1 Kings 18
1 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.
Now after a long time, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go and let Ahab see you, so that I may send rain on the earth.
2 And Elijah went to show himself unto Achab; and the famine was grievous in Samaria.
So Elijah went to let Ahab see him. Now there was no food to be had in Samaria.
3 And Achab called 'Obadiah, who was the superintendent of the house; —(now 'Obadiah feared the Lord greatly;
And Ahab sent for Obadiah, the controller of the king's house. (Now Obadiah had the fear of the Lord before him greatly;
4 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; )
For when Jezebel was cutting off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred of them, and kept them secretly in a hole in the rock, fifty at a time, and gave them bread and water.)
5 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.
And Ahab said to Obadiah, Come, let us go through all the country, to all the fountains of water and all the rivers, and see if there is any grass to be had for the horses and the transport beasts, so that we may be able to keep some of the beasts from destruction.
6 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.
So they went through all the country, covering it between them; Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another by himself.
7 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?
And while Obadiah was on his way, he came face to face with Elijah; and seeing who it was, he went down on his face and said, Is it you, my lord Elijah?
8 And he said unto him, I am: go, say unto thy Lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
And Elijah in answer said, It is I; now go and say to your lord, Elijah is here.
9 And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldst deliver thy servant into the hand of Achab, to slay me?
And he said, What sin have I done, that you would give up your servant into the hand of Ahab, and be the cause of my death?
10 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.
By the life of the Lord your God, there is not a nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent in search of you; and when they said, He is not here; he made them take an oath that they had not seen you.
11 And now thou sayest, Go, say unto thy Lord, Behold, here is Elijah.
And now you say, Go, say to your lord, Elijah is here.
12 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.
And straight away, when I have gone from you, the spirit of the Lord will take you away, I have no idea where, so that when I come and give word to Ahab, and he sees you not, he will put me to death: though I, your servant, have been a worshipper of the Lord from my earliest years.
13 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?
Has my lord not had word of what I did when Jezebel was putting the Lord's prophets to death? how I kept a hundred of them in a secret hole in the rock, fifty at a time, and gave them bread and water?
14 And now thou sayest, Go say to thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he will slay me.
And now you say, Go and say to your Lord, Elijah is here; and he will put me to death.
15 Then said Elijah, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I have stood, surely today will I show myself unto him.
And Elijah said, By the life of the Lord of armies, whose servant I am, I will certainly let him see me today.
16 So 'Ohadiah went to meet Achab, and he told it to him; and Achab went to meet Elijah.
So Obadiah went to Ahab and gave him the news; and Ahab went to see Elijah.
17 And it came to pass, when Achab saw Elijah, that Achab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
And when he saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, Is it you, you troubler of Israel?
18 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.
Then he said in answer, I have not been troubling Israel, but you and your family; because, turning away from the orders of the Lord, you have gone after the Baals.
19 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.
Now send, and get Israel together before me at Mount Carmel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal who get their food at Jezebel's table.
20 And Achab sent round among all the children of Israel, and he assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel.
So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and got the prophets together at Mount Carmel.
21 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.
And Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long will you go on balancing between two opinions? if the Lord is God, then give worship to him; but if Baal, give worship to him. And the people said not a word in answer.
22 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.
Then Elijah said to the people, I, even I, am the only living prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
23 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.
Now, let them give us two oxen; and let them take one for themselves, and have it cut up, and put it on the wood, but put no fire under it; I will get the other ox ready, and put it on the wood, and put no fire under it.
24 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.
And do you make prayers to your god, and I will make a prayer to the Lord: and it will be clear that the one who gives an answer by fire is God. And all the people in answer said, It is well said.
25 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.
Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Take one ox for yourselves and get it ready first, for there are more of you; and make your prayers to your god, but put no fire under.
26 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.
So they took the ox which was given them, and made it ready, crying out to Baal from morning till the middle of the day, and saying, O Baal, give ear to us. But there was no voice and no answer. And they were jumping up and down before the altar they had made.
27 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.
And in the middle of the day, Elijah made sport of them, saying, Give louder cries, for he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or he may have gone away for some purpose, or he may be on a journey, or by chance he is sleeping and has to be made awake.
28 And they called with a loud voice and cut themselves after their custom with knives and spears, till the blood gushed out over them.
So they gave loud cries, cutting themselves with knives and swords, as was their way, till the blood came streaming out all over them.
29 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.
And from the middle of the day they went on with their prayers till the time of the offering; but there was no voice, or any answer, or any who gave attention to them.
30 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.
Then Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me; and all the people came near. And he put up again the altar of the Lord which had been broken down.
31 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.
And Elijah took twelve stones, the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the Lord had said, Israel will be your name:
32 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.
And with the stones he made an altar to the name of the Lord; and he made a deep drain all round the altar, great enough to take two measures of seed.
33 And he put in order the wood, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid them on the wood,
And he put the wood in order, and, cutting up the ox, put it on the wood. Then he said, Get four vessels full of water and put it on the burned offering and on the wood. And he said, Do it a second time, and they did it a second time;
34 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.
And he said, Do it a third time, and they did it a third time.
35 And the water ran round about the altar; and the trench also he filled with water.
And the water went all round the altar, till the drain was full.
36 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.
Then at the time of the offering, Elijah the prophet came near and said, O Lord, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be seen this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things by your order.
37 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.
Give me an answer, O Lord, give me an answer, so that this people may see that you are God, and that you have made their hearts come back again.
38 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.
Then the fire of the Lord came down, burning up the offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and drinking up the water in the drain.
39 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.
And when the people saw it, they all went down on their faces, and said, The Lord, he is God, the Lord, he is God.
40 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.
And Elijah said to them, Take the prophets of Baal, let not one of them get away. So they took them, and Elijah made them go down to the stream Kishon, and put them to death there.
41 And Elijah said unto Achab, Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
Then Elijah said to Ahab, Up! take food and drink, for there is a sound of much rain.
42 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;
So Ahab went up to have food and drink, while Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he went down on the earth, putting his face between his knees.
43 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.
And he said to his servant, Go now, and take a look in the direction of the sea. And he went up, and after looking said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times; and he went seven times.
44 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.
And the seventh time he said, I see a cloud coming up out of the sea, as small as a man's hand. Then he said, Go up and say to Ahab, Get your carriage ready and go down or the rain will keep you back.
45 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.
And after a very little time, the heaven became black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab went in his carriage to Jezreel.
46 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.
And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he made himself strong, and went running before Ahab till they came to Jezreel.
