1 Kings 18
1 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.”
And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Eliu in the third year, saying, Go, and appear before Achaab, and I will bring rain upon the face of the earth.
2 So Elijah went to talk to Ahab. In Samaria there was almost no food for anyone to eat.
And Eliu went to appear before Achaab: and the famine [was] severe in Samaria.
3 There was a man there named Obadiah. He was in charge of the king’s palace. He greatly revered Yahweh.
And Achaab called Abdiu the steward. Now Abdiu feared the Lord greatly.
4 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.
And it came to pass when Jezabel struck the prophets of the Lord, that Abdiu took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.
5 [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.”
And Achaab said to Abdiu, Come, and let us go through the land, and to the fountains of water, and to the brooks, if by any means we may find grass, and may save the horses and mules, and so they will not perish from the tents.
6 So they both started walking throughout the land. Obadiah went in one direction by himself, and Ahab went in another direction by himself.
And they made a division of the way between them to pass through it: Achaab went one way, and Abdiu went by another way alone.
7 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?”
And Abdiu was alone in the way; and Eliu came alone to meet him: and Abdiu hasted, and fell upon his face, and said, My lord Eliu, are you [indeed] he?
8 Elijah replied, “Yes. Now go and tell [Ahab, ] your master, that I am here.”
And Eliu said to him, I [am]: go say to your master, Behold, Eliu [is here].
9 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!
And Abdiu said, What sin have I committed, that you give your servant into the hand of Achaab to kill me?
10 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.
[As] the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom, whither my lord has not sent to seek you; and if they said, He is not [here], then has he set fire to the kingdom and its territories, because he has not found you.
11 Now you say to me, ‘Go and tell your master that Elijah is here!’
And now you say, Go, tell your lord, Behold, Eliu [is here].
12 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.
And it shall come to pass when I shall have departed from you, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry you to a land which I know not, and I shall go in to tell the matter to Achaab, and he will not find you and will kill me: yet your servant fears the Lord from his youth.
13 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.
Has it not been told to you my lord, what I did when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, that I hid a hundred men of the prophets of the Lord, by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?
14 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!”
And now you say to me, Go, say to your master, Behold, Eliu [is here]: and he shall kill me.
15 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.”
And Eliu said, [As] the Lord of Hosts before whom I stand lives, today I will appear before him.
16 So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come. Ahab went to meet with him.
And Abdiu went to meet Achaab, and told him: and Achaab hasted forth, and went to meet Eliu.
17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, the one who causes trouble for [the people of] Israel?”
And it came to pass when Achaab saw Eliu, that Achaab said to Eliu, Are you he that perverts Israel?
18 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.
And Eliu said, I do not pervert Israel; but it is you and your father's house, in that you forsake the Lord your God, and you have gone after Baalim.
19 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.”
And now send, gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel, and the prophets of shame four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, that eat [at] Jezabel's table.
20 So Ahab summoned all his prophets and all the other [Israeli] people to the top of Carmel Mountain, [and Elijah went up there too.]
And Achaab sent to all Israel, and gathered all the prophets to mount Carmel.
21 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].
And Eliu drew near to them all: and Eliu said to them, How long will you halt on both feet? if the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him. And the people answered not a word.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only true prophet of Yahweh who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets.
And Eliu said to the people, I am left, the only one prophet of the Lord; and the prophets of Baal [are] four hundred and fifty men, and the prophets of the groves four hundred.
23 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].
Let them give us two oxen, and let them choose one for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire [on] the wood: and I will dress the other bullock, and put on no fire.
24 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.
And do you call loudly on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord my God, and it shall come to pass that the God who shall answer by fire, he [is] God. And all the people answered and said, The word which you have spoken [is] good.
25 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!”
And Eliu said to the prophets of shame, Choose to yourselves one calf, and dress it first, for you [are] many; and call you on the name of your god; but apply no fire.
26 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.
And they took the calf and dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning till noon, and said, hear us, O Baal, hear us. And there was no voice, neither was there hearing, and they ran up and down on the altar which they [had] made.
27 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!”
And it was noon, and Eliu the Thesbite mocked them, and said, Call with a loud voice, for he is a god; for he is meditating, or else perhaps he is engaged in business, or perhaps he is asleep, and is to be awaked.
28 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.
And they cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves according to their custom with knives and lancets until the blood gushed out upon them.
29 They continued calling out to Baal all afternoon. But there was no reply, no answer, no god who paid attention.
And they prophesied until the evening came; and it came to pass as it was the time of the offering of the sacrifice, that Eliu the Thesbite spoke to the prophets of the abominations, saying, Stand by for the present, and I will offer my sacrifice. And they stood aside and departed.
30 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].
And Eliu said to the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near to him.
31 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.
And Eliu took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, as the Lord spoke to him, saying, Israel shall be your name.
32 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.
And he built up the stones in the name of the Lord, and repaired the altar that had been broken down; and he made a trench that would hold two measures of seed round about the altar.
33 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.
And he piled the cleft wood on the altar which he [had] made, and divided the whole burnt offering, and laid [it] on the wood, and laid [it] in order on the altar, and said, Fetch me four pitchers of water, and pour [it] on the whole burnt offering, and on the wood. And they did so.
34 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.
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 As a result, the water flowed down below the altar and filled the ditches.
And the water ran round about the altar, and they filled the trench with water.
36 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.
And Eliu cried aloud to the heaven, and said, Lord God of Abraam, and Isaac, and Israel, answer me, O Lord, answer me this day by fire, and let all this people know that you are the Lord, the God of Israel, and I [am] your servant, and for your sake I have wrought these works.
37 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!”
Hear me, O Lord, hear me, and let this people know that you are the Lord God, and you have turned back the heart of this people.
38 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!
Then fire fell from the Lord out of heaven, and devoured the whole burnt offerings, and the wood and the water that was in the trench, and the fire licked up the stones and the earth.
39 When the people saw that, they prostrated themselves on the ground and shouted, “Yahweh is God! Yahweh is God!”
And all the people fell upon their faces, and said, Truly the Lord [is] God; he [is] God.
40 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.
And Eliu said to the people, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them; and Eliu brings them down to the brook Kisson, and he killed them there.
41 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!”
And Eliu said to Achaab, Go up, and eat and drink, for [there is] a sound of the coming of rain.
42 So Ahab [and his men] left to prepare a big meal. But Elijah went back up to the top of Carmel Mountain and prayed.
And Achaab went up to eat and to drink; and Eliu went up to Carmel, and stooped to the ground, and put his face between his knees,
43 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.
and said to his servant, Go up, and look toward the sea. And the servant looked, and said, There is nothing: and Eliu said, Do you then go again seven times.
44 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!”
And the servant went again seven times: and it came to pass at the seventh time, that, behold, a little cloud like the sole of a man's foot brought water; and he said, Go up, and say to Achaab, make ready your chariot, and go down, lest the rain overtake you.
45 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].
And it came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Achaab wept, and went to Jezrael.
46 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.
And the hand of the Lord [was] upon Eliu, and he girded up his loins, and ran before Achaab to Jezrael.
