1 Kings 18
1 Aftir many daies the word of the Lord was maad to Elie, in the thridde yeer, and seide, Go, and schewe thee to Achab, that Y yyue reyn on the face of erthe.
After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.”
2 Therfor Elie yede to schewe hym silf to Achab; forsothe greet hungur was in Samarie.
So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria,
3 And Achab clepide Abdie, dispendere, ether stiward, of his hows; forsothe Abdie dredde greetli the Lord God of Israel.
and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD,
4 For whanne Jezabel killide the prophetis of the Lord, he took an hundrid prophetis, and hidde hem, bi fifties and fifties, in dennes, and fedde hem with breed and watir.
for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
5 Therfor Achab seide to Abdie, Go thou in to the lond, to alle wellis of watris, and in to alle valeis, if in hap we moun fynde gras, and saue horsis and mulis; and werk beestis perische not outirli.
Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock.”
6 Therfor thei departiden the cuntreis to hem silf, that thei schulden cumpasse tho; Achab yede bi o weye, and Abdie yede bi another weie, `bi hym silf.
So they divided the land to explore. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.
7 And whanne Abdie was in the weie, Elie mette hym; and whanne he hadde knowe Elie, he felde on his face, and seide, Whethir thou art my lord Elie?
Now as Obadiah went on his way, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
8 To whom he answeride, Y am. And Elie seide, Go thou, and seie to thi lord, Elie is present.
“It is I,” he answered. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here!’”
9 And Abdie seide, What `synnede Y, for thou bitakist me in the hond of Achab, that he sle me?
But Obadiah replied, “How have I sinned, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death?
10 Thi Lord God lyueth, for no folk ethir rewme is, whidur my lord, sekynge thee, sente not; and whanne alle men answeriden, He is not here, he chargide greetli alle rewmes and folkis, for thou were not foundun; and now thou seist to me,
As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you.
11 Go, and seie to thi lord, Elie is present.
And now you say, ‘Go tell your master that Elijah is here!’
12 And whanne Y schal departe fro thee, the Spirit of the Lord schal bere thee awey in to a place which Y knowe not; and Y schal entre, and `Y schal telle to Achab, and he schal not fynde thee, and he schal sle me; forsothe thi seruaunt dredith the Lord fro his yong childhod.
I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.
13 Whether it is not schewid to thee, my lord, what Y dide, whanne Jesabel killide the prophetis of the Lord, that Y hidde of the prophetis of the Lord an hundrid men, bi fifty and bi fifti, in dennes, and Y fedde hem with breed and watir?
Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water.
14 And now thou seist, Go, and seie to thi lord, Elie is present, that he sle me.
And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord that Elijah is here!’ He will kill me!”
15 And Elie seide, The Lord of oostis lyueth, bifor whos siyt Y stonde, for to dai Y schal appere to hym.
Then Elijah said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to Ahab today.”
16 Therfor Abdie yede in to the metyng of Achab, and schewide to hym; and Achab cam in to the meetyng of Elie.
So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah.
17 And whanne he hadde seyn Elie, he seide, Whether thou art he, that disturblist Israel?
When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
18 And he seide, Not Y disturble Israel, but thou, and the hows of thi fadir, whiche han forsake the comaundementis of the Lord, and sueden Baalym, `disturbliden Israel.
“I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.
19 Netheles now sende thou, and gadere to me al Israel, in the hil of Carmele, and foure hundrid and fifti prophetis of Baal, and foure hundrid prophetis of woodis, that eten of the table of Jezabel.
Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20 Achab sente to alle the sones of Israel, and gaderide prophetis in the hil of Carmele.
So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.
21 Forsothe Elie neiyede to al the puple of Israel, and seide, Hou long halten ye in to twey partis? If the Lord is God, sue ye hym; forsothe if Baal is God, sue ye hym. And the puple answeride not o word to hym.
Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word.
22 And Elie seide eft to the puple, Y dwellide aloone a prophete of the Lord; sotheli the prophetis of Baal ben foure hundrid and fifti, and the prophetis of woodis ben foure hundrid men.
Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.
23 Tweyne oxis be youun to us; and chese thei oon oxe, and thei schulen kitte in to gobetis, and schulen putte on trees, but putte thei not fier vndur; and Y schal make the tother oxe in to sacrifice, and Y schal putte on the trees, and Y schal not putte fier vnder.
Get two bulls for us. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull for themselves, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. And I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire.
24 Clepe ye the name of youre goddis, and Y schal clepe the name of my God; and the God that herith bi fier, be he God. And al the puple answeride, and seide, The resoun is best, `which resoun Elie spak.
Then you may call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people answered, “What you say is good.”
