1 Kings 18
1 And it came to pass, after many days, that, the word of Yahweh, came unto Elijah, in the third year, saying, —Go, shew thyself unto Ahab, that I may send rain upon the face of the ground.
After many days the word of the Lord came to Elias, in the third year, saying: Go and shew thyself to Achab, that I may give rain upon the face of the earth.
2 And Elijah went, to show himself unto Ahab. Now, the famine, was severe in Samaria.
And Elias went to shew himself to Achab, and there was a grievous famine in Samaria.
3 And Ahab had called for Obadiah, who was over his house. Now, Obadiah, was one who revered Yahweh, exceedingly.
And Achab called Abdias the governor of his house: now Abdias feared the Lord very much.
4 And so it came to pass, when Jezebel was cutting off the prophets of Yahweh, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifties in caves, and sustained them, with bread and water.
For when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, he took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and water.
5 So then Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go, and let us pass throughout the land, unto all the fountains of water, and unto all the ravines, peradventure we may find grass, and save alive horse and mule, and not have more of the beasts cut off.
And Achab said to Abdias: Go into the land unto all fountains of waters, and into all valleys, to see if we can find grass, and save the horses and mules, that the beasts may not utterly perish.
6 So they divided to them the land, to pass through it, —Ahab, went one way, by himself, and, Obadiah, went another way, by himself.
And they divided the countries between them, that they might go round about them: Achab went one way, and Abdias another way by himself.
7 And so it was, as Obadiah was on the road, that lo! Elijah, met him, —and he recognised him, and fell upon his face, and said—Now art, thou, my lord Elijah?
And as Abdias was in the way, Elias met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said: Art thou my lord Elias?
8 And he said to him—I, am! Go, say to thy lord: Here, is, Elijah!
And he answered: I am. Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here.
9 And he said—How have I sinned, —that, thou, art delivering thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to put me to death?
And he said: What have I sinned, that thou wouldst deliver me thy servant into the hand of Achab, that he should kill me?
10 By the life of Yahweh thy God, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee, and, when they have said—Nay! he hath taken an oath of the kingdom or the nation, that no one could find thee;
As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when all answered: He is not here: he took an oath of every kingdom and nation, because thou wast not found.
11 and, now, thou, art saying, —Go say to thy lord, Here, is, Elijah;
And now thou sayest to me: Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here.
12 so shall it come to pass, as soon as, I, go from thee, that, the spirit of Yahweh, shall carry thee away—whither I know not, and so, when I go in to tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, then will he slay me, —and yet, thy servant, hath revered Yahweh, from my youth.
And when I am gone from thee, the spirit of the Lord will carry thee into a place that I know not: and I shall go in and tell Achab, and he not finding thee, will kill me: but thy servant feareth the Lord from his infancy.
13 Was it not told my lord, what I did when Jezebel was slaying the prophets of Yahweh, —how I hid, of the prophets of Yahweh, a hundred men—by fifties—in caves, and sustained them with bread and water?
Hath it not been told thee, my lord, what I did when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the prophets of the Lord, by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and water?
14 and yet, now, thou, art saying, Go, tell thy lord—Here, is, Elijah; and so he will slay me!
And now thou sayest: Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here: that he may kill me.
15 Then said Elijah—By the life of Yahweh of hosts, before whom I stand, to-day, will I show myself unto him.
And Elias said: As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whose face I stand, this day I will shew myself unto him.
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him, —and, Ahab, went to meet, Elijah.
Abdias therefore went to meet Achab, and told him: and Achab came to meet Elias.
17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Now, art, thou, troubling Israel?
And when he had seen him, he said: Art thou he that troublest Israel?
18 And he said—I have not troubled Israel, but, thou and the house of thy father, —in that ye have forsaken the commandments of Yahweh, and followed Baal.
And he said: I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father’s house, who have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and have followed Baalim.
19 Now, therefore, send, gather unto me all Israel, unto Mount Carmel, —and the prophets of Baal, four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Sacred Stem, four hundred, who do eat at the table of Jezebel.
Nevertheless send now, and gather unto me all Israel, unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, who eat at Jezabel’s table.
20 So Ahab sent among all the sons of Israel, —and gathered the prophets unto Mount Carmel.
Achab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered together the prophets unto mount Carmel.
21 And Elijah drew near unto all the people, and said—How long are ye limping on the two divided opinions? If, Yahweh, be GOD, follow, him, but, if, Baal, follow, him. But the people answered him, not a word.
And Elias coming to all the people, said: How long do you halt between two sides? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word.
22 Then said Elijah unto the people—I, am left, Yahweh’s, only, prophet, —but, the prophets of Baal, are four hundred and fifty men.
And Elias said again to the people: I only remain a prophet of the Lord: but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men.
23 Let there be given us, therefore, two bullocks, and let them choose for themselves one bullock, and cut it in pieces, and lay it upon the wood, but, fire, shall they not put, —then, I, will make ready the other bullock, and place upon the wood, but, fire, will I not put.
Let two bullocks be given us, and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces and lay it upon wood, but put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under it.
24 Then shall ye call on the name of your god, and, I, will call on the name of Yahweh, and it shall be, the God that respondeth by fire, he, is GOD. And all the people responded—Well spoken!
Call ye on the names of your gods, and I will call on the name of my Lord: and the God that shall answer by fire, let him be God. And all the people answering said: A very good proposal.
