1 Kings 18
1 And the days are many, and the word of Jehovah hath been unto Elijah in the third year, saying, 'Go, appear unto Ahab, and I give rain on the face of the ground;'
After many days, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go and show yourself to Ahab, so that I may grant rain upon the face of the earth.”
2 and Elijah goeth to appear unto Ahab. And the famine is severe in Samaria,
Therefore, Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. For there was a severe famine in Samaria.
3 and Ahab calleth unto Obadiah, who [is] over the house — and Obadiah hath been fearing Jehovah greatly,
And Ahab called Obadiah, the manager of his household. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly.
4 and it cometh to pass, in Jezebel's cutting off the prophets of Jehovah, that Obadiah taketh a hundred prophets, and hideth them, fifty men in a cave, and hath sustained them with bread and water —
For when Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord, he took one hundred prophets, and concealed them, fifty and fifty, in caves. And he fed them with bread and water.
5 and Ahab saith unto Obadiah, 'Go through the land, unto all fountains of waters, and unto all the brooks, if so be we find hay, and keep alive horse and mule, and do not cut off any of the cattle.'
Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go into the land, to all fountains of water, and to all the valleys, for perhaps we will be able to find plants, and save the horses and mules, so that the beasts of burden may not perish entirely.”
6 And they apportion to themselves the land, to pass over into it; Ahab hath gone in one way by himself, and Obadiah hath gone in another way by himself;
And they divided the regions among themselves, so that they might travel through them. Ahab went one way alone, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
7 and Obadiah [is] in the way, and lo, Elijah — to meet him; and he discerneth him, and falleth on his face, and saith, 'Art thou he — my lord Elijah?'
And while Obadiah was on the way, Elijah met him. And when he had recognized him, he fell on his face, and he said, “Are you not my lord Elijah?”
8 And he saith to him, 'I [am]; go, say to thy lord, Lo, Elijah.'
And he responded to him: “I am. Go and tell your lord that Elijah is here.”
9 And he saith, 'What have I sinned, that thou art giving thy servant into the hand of Ahab — to put me to death?
And he said: “How have I sinned that you would deliver me, your servant, into the hand of Ahab, so that he would put me to death?
10 Jehovah thy God liveth, if there is a nation and kingdom whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee; and they said, He is not, then he caused the kingdom and the nation to swear, that it doth not find thee;
As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom to which my lord has not sent, seeking you. And when all responded, ‘He is not here,’ he swore each kingdom and nation to an oath, because you were not found at all.
11 and now, thou art saying, Go, say to thy lord, Lo, Elijah;
And now, you say to me, ‘Go and tell your lord that Elijah is here.’
12 and it hath been, I go from thee, and the Spirit of Jehovah doth lift thee up, whither I know not, and I have come to declare to Ahab, and he doth not find thee, and he hath slain me; and thy servant is fearing Jehovah from my youth.
And when I will have departed from you, the Spirit of the Lord will transport you to a place that I do not know. And entering, I will report to Ahab. And he, not finding you, will put me to death. Yet your servant has feared the Lord from his infancy.
13 'Hath it not been declared to my lord that which I have done in Jezebel's slaying the prophets of Jehovah, that I hide of the prophets of Jehovah a hundred men, fifty by fifty in a cave, and sustained them with bread and water?
Has it not been revealed to you, my lord, what I did when Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord: how I hid one hundred men from the prophets of the Lord, fifty and fifty, in caves, and how I fed them with bread and water?
14 and now thou art saying, Go, say to my lord, Lo, Elijah — and he hath slain me!'
And now you say: ‘Go and tell your lord that Elijah is here,’ so that he may kill me!”
15 And Elijah saith, 'Jehovah of Hosts liveth, before whom I have stood, surely to-day I appear unto him.'
And Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whose face I stand, this day I will appear to him.”
16 And Obadiah goeth to meet Ahab, and declareth [it] to him, and Ahab goeth to meet Elijah,
Therefore, Obadiah went away to meet Ahab, and he reported to him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 and it cometh to pass at Ahab's seeing Elijah, that Ahab saith unto him, 'Art thou he — the troubler of Israel?'
And when he had seen him, he said, “Are you the one who is disturbing Israel?”
