Kings III 18
1 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.
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 And Eliu went to appear before Achaab: and the famine [was] severe in Samaria.
Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria.
3 And Achaab called Abdiu the steward. Now Abdiu feared the Lord greatly.
Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly;
4 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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?
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 And Eliu said to him, I [am]: go say to your master, Behold, Eliu [is here].
He answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah is here!’”
9 And Abdiu said, What sin have I committed, that you give your servant into the hand of Achaab to kill me?
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 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.
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 did not find you.
11 And now you say, Go, tell your lord, Behold, Eliu [is here].
Now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’
12 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.
It will happen, as soon as I leave you, that the LORD’s Spirit will carry you I do not know where; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.
13 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?
Was not 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 say to me, Go, say to your master, Behold, Eliu [is here]: and he shall kill me.
Now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here”.’ He will kill me.”
15 And Eliu said, [As] the Lord of Hosts before whom I stand lives, today I will appear before him.
Elijah said, “As the LORD of Armies lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.”
16 And Abdiu went to meet Achaab, and told him: and Achaab hasted forth, and went to meet Eliu.
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 And it came to pass when Achaab saw Eliu, that Achaab said to Eliu, Are you he that perverts Israel?
When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
18 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.
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 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.
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 And Achaab sent to all Israel, and gathered all the prophets to mount Carmel.
So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together to Mount Carmel.
21 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.
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 did not say a word.
22 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
They cried aloud, and cut themselves in their way with knives and lances until the blood gushed out on them.
29 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.
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 And Eliu said to the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near to him.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 And the water ran round about the altar, and they filled the trench with water.
The water ran around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
36 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 And all the people fell upon their faces, and said, Truly the Lord [is] God; 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 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.
Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” They seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there.
41 And Eliu said to Achaab, Go up, and eat and drink, for [there is] a sound of the coming of rain.
Elijah said to Ahab, “Get up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”
42 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,
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 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.
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 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.
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 does not stop you.’”
45 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.
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 And the hand of the Lord [was] upon Eliu, and he girded up his loins, and ran before Achaab to Jezrael.
The LORD’s hand was on Elijah; and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
