< 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.
2 And Elijah went to show himself unto Achab; and the famine was grievous in Samaria.
3 And Achab called 'Obadiah, who was the superintendent of the house; —(now 'Obadiah feared the Lord 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; )
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.
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.
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?
8 And he said unto him, I am: go, say unto thy Lord, Behold, 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?
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.
11 And now thou sayest, Go, say unto thy Lord, Behold, here is Elijah.
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.
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?
14 And now thou sayest, Go say to thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he will slay me.
15 Then said Elijah, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I have stood, surely today will I show myself unto him.
16 So 'Ohadiah went to meet Achab, and he told it to him; and Achab went to meet Elijah.
17 And it came to pass, when Achab saw Elijah, that Achab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth 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.
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.
20 And Achab sent round among all the children of Israel, and he assembled the prophets 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
33 And he put in order the wood, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid them on the wood,
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.
35 And the water ran round about the altar; and the trench also he filled with water.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
41 And Elijah said unto Achab, Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of 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;
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.
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.
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.
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.
