1 Kings 18
1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of YHWH came to EliYah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon 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 EliYah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria.
So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria,
3 And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared YHWH greatly:
and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD,
4 For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of YHWH, that Obadiah took an 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 Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts.
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 So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
So they divided the land to explore. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.
7 And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, EliYah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my master EliYah?
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 he answered him, I am: go, tell thy master, Behold, EliYah is here.
“It is I,” he answered. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here!’”
9 And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me?
But Obadiah replied, “How have I sinned, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death?
10 As YHWH thy Elohim liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my master hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.
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 thou sayest, Go, tell thy master, Behold, EliYah is here.
And now you say, ‘Go tell your master that Elijah is here!’
12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of YHWH shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear YHWH from my 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 Was it not told my master what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of YHWH, how I hid an hundred men of YHWH 's prophets 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 thou sayest, Go, tell thy master, Behold, EliYah is here: and he shall slay me.
And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord that Elijah is here!’ He will kill me!”
15 And EliYah said, As YHWH of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day.
Then Elijah said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to Ahab today.”
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet EliYah.
So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah.
17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw EliYah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of YHWH, and thou hast followed 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 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel'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 So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.
21 And EliYah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if YHWH be Elohim, follow him: but if the Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him 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 Then said EliYah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of YHWH; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
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 therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:
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 call ye on the name of your elohim, and I will call on the name of YHWH: and the Elohim that answereth by fire, let him be Elohim. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
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 EliYah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your elohim, but put no fire under.
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 bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was 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 came to pass at noon, that EliYah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is an elohim; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must 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 aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till 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 it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
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 EliYah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of YHWH that was broken down.
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 EliYah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of YHWH came, saying, Israel shall be thy 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 with the stones he built an altar in the name of YHWH: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
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 put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
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 he filled the trench also with water.
So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that EliYah the prophet came near, and said, YHWH Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art Elohim in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
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 YHWH, hear me, that this people may know that thou art YHWH Elohim, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
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 the fire of YHWH fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
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 when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, YHWH, he is the Elohim; YHWH, he is the Elohim.
When all the people saw this, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
40 And EliYah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and EliYah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew 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 EliYah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And EliYah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, 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 now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, 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 it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.
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 mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
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 YHWH was on EliYah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
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.