25 Then said Elijah to the prophets of Baal—Choose for yourselves one bullock, and make ye ready, first, for, ye, are many, —and call ye on the name of your god, but, fire, shall ye not put.
Then Elias said to the prophets of Baal: Choose you one bullock and dress it first, because you are many: and call on the names of your gods, but put no fire under.
26 So they took the bullock which was given them, and made ready, and called on the name of Baal—from the morning even until the noon, saying—O Baal! answer us. But them was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped about by the altar which had been made.
And they took the bullock which he gave them, and dressed it: and they called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying: O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered: and they leaped over the altar that they had made.
27 And it came to pass, at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said—Cry with a loud voice, for, a god, he is, either he hath, a meditation, or an occasion to retire, or he hath, a journey, —peradventure, he, sleepeth, and must be awaked.
And when it was now noon, Elias jested at them, saying: Cry with a louder voice: for he is a God, and perhaps he is talking, or is in an inn, or on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep, and must be awaked.
28 And they cried, with a loud voice, and cut themselves, after their custom, with swords, and with lances, —until the blood gushed out upon them.
So they cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till they were all covered with blood.
29 And so it was, when noon was passed, that although they prophesied until the offering up of the evening gift, yet was there no voice nor any that answered, nor any that hearkened.
And after midday was past, and while they were prophesying, the time was come of offering sacrifice, and there was no voice heard, nor did any one answer, nor regard them as they prayed:
30 Then said Elijah unto all the people: Draw near unto, me. And all the people drew near unto, him. Then repaired he the broken-down altar of Yahweh; yea Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, —
Elias said to all the people: Come ye unto me. And the people coming near unto him, he repaired the altar of the Lord, that was broken down:
31 unto whom the word of Yahweh came, saying—Israel, shall be thy name;
And he took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying: Israel shall be thy name.
32 and built, with the stones, an altar, in the name of Yahweh, —and he made a trench, as large as would contain two measures of seed, round about the altar;
And he built with the stones an altar to the name of the Lord: and he made a trench for water, of the breadth of two furrows round about the altar.
33 and he put in order the wood, —and cut in pieces the bullock, and laid upon the wood. Then said he—Fill four pitchers with water, and pour out upon the ascending-sacrifice, and upon the wood. And they did so.
And he laid the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it upon 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 he said: Fill four buckets with water, and pour it upon the burnt offering, and upon the wood. And again he said: Do the same the second time. And when they had done it the second time, he said: Do the same also the third time. And they did so the third time.
35 And the water ran round about the altar, —moreover also, the trench, filled he with water.
And the water run round about the altar, and the trench was filled with water.
36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the gift, that Elijah the prophet drew near, and said, O Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel! To-day, let it be known—That, thou, art God in Israel, and that, I, am thy servant, —and that, by thy word, have I done all these things.
And when it was now time to offer the holocaust, Elias the prophet came near and said: O Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, shew this day that thou art the God of Israel, and I thy servant, and that according to thy commandment I have done all these things.
37 Answer me, O Yahweh! answer me, That this people may know, that, thou—Yahweh, art GOD, —so shalt, thou thyself, have turned their heart back again.
Hear me, O Lord, hear me: that this people may learn, that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart again.
38 Then fell fire from Yahweh, and consumed the ascending-sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, —even the water that was in the trench, it licked up.
Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the holocaust, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And, when all the people saw it, they fell upon their faces, —and said, Yahweh, he, is GOD, Yahweh, he, is GOD.
And when all the people saw this, they fell on their faces, and they said: The Lord he is God, the Lord he is God.
40 And Elijah said unto them—Seize ye the prophets of Baal—let not, a man, of them escape. So they seized them. And Elijah took them down unto the ravine of Kishon, and slaughtered them there.
And Elias said to them: Take the prophets of Baal, and let not one of them escape. And when they had taken them, Elias brought them down to the torrent Cison, and killed them there.
41 Then said Elijah unto Ahab, Go up, eat and drink, —for there is a sound of a downpour of rain.
And Elias said to Achab: Go up, eat, and drink: for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
42 So Ahab went up, to eat and to drink, —but, Elijah, went up to the top of Carmel, and bowed himself to the earth, and put his face between his knees.
Achab went up to eat and drink: and Elias went up to the top of Carmel, and casting himself down upon the earth put his face between his knees,
43 Then said he unto his young man—Go up, I pray thee, and look about in the direction of the sea. So he went up, and looked about, and said—There is, nothing whatever. Then said he—Go again, seven times.
And he said to his servant: Go up, and look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said: There is nothing. And again he said to him: Return seven times.
44 And it came to pass, at the seventh time, that he said, Lo! a little cloud, like a man’s hand coming up from the sea. Then he said—Go up, say unto Ahab—Harness, and get thee down, lest the rain shut thee in.
And at the seventh time, behold, a little cloud arose out of the sea like a man’s foot. And he said: Go up and say to Achab: Prepare thy chariot and go down, lest the rain prevent thee.
45 And it came to pass, meanwhile, that, the heavens, had enshrouded themselves with clouds and wind, and there came a great rain, and Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel;
And while he turned himself this way and that way, behold the heavens grew dark, with clouds, and wind, and there fell a great rain. And Achab getting up went away to Jezrahel:
46 but, the hand of Yahweh, came upon Elijah, so he girded his loins, —and ran before Ahab, until thou enterest Jezreel.
And the hand of the Lord was upon Elias, and he girded up his loins and ran before Achab, till he came to Jezrahel.
