1 Kings 18
1 And the days are many, and the word of YHWH has been to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, appear to Ahab, and I give rain on the face of the ground”;
For almost three years there was no rain in Samaria. Then Yahweh said this to Elijah: “Go and meet with King Ahab and [tell him that] I will soon send rain.”
2 and Elijah goes to appear to Ahab. And the famine is severe in Samaria,
So Elijah went to talk to Ahab. In Samaria there was almost no food for anyone to eat.
3 and Ahab calls to Obadiah, who [is] over the house—and Obadiah has been fearing YHWH greatly,
There was a man there named Obadiah. He was in charge of the king’s palace. He greatly revered Yahweh.
4 and it comes to pass, in Jezebel’s cutting off the prophets of YHWH, that Obadiah takes one hundred prophets, and hides them, fifty men in a cave, and has sustained them with bread and water—
One time when [Queen] Jezebel had [tried to] kill all Yahweh’s prophets, Obadiah hid 100 of them in two caves. He put 50 prophets in each cave, and he brought food and water to them.
5 and Ahab says to Obadiah, “Go through the land, to all fountains of waters, and to all the brooks, perhaps we find hay, and keep alive horse and mule, and do not cut off any of the livestock.”
[By this time, the (famine/lack of food and water) had become very severe in Samaria]. So Ahab summoned Obadiah and said to him, “We must check/look near every spring and in every valley to see if we can find enough grass to give to some of my horses and mules, so that they will not all die.”
6 And they apportion the land to themselves, to pass over into it; Ahab has gone in one way by himself, and Obadiah has gone in another way by himself;
So they both started walking throughout the land. Obadiah went in one direction by himself, and Ahab went in another direction by himself.
7 and Obadiah [is] in the way, and behold, Elijah [is there] to meet him; and he discerns him, and falls on his face and says, “Are you he—my lord Elijah?”
While Obadiah was walking along, he saw Elijah coming toward him. Obadiah recognized Elijah and bowed down in front of him and said, “Is it really you, Elijah, my master?”
8 And he says to him, “I [am]; go, say to your lord, Behold, Elijah.”
Elijah replied, “Yes. Now go and tell [Ahab, ] your master, that I am here.”
9 And he says, “What have I sinned, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab—to put me to death?
Obadiah objected. He said, “Sir, I have not [RHQ] harmed you at all. So why are you sending me back to Ahab? He will kill me!
10 Your God YHWH lives, if there is a nation and kingdom to where my lord has not sent to seek [for] you; and they said, He is not, then he caused the kingdom and the nation to swear, that it does not find you;
Yahweh your God [knows that I am telling the truth when] I solemnly declare that King Ahab has searched in every kingdom all over the world [HYP] to find you. Each time that some king said to him, ‘Elijah is not here,’ Ahab demanded that the king of that country solemnly swear/declare that the king was telling the truth.
11 and now, you are saying, Go, say to your lord, Behold, Elijah;
Now you say to me, ‘Go and tell your master that Elijah is here!’
12 and it has been, I go from you, and the Spirit of YHWH lifts you up to where I do not know, and I have come to declare to Ahab, and he does not find you, and he has slain me; and your servant is fearing YHWH from my youth.
But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you away, and I will not know where he will take you. So when [I tell] Ahab [that you are here and he] comes to me and he does not find you here, he will kill me! But [I do not deserve to die because] I have revered Yahweh since I was a boy.
13 Has it not been declared to my lord that which I have done in Jezebel’s slaying the prophets of YHWH, that I hide one hundred men of the prophets of YHWH, fifty by fifty in a cave, and sustained them with bread and water?
My master, have you not heard about what I did when Jezebel wanted to kill all of Yahweh’s prophets? I hid 100 of them in two caves and took food and water to them.
14 And now you are saying, Go, say to my lord, Behold, Elijah—and he has slain me!”
Now, sir, you say, ‘Go and tell your master that Elijah is here.’ But if I do that, [and he comes and you are not here, ] he will kill me!”
15 And Elijah says, “YHWH of Hosts lives, before whom I have stood, surely I appear to him today.”
But Elijah replied, “Yahweh, the Almighty One whom I serve [IDM], knows that [I am telling the truth as] I solemnly declare that I will go to meet with Ahab today.”
16 Obadiah goes to meet Ahab, and declares [it] to him, and Ahab goes to meet Elijah.
So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come. Ahab went to meet with him.
17 [And it] comes to pass at Ahab’s seeing Elijah that Ahab says to him, “Are you he—the troubler of Israel?”
When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, the one who causes trouble for [the people of] Israel?”