25 Therfor Elie seide to the prophetis of Baal, Chese ye oon oxe to you, and make ye first, for ye ben the mo; and clepe ye the names of youre goddis, and putte ye not fier vnder.
Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.”
26 And whanne thei hadden take the oxe, whom Elie yaf to hem, thei maden sacrifice, and clepiden the name of Baal, fro the morewtid `til to myddai, and seiden, Baal, here vs! And no vois was, nether ony that answerd; and thei skippiden ouer the auter, which thei hadden maad.
And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made.
27 And whanne it was thanne myddai, Elie scornede hem, and seide, Crie ye with gretter vois, for Baal is youre god, and in hap he spekith with an other, ethir he is in a herborgerie, ether in weie, ether certis he slepith, that he be reisid.
At noon Elijah began to taunt them, saying, “Shout louder, for he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or occupied, or on a journey. Perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened!”
28 Therfor thei crieden with greet vois, and thei kerueden hem silf with knyues and launcetis, bi her custom, til thei weren bisched with blood.
So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them.
29 Sotheli after that mydday passide, and while thei prophesieden, the tyme cam, in which the sacrifice is wont to be offrid, nether vois was herd `of her goddis, nether ony answeride, nether perceyuede hem preiynge.
Midday passed, and they kept on raving until the time of the evening sacrifice. But there was no response; no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Elie seide to al the puple, Come ye to me. And whanne the puple cam to him, he arrayede the auter of the Lord, that was distried.
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people approached him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down.
31 And he took twelue stonys, bi the noumbre of lynagis of sones of Jacob, to which Jacob the word of the Lord was maad, and seide, Israel schal be thi name.
And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.”
32 And he bildide an auter of stonys, in the name of the Lord, and he made a ledyng to of watir, `ether a dich, as bi twei litle dichis in the cumpas of the auter.
And with the stones, Elijah built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.
33 And he dresside trees, and he departide the oxe bi membris, and puttide on the trees,
Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood,
34 and seide, Fille ye foure pottis with watir, and schede ye on the brent sacrifice, and on the trees. And eft he seide, Also the secounde tyme do ye this. `And thei diden the secounde tyme. And he seide, Do ye the same thing the thridde tyme; and thei diden the thridde tyme.
and said, “Fill four waterpots and pour the water on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it a second time,” he said, and they did it a second time. “Do it a third time,” he said, and they did it a third time.
35 And the watris runnen aboute the auter, and the dich of ledyng to `of watir was fillid.
So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 And whanne the tyme was thanne, that the brent sacrifice schulde be offrid, Elye the prophete neiyede, and seide, Lord God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, schewe thou to dai that thou art God of Israel, and that Y am thi seruaunt, and haue do alle these wordis bi thi comaundement.
At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command.
37 Lord, here thou me; Lord, here thou me; that this puple lerne, that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast conuertid eft the herte of hem.
Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again.”
38 Sotheli fier of the Lord felde doun, and deuouride brent sacrifice, and trees, and stonus, and lickide vp also the poudre, and the water that was in the `leding of water.
Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench.
39 And whanne al the puple hadde seyn this, it felde in to his face, and seide, The Lord he is God; the Lord he is God.
When all the people saw this, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
40 And Elie seide to hem, Take ye the prophetis of Baal; not oon sotheli ascape of hem. And whanne thei hadden take hem, Elie ledde hem to the stronde of Cison, and killide hem there.
Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
41 And Elie seide to Achab, Stie thou, ete, and drynke, for the sown of myche reyn is.
And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
42 Achab stiede to ete and drynke; forsothe Elie stiede in to the hil of Carmele, and he settide lowli his face to the erthe, bitwixe hise knees;
So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the summit of Carmel, bent down on the ground, and put his face between his knees.
43 and seide to his child, Stie thou, and biholde ayens the see. And whanne he hadde stied, and hadde biholde, he seide, No thing is. And eft Elie seide to hym, Turne thou ayen bi seuene tymes.
“Go and look toward the sea,” he said to his servant. So the servant went and looked, and he said, “There is nothing there.” Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
44 Sotheli in the seuenthe tyme, lo! a litil cloude as the step of a man stiede fro the see. And Elie seide, Stie thou, and seie to Achab, Ioyne thi chare, and go doun, lest the reyn byfor ocupie thee.
On the seventh time the servant reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.” And Elijah replied, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”
45 And whanne thei turneden hem hidur and thidur, lo! heuenes weren maad derk, and cloud, and wynd, and greet reyn was maad. Therfor Achab stiede, and yede in to Jezrael;
Meanwhile, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain began to fall. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.
46 and the hond of the Lord was maad on Elie, and whanne the leendis weren gird, he ran bifor Achab, til he cam in to Jezrael.
And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
