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.”
After many days, the LORD’s word came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain on the earth.”
2 So Elijah went to appear before Ahab. In the meantime the famine had become severe in Samaria.
Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria.
3 Ahab summoned Obadiah, the manager of his palace (Obadiah was a very sincere believer in the Lord.
Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (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.)
for when Jezebel cut off the LORD’s prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets, and hid them fifty to a cave, and fed 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.”
Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land, to all the springs of water, and to all the brooks. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, that we not lose all the animals.”
6 So they divided the land between them. Ahab went in one direction, and Obadiah the other.
So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
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?”
As Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. He recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
8 “It's me,” Elijah replied. “Go and tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”
He answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah is here!’”
9 “How have I sinned that you are handing me, your servant, over to Ahab to be killed?
He said, “How have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill 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 your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath of the kingdom and nation that they didn’t find you.
11 And now you're telling me to go to my master and announce, ‘Elijah is here!’
Now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’
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.
It will happen, as soon as I leave you, that the LORD’s Spirit will carry you I don’t know where; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can’t find you, he will kill me. But I, your 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.
Wasn’t it told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the LORD’s prophets, how I hid one hundred men of the LORD’s prophets with fifty to a cave, and fed 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!”
Now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here”.’ He will kill me.”
15 Elijah replied, “As the Lord Almighty lives, the one I serve, I will definitely appear before Ahab today.”
Elijah said, “As the LORD of Armies lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.”
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you—you who are causing trouble for Israel?”
When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of 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.
He answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken the LORD’s commandments and you have followed the Baals.
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.”
Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and four hundred fifty of the prophets of Baal, and four hundred of the prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20 So Ahab summoned all of Israel and also gathered the prophets on Mount Carmel.
So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together to 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.
Elijah came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you waver between the two sides? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” The people didn’t say 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.
Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left as a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred 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.
Let them therefore give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under; and I will dress the other bull, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under 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.”
You call on the name of your god, and I will call on the LORD’s name. The God who answers by fire, let him be God.” All the people answered, “What you say 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.”
Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves, and dress it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under 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.
They took the bull which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, “Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice, and nobody answered. They leaped about the altar which was 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!”
At noon, Elijah mocked them, and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is deep in thought, or he has gone somewhere, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he sleeps and must be awakened.”
28 They shouted even louder and cut themselves with swords and spears until they bled. This was their usual way of worshiping.
They cried aloud, and cut themselves in their way with knives and lances until the blood gushed out on 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.
When midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the evening offering; but there was no voice, no answer, and nobody paid attention.
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.
Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me!”; and all the people came near to him. He repaired the LORD’s altar that had been thrown 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.”)
Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the LORD’s word came, saying, “Israel shall be your 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.
With the stones he built an altar in the LORD’s name. He made a trench around the altar large enough to contain two seahs of seed.
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.”
He put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering and 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.
He said, “Do it a second time;” and they did it the second time. He said, “Do it a third time;” and they did it the third time.
35 The water ran down all over the altar and even filled the ditch.
The water ran around the altar; and he also filled the trench 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.
At the time of the evening offering, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.
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.”
Hear me, LORD, hear me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God, and that you 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!
Then the LORD’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust; and it licked up the water that was in the trench.
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!”
When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces. They said, “The LORD, he is God! The LORD, he is 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.
Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let one of them escape!” They seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there.
41 Elijah told Ahab, “Go and eat and drink, for I hear the sound of a heavy rain coming.”
Elijah said to Ahab, “Get up, eat and drink; for there is the 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 Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down on 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.”
He said to his servant, “Go up now and look toward the sea.” He went up and looked, then said, “There is nothing.” 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.’”
On the seventh time, he said, “Behold, a small cloud, like a man’s hand, is rising out of the sea.” He said, “Go up, tell Ahab, ‘Get ready and go down, so that the rain doesn’t stop you.’”
45 Very quickly the sky grew dark with clouds, the wind blew, heavy rain started falling, and Ahab rode down to Jezreel.
In a little while, the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
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.
The LORD’s hand was on Elijah; and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