18 And he says, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and the house of your father, in your forsaking the commands of YHWH, and you go after the Ba‘alim;
Elijah replied, “It is not I who have caused trouble for the people of Israel! You and your family are the ones who have caused trouble! You have refused to obey Yahweh’s commands, and you have worshiped the idols of Baal instead.
19 and now, send, gather all Israel to me, to the Mount of Carmel, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Ba‘al, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who are eating at the table of Jezebel.”
So now, command all the Israeli people to come to Carmel Mountain, and [be sure to] bring all the 450 prophets who worship Baal and the 400 prophets who worship [the goddess] Asherah, the ones to whom [your wife] Jezebel brings food and water.”
20 And Ahab sends among all the sons of Israel, and gathers the prophets to the Mount of Carmel;
So Ahab summoned all his prophets and all the other [Israeli] people to the top of Carmel Mountain, [and Elijah went up there too.]
21 and Elijah comes near to all the people and says, “Until when are you leaping on the two branches? If YHWH [is] God, go after Him; and if Ba‘al, go after him”; and the people have not answered him a word.
Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How long [RHQ] are you going to be undecided [about who is truly God]? If Yahweh is [truly] God, then worship/serve him. If Baal is truly God, then worship/serve him!” But the people said nothing [in reply, because they were afraid of what Jezebel would do to them if they admitted that they worshiped Yahweh].
22 And Elijah says to the people, “I have been left, by myself, a prophet of YHWH; and the prophets of Ba‘al [are] four hundred and fifty men;
Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only true prophet of Yahweh who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets.
23 and let them give two bullocks to us, and they choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and place [it] on the wood, and place no fire; and I prepare the other bullock, and have put [it] on the wood, and I do not place fire—
Bring two bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose the one that they want. They must [kill it and] cut it into pieces and lay the pieces on the wood that is on the altar that they have made. But they must not light a fire [under the wood]. [I will kill the other bull and cut it in pieces and lay the pieces on the altar that I make].
24 and you have called in the name of your god, and I call in the Name of YHWH, and it has been, the god who answers by fire—He [is] the God.” And all the people answer and say, “The word [is] good.”
Then they must call to their god [MTY], and I will call to Yahweh. The god who answers by lighting a fire [to the wood that is on that altar] is [the true] God!” Then all the people thought that Elijah’s suggestion was good.
25 And Elijah says to the prophets of Ba‘al, “Choose one bullock for yourselves, and prepare [it] first, for you [are] the multitude, and call in the name of your god, and place no fire.”
Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “You call to Baal first, because there are many of you. Choose one of the bulls and prepare it, and then call to your god. But do not light a fire under the wood!”
26 And they take the bullock that [one] gave to them, and prepare [it], and call in the name of Ba‘al from the morning even until the noon, saying, “O Ba‘al, answer us!” And there is no voice, and there is none answering; and they leap on the altar that one had made.
So they killed one of the bulls and cut it up and placed the pieces on the altar. Then they called out to Baal all morning. They shouted, “Baal, answer us!” But no one answered. There was no reply at all [DOU]. Then they danced wildly around the altar that they had made.
27 And it comes to pass, at noon, that Elijah mocks at them and says, “Call with a loud voice, for he [is] a god, for he is meditating, or pursuing, or on a journey; it may be he is asleep, and awakes.”
About noontime, Elijah started to make fun of them. He said, “[Surely] Baal is a god, so it seems that you must shout louder! Perhaps he is thinking about something, or perhaps he has gone to the toilet. Or perhaps he is traveling somewhere, or perhaps he is asleep and you need to wake him up!”
28 And they call with a loud voice, and cut themselves, according to their ordinance, with swords and with spears, until a flowing of blood [is] on them;
So they shouted louder. Then, doing one of the things that they frequently did [when they worshiped Baal], they slashed/cut themselves with knives and swords until a lot of blood flowed.
29 and it comes to pass, at the passing by of the noon, that they feign themselves prophets until the going up of the present, and there is no voice, and there is none answering, and there is none attending.
They continued calling out to Baal all afternoon. But there was no reply, no answer, no god who paid attention.
30 And Elijah says to all the people, “Come near to me”; and all the people come near to him, and he repairs the altar of YHWH that is broken down;
Then Elijah called to the people saying, “Come closer!” So they all crowded around him. Then Elijah repaired the altar of Yahweh that had previously been (ruined/torn down) [by the prophets of Baal].
31 and Elijah takes twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of YHWH was, saying, “Israel is your name”;
Then he took twelve [large] stones, each one to represent one of the Israeli tribes. The names of those tribes were given to them by their ancestor Jacob.
