1 Kings 18
1 Sometime later, during the third year, a message from the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and appear before Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”
And it lasted many days, when the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Achab; and I will give rain upon the face of the earth.
2 So Elijah went to appear before Ahab. In the meantime the famine had become severe in Samaria.
And Elijah went to show himself unto Achab; and the famine was grievous in Samaria.
3 Ahab summoned Obadiah, the manager of his palace (Obadiah was a very sincere believer in the Lord.
And Achab called 'Obadiah, who was the superintendent of the house; —(now 'Obadiah feared the Lord greatly;
4 While Jezebel was busy killing the Lord's prophets, Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty in each of two caves, and had provided them with food and water.)
And it happened, when Izebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that 'Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them fifty each in one cave, and provided them with bread and water; )
5 Ahab told Obadiah, “Go throughout the country and check all the springs and valleys. Perhaps we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not lose any of the animals.”
And Achab said unto 'Obadiah, Go through the land, unto all the springs of water, and unto all the brooks, peradventure we may find grass and keep alive horse and mule, that we lose not all the cattle.
6 So they divided the land between them. Ahab went in one direction, and Obadiah the other.
So they divided between them the land to pass through it: Achab went one way by himself alone, and 'Obadiah went another way by himself alone.
7 As Obadiah went on his way, Elijah came to meet him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
And as 'Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah came toward him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou here indeed, my Lord Elijah?
8 “It's me,” Elijah replied. “Go and tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”
And he said unto him, I am: go, say unto thy Lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
9 “How have I sinned that you are handing me, your servant, over to Ahab to be killed?
And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldst deliver thy servant into the hand of Achab, to slay me?
10 As the Lord your God lives, there's no nation or kingdom where my master hasn't sent someone to search for you. When a nation or kingdom said you weren't there, he made them swear that they couldn't find you.
As the Lord thy God liveth, there is not a nation or kingdom whither my Lord hath not sent to seek thee; and when they said, He is not here: he caused that kingdom and nation to take an oath, that no one could find thee.
11 And now you're telling me to go to my master and announce, ‘Elijah is here!’
And now thou sayest, Go, say unto thy Lord, Behold, here is Elijah.
12 I have no idea where the Spirit of the Lord will take you after I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and then he can't find you, he's going to kill me, even though I, your servant, have worshiped the Lord since I was young.
And it may come to pass, that, when I go from thee, the spirit of the Lord may carry thee whither I know not; and when I come to inform Achab, and he cannot find thee, he will slay me; but I thy servant have feared the Lord from my youth.
13 Didn't you hear, my lord, what I did when Jezebel was busy killing the Lord's prophets? I hid a hundred of the Lord's prophets, fifty in each of two caves, and provided them with food and water.
Hath it not been told unto my Lord what I did when Izebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the prophets of the Lord, fifty each in one cave, and provided them with bread and water?
14 And now you're telling me to go to my master and announce, ‘Elijah is here.’ He's going to kill me!”
And now thou sayest, Go say to thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he will slay me.
15 Elijah replied, “As the Lord Almighty lives, the one I serve, I will definitely appear before Ahab today.”
Then said Elijah, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I have stood, surely today will I show myself unto him.
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
So 'Ohadiah went to meet Achab, and he told it to him; and Achab went to meet Elijah.
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you—you who are causing trouble for Israel?”
And it came to pass, when Achab saw Elijah, that Achab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
18 “I'm not causing trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “It's you and your father's family! You have rejected the Lord's commands and are worshiping the Baals.
And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, through your forsaking the commandments of the Lord, and because thou hast followed the Be'alim.
19 Now call together all of Israel and meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who are supported by Jezebel.”
And now send, assemble unto me all Israel at Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Ba'al four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the grove four hundred, who eat at the table of Izebel.
20 So Ahab summoned all of Israel and also gathered the prophets on Mount Carmel.
And Achab sent round among all the children of Israel, and he assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel.
21 Elijah approached the people and asked them, “How long will you hobble along, hesitating between two opposite beliefs? If the Lord is God, then follow him. But if Baal is God, then follow him.” But the people gave o answer.
And Elijah approached unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between the two opinions? if the Lord be the God, follow him; and if Ba'al—follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
22 Then Elijah told them, “I am the only one left of the Lord's prophets—just me alone—but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.
And Elijah said unto the people, I have been left a prophet of the Lord by myself alone; but the prophets of Ba'al are four hundred and fifty men.
23 Provide us with two bulls. Let the prophets of Baal choose for themselves the one they want, and have them cut it into pieces and place it on the firewood. But don't set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and place it on the firewood but I won't set fire to it.
Therefore let there be given unto us two bullocks; and let them choose for themselves the one bullock, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire to it: and I will prepare the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire to it.
24 Then you call on your god by name, and I will call on the Lord by name. The god who replies by sending fire—he is God.” Then all the people said, “We agree to what you say.”
