you back.
45 And as he was turning himself this way and that, behold, the heavens were darkened, and there were clouds and wind, and a great rainstorm occurred. And so Ahab, going up, went away to Jezreel.
And after a very little time, the heaven became black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab went in his carriage to Jezreel.
46 And the hand of the Lord was upon Elijah. And cinching his waist, he ran before Ahab, until he arrived at Jezreel.
And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he made himself strong, and went running before Ahab till they came to Jezreel.
