Kings III 18
1 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.
And it happened after many days that the word of YHWH came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth."
2 And Eliu went to appear before Achaab: and the famine [was] severe in Samaria.
So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. And the famine was severe in Samaria.
3 And Achaab called Abdiu the steward. Now Abdiu feared the Lord greatly.
And Ahab summoned Obadiah, the steward of the house. (Now Obadiah feared YHWH greatly.
4 And it came to pass when Jezabel smote 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.
And it came about, when Jezebel was killing the prophets of YHWH, that Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them, fifty by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)
5 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.
And Ahab said to Obadiah, "Go through the land, to all the springs of water, and to all the wadis. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, that we not lose all the animals."
6 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.
So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way alone, and Obadiah went another way alone.
7 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, art thou [indeed] he?
And as Obadiah was on the way, look, Elijah met him; and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, "Is it you, my lord Elijah?"
8 And Eliu said to him, I [am]: go say to thy master, Behold, Eliu [is here].
He answered him, "It is I. Go, tell your lord, 'Look, Elijah is here.'"
9 And Abdiu said, What sin have I committed, that thou givest thy servant into the hand of Achaab to slay me?
And he said, "How have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?
10 [As] the Lord thy God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom, whither my lord has not sent to seek thee; and if they said, He is not [here], then has he set fire to the kingdom and its territories, because he has not found thee.
As YHWH your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom, where my lord has not sent to seek you. When they said, 'He is not here,' he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they did not find you.
11 And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Eliu [is here].
Now you say, 'Go, tell your lord, "Look, Elijah is here."'
12 And it shall come to pass when I shall have departed from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee to a land which I know not, and I shall go in to tell the matter to Achaab, and he will not find thee and will slay me: yet thy servant fears the Lord from his youth.
It will happen, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of YHWH will carry you I do not know where; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can't find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared YHWH from my youth.
13 Has it not been told to thee my lord, what I did when Jezabel slew 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?
Wasn't it told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of YHWH, how I hid one hundred men of YHWH's prophets, fifty by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?
14 And now thou sayest to me, Go, say to thy master, Behold, Eliu [is here]: and he shall slay me.
Now you say, 'Go, tell your lord, "Look, Elijah is here";' and he will kill me."
15 And Eliu said, [As] the Lord of Hosts before whom I stand lives, to-day I will appear before him.
Elijah said, "As YHWH of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today."
16 And Abdiu went to meet Achaab, and told him: and Achaab hasted forth, and went to meet Eliu.
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 And it came to pass when Achaab saw Eliu, that Achaab said to Eliu, Art thou he that perverts Israel?
It happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?"
18 And Eliu said, I do not pervert Israel; but it is thou and thy father's house, in that ye forsake the Lord your God, and thou hast gone after Baalim.
He answered, "I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father's house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of YHWH, and you have followed the Baals.
19 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.
Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and four hundred fifty of the prophets of Baal, and four hundred of the prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."
20 And Achaab sent to all Israel, and gathered all the prophets to mount Carmel.
So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel.
21 And Eliu drew near to them all: and Eliu said to them, How long wilt ye halt on both feet? if the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him. And the people answered not a word.
Elijah came near to all the people, and said, "How long will you keep limping between two positions? If YHWH is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." But the people did not answer him a word.
22 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.
Then Elijah said to the people, "I, even I only, am left a prophet of YHWH; but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men, and the prophets of Asherah four hundred.
23 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.
Let them therefore give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under. And I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under it.
24 And do ye 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 thou hast spoken [is] good.
You call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of YHWH, and the god who answers by fire, he is God." All the people answered, "It is well said."
25 And Eliu said to the prophets of shame, Choose to yourselves one calf, and dress it first, for ye [are] many; and call ye on the name of your god; but apply no fire.
Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one bull for yourselves, and prepare it first, for you are the majority, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it."
26 And they took the calf and drest 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 alter which they [had] made.
And they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, "Baal, answer us." But there was no voice, nor any who answered. And they limped about the altar they had made.
27 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.
And it came about, at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, "Cry aloud, for he is a god. Maybe he is thinking about it, or he is busy, or he is on a trip, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened."
28 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.
And they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with swords and spears, until the blood gushed out on them.
29 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.
And when midday was past, they prophesied until the offering up of the offering; but there was no voice, no answer, and no response.
30 And Eliu said to the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near to him.
Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me"; and all the people came near to him. He repaired the altar of YHWH that had been torn down.
31 And Eliu took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, as the Lord spoke to him, saying, Israel shall be thy name.
Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of YHWH came, saying, "Israel shall be your name."
32 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.
And with the stones he built an altar in the name of YHWH. And he made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two seahs of seed.
33 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.
And he arranged the wood, and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on 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 jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood." And they did so. And he said, "Do it a second time"; and they did it the second time. And he said, "Do it a third time"; and they did it the third time.
35 And the water ran round about the altar, and they filled the trench with water.
And the water ran around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
36 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 thou art the Lord, the God of Israel, and I [am] thy servant, and for thy sake I have wrought these works.
It happened at the time of the offering up of the offering, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, "YHWH, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, and let this people know that thou art the Lord God, and thou hast turned back the heart of this people.
Hear me, YHWH, hear me, that this people may know that you, YHWH, are God, and that you have turned their heart back again."
38 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.
Then the fire of YHWH fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And all the people fell upon their faces, and said, Truly the Lord [is] God; he [is] God.
And when all the people saw it, they fell facedown and said, "YHWH, he is God. YHWH, he is God."
40 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 slew them there.
And Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal. Do not let one of them escape." And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon, and killed them there.
41 And Eliu said to Achaab, Go up, and eat and drink, for [there is] a sound of the coming of rain.
And Elijah said to Ahab, "Get up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of a heavy rain."
42 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,
So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down toward the ground, and put his face between his knees.
43 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 thou then go again seven times.
And he said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea." So he went up, and looked, and said, "There is nothing." Then he said, "Go again" seven times. And the servant went again seven times.
44 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 thy chariot, and go down, lest the rain overtake thee.
It happened at the seventh time, that he said, "Look, a small cloud, like a man's hand, is rising out of the sea." He said, "Go up, tell Ahab, 'Get ready and go down, so that the rain doesn't stop you.'"
45 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.
It happened in a little while, that the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
46 And the hand of the Lord [was] upon Eliu, and he girt up his loins, and ran before Achaab to Jezrael.
The hand of YHWH was on Elijah; and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