And do ye call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and it shall be that the God who answereth by fire, he shall be the [true] God. And all the people answered and said, The proposal is good.
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “You choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, because there are so many of you. Call on your god by name, but don't light the fire.”
And Elijah said unto the prophets of Ba'al, Choose you for yourselves the one bullock, and prepare it first; for ye are the many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it.
26 So they took the bull provided and prepared it. Then they called on Baal by name from morning until noon. “Baal, answer us!” they pleaded. But no voice was heard, no one answered. They hobbled in a dance around the altar they had made.
And they took the bullock which he had given to them, and they prepared it; and they called on the name of Ba'al from morning even until noon, saying, O Ba'al, answer us; but there was no voice, nor any answer: and they danced about the altar which had been made.
27 At noon Elijah began to mock them. “Shout really loud!” he said. “Isn't he meant to be a god? Maybe he's meditating, or he's gone to the bathroom, or he's away on a trip! Maybe he's asleep and has to be woken up!”
And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked at them, and said, Call with a loud voice; for he is a god; either he is holding council, or he is busy in some pursuit, or he is on a journey; or peradventure he sleepeth, and may thus awaken.
28 They shouted even louder and cut themselves with swords and spears until they bled. This was their usual way of worshiping.
And they called with a loud voice and cut themselves after their custom with knives and spears, till the blood gushed out over them.
29 Noon came and went, and they went on with their manic “prophesying” until the time of the evening sacrifice. But no voice was heard, no one answered, no one was listening.
And it came to pass, when midday was past, that they practised their follies until near [the time of] the offering of the evening-sacrifice; but there was neither voice, nor any answer, nor any perceptible sound.
30 Then Elijah told everyone, “Come over here to me.” They went over to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down.
And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me: and all the people came near unto him; and he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down.
31 Elijah took twelve stones to represent the tribes of the sons of Jacob. (Jacob was the one who received the Lord's message that said, “Israel shall be your name.”)
And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord was come, saying, Israel shall be thy name.
32 With the stones he built an altar in the Lord's name. He dug a ditch around it that could hold two seahs of seed.
And he built of the stones an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench as great as would contain two seahs of seed round about the altar.
33 He put the wood in place, cut the bull into pieces, and laid it on the wood. Then he told them, “Fill up four large jars with water and pour it over the offering and the wood.”
And he put in order the wood, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid them on the wood,
34 “Do it again,” he said. So they did. “Do it for a third time,” he said. So they did it for the third time.
And he said. Fill four jars with water; and they had to pour it on the burnt-offering, and on the wood: 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 The water ran down all over the altar and even filled the ditch.
And the water ran round about the altar; and the trench also he filled with water.
36 At the time of the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah went over to the altar and prayed: “Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, demonstrate today that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that everything I have done has been at your command.
And it came to pass, at [the time of] the offering of the evening-sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, O Lord, God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, this day let it be known that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that at thy word I have done all these things.
37 Answer me, Lord! Answer me, so that these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are bringing them back to you.”
Answer me, O Lord, answer me, and let all this people know that thou, O Lord, art the [true] God, and thou wilt [then] have turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord came down and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil—it even licked up the water in the ditch!
And there fell a fire of the Lord, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust; and the water also that was in the trench did it lick up.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell face down on the ground and shouted, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!”
And when all the people saw this, they fell on their faces; and they said, the Lord—he is the God; the Lord—he is the God.
40 Then Elijah ordered them, “Grab hold of the prophets of Baal. Don't let any escape!” They grabbed them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and killed them there.
And Elijah said unto them, Seize the prophets of Ba'al; not one of them must escape; and they seized them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slaughtered them there.
41 Elijah told Ahab, “Go and eat and drink, for I hear the sound of a heavy rain coming.”
And Elijah said unto Achab, Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
42 So Ahab went to eat and drink, but Elijah went to the top of Carmel. There he bent down to the ground, putting his face between his knees.
So Achab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down toward the earth, and put his face between his knees;
43 “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. The man went and looked. “There's nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah told him, “Go and look again.”
And he said to his servant, Go up, I pray thee, look in the direction of the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, Not the least [is visible]. And he said, Go again, seven times.
44 The seventh time the servant came back and said, “I saw a small cloud the size of a man's hand coming up from the sea.” So Elijah said, “Run to Ahab and tell him, ‘Get your chariot ready and go down before the rain stops you.’”
And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there is a little cloud like a man's hand arising out of the sea. And he said, Go up, say unto Achab, Harness up [thy chariot], and come down, that the rain may not detain thee.
45 Very quickly the sky grew dark with clouds, the wind blew, heavy rain started falling, and Ahab rode down to Jezreel.
And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heavens were blackened with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Achab rode, and went to Yizre'el.
46 The Lord gave his power to Elijah—he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
And the inspiration of the Lord came over Elijah, and he girded up his loins; and he ran before Achab up to the entrance of Yizre'el.