18 And he saith, 'I have not troubled Israel, but thou and the house of thy father, in your forsaking the commands of Jehovah, and thou goest after the Baalim;
And he said: “I have not troubled Israel. But it is you, and the house of your father, who have abandoned the commandments of the Lord, and have followed the Baals.
19 and now, send, gather unto me all Israel, unto the mount of Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the shrine, four hundred — eating at the table of Jezebel.'
Yet truly now, send and gather to me all of Israel, on Mount Carmel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of the sacred groves, who eat from the table of Jezebel.”
20 And Ahab sendeth among all the sons of Israel, and gathereth the prophets unto the mount of Carmel;
Ahab sent to all the sons of Israel, and he gathered together the prophets on mount Carmel.
21 and Elijah cometh nigh unto all the people, and saith, 'Till when are ye leaping on the two branches? — if Jehovah [is] God, go after Him; and if Baal, go after him;' and the people have not answered him a word.
Then Elijah, drawing near to all the people, said: “How long will you waver between two sides? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal is, then follow him.” And the people did not respond a word to him.
22 And Elijah saith unto the people, 'I — I have been left a prophet of Jehovah — by myself; and the prophets of Baal [are] four hundred and fifty men;
And Elijah said again to the people: “I alone remain as a prophet of the Lord. But the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men.
23 and let them give to us two bullocks, and they choose for themselves the one bullock, and cut it in pieces, and place [it] on the wood, and place no fire; and I — I prepare the other bullock, and have put [it] on the wood, and fire I do not place; —
Let two oxen be given to us. And let them choose one ox for themselves, and, cutting it into pieces, let them set it on the wood. But they may not place fire under it. And I will prepare the other ox, and set it on the wood. But I will not place fire under it.
24 and ye have called in the name of your god, and I — I call in the name of Jehovah, and it hath been, the god who answereth by fire — He [is] the God.' And all the people answer and say, 'Good [is] the word.'
Call upon the names of your gods. And I will call on the name of my Lord. And the God who will have heeded with fire, let him be God.” And in response, all the people said, “Excellent proposition.”
25 And Elijah saith to the prophets of Baal, 'Choose for you the one bullock, and prepare first, for ye [are] the multitude, and call ye in the name of your god, and place no fire.'
Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal: “Choose for yourselves one ox, and prepare it first. For you are many. And call on the names of your gods, but do not place fire under it.”
26 And they take the bullock that [one] gave to them, and prepare, and call in the name of Baal from the morning even till the noon, saying, 'O Baal, answer us!' and there is no voice, and there is none answering; and they leap on the altar that one had made.
And when they had taken an ox, which he had given to them, they prepared it. And they called on the name of Baal, from morning even until midday, saying, “O Baal, heed us.” And there was no voice, nor did anyone respond. And so they leaped upon the altar that they had made.
27 And it cometh to pass, at noon, that Elijah playeth on them, and saith, '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, an doth awake.'
And when it was now midday, Elijah ridiculed them, saying: “Cry out with a louder voice. For he is a god, and perhaps he is talking, or at an inn, or on a journey, or certainly he may be asleep, and must be awakened.”
28 And they call with a loud voice, and cut themselves, according to their ordinance, with swords and with spears, till a flowing of blood [is] on them;
Then they cried out with a loud voice, and they cut themselves, in accord with their ritual, with knives and lancets, until they were entirely covered in blood.
29 and it cometh to pass, at the passing by of the noon, that they feign themselves prophets till the going up of the present, and there is no voice, and there is none answering, and there is none attending.
Then, after midday had passed, and they were prophesying, the time had arrived when the sacrifice is usually offered. And there was no voice heard, neither did anyone heed or respond to the praying.
30 And Elijah saith to all the people, 'Come nigh unto me;' and all the people come nigh unto him, and he repaireth the altar of Jehovah that is broken down;
Elijah said to all the people, “Draw near to me.” And as the people were drawing near to him, he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down.
31 and Elijah taketh twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of Jehovah was, saying, 'Israel is thy name;'
And he took twelve stones, in accord with the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”
32 and he buildeth with the stones an altar, in the name of Jehovah, and maketh a trench, as about the space of two measures of seed, round about the altar.
And he built from the stones an altar to the name of the Lord. And he made a trench for water, like two furrows of plowed land, all around the altar.