32 and he builds an altar with the stones, in the Name of YHWH, and makes a trench, as about the space of two measures of seed, around the altar.
With these stones he rebuilt Yahweh’s altar. Then around the altar he dug a little ditch that was large enough to hold about (three gallons/12 liters) of water.
33 And he arranges the wood, and cuts the bullock in pieces, and places [it] on the wood, and says, “Fill four pitchers of water, and pour [them] on the burnt-offering, and on the wood”;
He piled wood on top of the stones. He killed the bull and cut it in pieces. Then he laid the pieces on top of the wood. Then he said, “Fill four large jars with water, and pour the water on top of the pieces of meat and the wood.” So they did that.
34 and he says, “Do [it] a second time”; and they do [it] a second time; and he says, “Do [it] a third time”; and they do [it] a third time;
Then he said, “Do the same thing again!” So they did it again. Then he said “Do it a third time!” So they did it again.
35 and the water goes around the altar, and he has also filled the trench with water.
As a result, the water flowed down below the altar and filled the ditches.
36 And it comes to pass, at the going up of the [evening] present, that Elijah the prophet comes near and says, “YHWH, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that You [are] God in Israel, and that I, Your servant, have done the whole of these things by Your word;
When it was time to offer the evening sacrifices, Elijah walked close [to the altar] and prayed. He said, “Yahweh, you who are the God that [our ancestors] Abraham and Isaac and Jacob [worshiped], prove today that you are the God whom the Israeli people [should worship], and prove that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all these things because you told me to do them.
37 answer me, O YHWH, answer me, and this people [then] knows that You [are] YHWH God; and You have turned their heart backward.”
Yahweh, answer me! Answer me in order that these people will know that you, Yahweh God, [have the power to do what you say that you will do], and that you have caused them to trust in [IDM] you again!”
38 And a fire falls [from] YHWH, and consumes the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and it has licked up the water that [is] in the trench.
Immediately a fire from Yahweh flashed down from the sky. The fire burned up the pieces of meat, the wood, the stones, and the dirt [that was around the altar]. It even dried up all the water in the ditch!
39 And all the people see, and fall on their faces, and say, “YHWH, He [is] the God! YHWH, He [is] the God!”
When the people saw that, they prostrated themselves on the ground and shouted, “Yahweh is God! Yahweh is God!”
40 And Elijah says to them, “Catch the prophets of Ba‘al; do not let a man escape from them”; and they catch them, and Elijah brings them down to the Brook of Kishon, and slaughters them there.
Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize all the prophets of Baal! Do not allow any of them to escape!” So the people seized all the prophets of Baal, and took them down the mountain to the Kishon Valley, and Elijah killed them all there.
41 And Elijah says to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, because of the sound of the noise of the shower.”
Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go and get something to eat and drink. [But do it quickly, because] it is soon going to rain very hard!”
42 And Ahab goes up to eat, and to drink, and Elijah has gone up to the top of Carmel, and he stretches himself out on the earth, and he places his face between his knees,
So Ahab [and his men] left to prepare a big meal. But Elijah went back up to the top of Carmel Mountain and prayed.
43 and says to his young man, “Now go up, look attentively [toward] the way of the sea”; and he goes up and looks attentively, and says, “There is nothing”; and he says, “Turn back,” seven times.
Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea, [to see if there are any rain clouds.]” So his servant went and looked, [and came back] and said, “I do not see anything.” This happened six times.
44 And it comes to pass, at the seventh, that he says, “Behold, a little thickness as the palm of a man is coming up out of the sea.” And he says, “Go up, say to Ahab, Bind and go down, and the shower does not restrain you.”
But when the servant went the seventh time, he came back and said, “I saw a very small cloud above the sea. [As I extend my arm, ] the cloud is about the size of my hand/fist.” Then Elijah shouted to him, “Go and tell King Ahab to get his chariot ready and go home immediately! If he does not do that, the rain will stop him!”
45 And it comes to pass, in the meantime, that the heavens have become black—thick clouds and wind—and the shower is great; and Ahab rides, and goes to Jezreel,
Very soon the sky was full of black clouds. There was a strong wind, and then it began to rain very hard. Ahab got into his chariot and started to return to Jezreel [city].
46 and the hand of YHWH has been on Elijah, and he girds up his loins, and runs before Ahab, until your entering Jezreel.
Yahweh gave extra strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt [in order to run fast], and he ran ahead of Ahab’s [chariot] all the way [17 miles/26 km.] to Jezreel.
