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.”
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.
2 Therefore, Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. For there was a severe famine in Samaria.
And Eliu went to appear before Achaab: and the famine [was] severe in Samaria.
3 And Ahab called Obadiah, the manager of his household. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly.
And Achaab called Abdiu the steward. Now Abdiu feared the Lord 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 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?
8 And he responded to him: “I am. Go and tell your lord that Elijah is here.”
And Eliu said to him, I [am]: go say to your master, Behold, Eliu [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 Abdiu said, What sin have I committed, that you give your servant into the hand of Achaab to kill me?
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.
[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.
11 And now, you say to me, ‘Go and tell your lord that Elijah is here.’
And now you say, Go, tell your lord, Behold, Eliu [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 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.
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 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?
14 And now you say: ‘Go and tell your lord that Elijah is here,’ so that he may kill me!”
And now you say to me, Go, say to your master, Behold, Eliu [is here]: and he shall kill me.
15 And Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whose face I stand, this day I will appear to him.”
And Eliu said, [As] the Lord of Hosts before whom I stand lives, today I will appear before him.
16 Therefore, Obadiah went away to meet Ahab, and he reported to him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.
And Abdiu went to meet Achaab, and told him: and Achaab hasted forth, and went to meet Eliu.
17 And when he had seen him, he said, “Are you the one who is disturbing Israel?”
And it came to pass when Achaab saw Eliu, that Achaab said to Eliu, Are you he that perverts 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.
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.
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.”
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.
20 Ahab sent to all the sons of Israel, and he gathered together the prophets on mount Carmel.
And Achaab sent to all Israel, and gathered all the prophets to 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
And Eliu said to the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near to him.
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 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.
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 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.
33 And he arranged the wood, and he cut the ox into pieces, and he placed it on the wood.
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.
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 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.
35 And the water was running down around the altar, and the pit of the trench was filled with water.
And the water ran round about the altar, and they filled the trench with water.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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 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.
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 all the people fell upon their faces, and said, Truly the Lord [is] God; 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 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.
41 And Elijah said to Ahab “Ascend; eat and drink. For there is the sound of an abundance of rain.”
And Eliu said to Achaab, Go up, and eat and drink, for [there is] a sound of the coming of 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.
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,
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 said to his servant, Go up, and look toward the sea. And the servant looked, and said, There is nothing: and Eliu said, Do you then go again 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 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.
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 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.
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] upon Eliu, and he girded up his loins, and ran before Achaab to Jezrael.