33 And he arrangeth the wood, and cutteth in pieces the bullock, and placeth [it] on the wood, and saith, 'Fill ye four pitchers of water, and pour on the burnt-offering, and on the wood;
And he arranged the wood, and he cut the ox into pieces, and he placed it on the wood.
34 and he saith, 'Do [it] a second time;' and they do [it] a second time; and he saith, 'Do [it] a third time;' and they do [it] a third time;
And he said, “Fill four containers with water, and pour it over the holocaust, and over the wood.” And again, he said, “Do this a second time.” And when they had done it a second time, he said, “Do it also a third time.” And they did so a third time.
35 and the water goeth round about the altar, and also, the trench he hath filled with water.
And the water was running down around the altar, and the pit of the trench was filled with water.
36 And it cometh to pass, at the going up of the [evening -]present, that Elijah the prophet cometh nigh and saith, 'Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to-day let it be known that Thou [art] God in Israel, and I Thy servant, that by Thy word I have done the whole of these things;
And when it was now time for the holocaust to be offered, the prophet Elijah, drawing near, said: “O Lord, God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, reveal this day that you are the God of Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have acted, in all these things, in accord with your precept.
37 answer me, O Jehovah, answer me, and this people doth know that Thou [art] Jehovah God; and Thou hast turned their heart backward.'
Heed me, O Lord, heed me, so that this people may learn that you are the Lord God, and that you have converted their heart again.”
38 And there falleth a fire of Jehovah, and consumeth the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and the water that [is] in the trench it hath licked up.
Then the fire of the Lord fell down and devoured the holocaust, and the wood, and the stones, and even the dust, and it absorbed the water that was in the trench.
39 And all the people see, and fall on their faces, and say, 'Jehovah, He [is] the God, Jehovah, He [is] the God.'
And when all the people had seen it, they fell upon their face, and they said: “The Lord himself is God! The Lord himself is God!”
40 And Elijah saith to them, 'Catch ye the prophets of Baal; let not a man escape of them;' and they catch them, and Elijah bringeth them down unto the stream Kishon, and doth slaughter them there.
And Elijah said to them, “Apprehend the prophets of Baal, and do not let even one of them escape.” And when they had apprehended them, Elijah led them down to the torrent Kishon, and he put them to death there.
41 And Elijah saith to Ahab, 'Go up, eat and drink, because of the sound of the noise of the shower.'
And Elijah said to Ahab “Ascend; eat and drink. For there is the sound of an abundance of rain.”
42 And Ahab goeth up to eat, and to drink, and Elijah hath gone up unto the top of Carmel, and he stretcheth himself out on the earth, and he placeth his face between his knees,
Ahab ascended, so that he might eat and drink. But Elijah ascended to the top of Carmel, and bending down to the ground, he placed his face between his knees.
43 and saith unto his young man, 'Go up, I pray thee, look attentively the way of the sea;' and he goeth up and looketh attentively, and saith, 'There is nothing;' and he saith, 'Turn back,' seven times.
And he said to his servant, “Ascend, and gaze out toward the sea.” And when he had ascended, and had contemplated, he said, “There is nothing.” And again, he said to him, “Return seven times.”
44 And it cometh to pass, at the seventh, that he saith, 'Lo, a little thickness as the palm of a man is coming up out of the sea.' And he saith, 'Go up, say unto Ahab, 'Bind — and go down, and the shower doth not restrain thee.'
And at the seventh time, behold, a little cloud ascended from the sea like the footstep of a man. And he said: “Ascend, and say to Ahab, ‘Yoke your chariot, and descend; otherwise, the rain may prevent you.’”
45 And it cometh to pass, in the meantime, that the heavens have become black — thick clouds and wind — and the shower is great; and Ahab rideth, and goeth to Jezreel,
And as he was turning himself this way and that, behold, the heavens were darkened, and there were clouds and wind, and a great rainstorm occurred. And so Ahab, going up, went away to Jezreel.
46 and the hand of Jehovah hath been on Elijah, and he girdeth up his loins, and runneth before Ahab, till thine entering Jezreel.
And the hand of the Lord was upon Elijah. And cinching his waist, he ran before Ahab, until he arrived at Jezreel.
