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.
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 went, to show himself unto Ahab. Now, the famine, was severe in Samaria.
So Elijah went to talk to Ahab. In Samaria there was almost no food for anyone to eat.
3 And Ahab had called for Obadiah, who was over his house. Now, Obadiah, was one who revered Yahweh, exceedingly.
There was a man there named Obadiah. He was in charge of the king’s palace. He greatly revered Yahweh.
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.
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 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.
[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 So they divided to them the land, to pass through it, —Ahab, went one way, by himself, and, Obadiah, went 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 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?
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 said to him—I, am! Go, say to thy lord: Here, is, Elijah!
Elijah replied, “Yes. Now go and tell [Ahab, ] your master, that I am 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?
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 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;
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, thou, art saying, —Go say to thy lord, Here, is, Elijah;
Now you say to me, ‘Go and tell your master that Elijah 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.
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 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?
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 yet, now, thou, art saying, Go, tell thy lord—Here, is, Elijah; and so he will slay 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 Then said Elijah—By the life of Yahweh of hosts, before whom I stand, to-day, will I show myself unto him.
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 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him, —and, Ahab, went to meet, Elijah.
So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come. Ahab went to meet with him.
17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Now, art, thou, troubling 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 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.
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 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.
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 So Ahab sent among all the sons of Israel, —and gathered the prophets unto Mount 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 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.
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 Then said Elijah unto the people—I, am left, Yahweh’s, only, prophet, —but, the prophets of Baal, 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 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.
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 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!
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 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 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 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.
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 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.
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 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 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 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.
They continued calling out to Baal all afternoon. But there was no reply, no answer, no god who paid attention.
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, —
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 unto whom the word of Yahweh came, saying—Israel, shall be thy 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 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;
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 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.
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 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.
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 ran round about the altar, —moreover also, the trench, filled he with water.
As a result, the water flowed down below the altar and filled the ditches.
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.
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 Yahweh! answer me, That this people may know, that, thou—Yahweh, art GOD, —so shalt, thou thyself, have turned their heart back again.
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 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.
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, when all the people saw it, they fell upon their faces, —and said, Yahweh, he, is GOD, Yahweh, he, is GOD.
When the people saw that, they prostrated themselves on the ground and shouted, “Yahweh is God! Yahweh 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.
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 Then said Elijah unto Ahab, Go up, eat and drink, —for there is a sound of a downpour of rain.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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;
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 but, the hand of Yahweh, came upon Elijah, so he girded his loins, —and ran before Ahab, until thou enterest 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.
