< 1 Kings 18 >

1 After many days the word of the Lord came to Elias, in the third year, saying: Go and shew thyself to Achab, that I may give rain upon the face of the earth.
And it came to pass [after] many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.
2 And Elias went to shew himself to Achab, and there was a grievous famine in Samaria.
And Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. And [there was] a grievous famine in Samaria.
3 And Achab called Abdias the governor of his house: now Abdias feared the Lord very much.
And Ahab called Obadiah who [was] the governor of [his] house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly:
4 For when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, he took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and water.
For it was [so], when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)
5 And Achab said to Abdias: Go into the land unto all fountains of waters, and into all valleys, to see if we can find grass, and save the horses and mules, that the beasts may not utterly perish.
And Ahab said to Obadiah, Go into the land, to all fountains of water, and to all brooks: it may be we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts.
6 And they divided the countries between them, that they might go round about them: Achab went one way, and Abdias another way by himself.
So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
7 And as Abdias was in the way, Elias met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said: Art thou my lord Elias?
And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, [Art] thou that my lord Elijah?
8 And he answered: I am. Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here.
And he answered him, I [am]: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah [is here].
9 And he said: What have I sinned, that thou wouldst deliver me thy servant into the hand of Achab, that he should kill me?
And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab to slay me?
10 As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when all answered: He is not here: he took an oath of every kingdom and nation, because thou wast not found.
[As] the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation nor kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, [He is] not [there]; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.
11 And now thou sayest to me: Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here.
And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah [is here].
12 And when I am gone from thee, the spirit of the Lord will carry thee into a place that I know not: and I shall go in and tell Achab, and he not finding thee, will kill me: but thy servant feareth the Lord from his infancy.
And it will come to pass, [as soon as] I have gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry thee whither I know not; and [so] when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth.
13 Hath it not been told thee, my lord, what I did when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the prophets of the Lord, by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and water?
Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid a hundred men of the LORD'S prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?
14 And now thou sayest: Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here: that he may kill me.
And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah [is here]: and he will slay me.
15 And Elias said: As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whose face I stand, this day I will shew myself unto him.
And Elijah said, [As] the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him to-day.
16 Abdias therefore went to meet Achab, and told him: and Achab came to meet Elias.
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 And when he had seen him, he said: Art thou he that troublest Israel?
And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, [Art] thou he that troubleth Israel?
18 And he said: I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father’s house, who have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and have followed Baalim.
And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.
19 Nevertheless send now, and gather unto me all Israel, unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, who eat at Jezabel’s table.
Now therefore send, [and] gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, who eat at Jezebel's table.
20 Achab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered together the prophets unto mount Carmel.
So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets to mount Carmel.
21 And Elias coming to all the people, said: How long do you halt between two sides? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word.
And Elijah came to all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD [is] God, follow him: but if Baal, [then] follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
22 And Elias said again to the people: I only remain a prophet of the Lord: but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men.
Then said Elijah to the people, I [even] I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophet's [are] four hundred and fifty men.
23 Let two bullocks be given us, and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces and lay it upon wood, but put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under it.
Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay [it] on wood, and put no fire [under]: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay [it] on wood, and put no fire [under]:
24 Call ye on the names of your gods, and I will call on the name of my Lord: and the God that shall answer by fire, let him be God. And all the people answering said: A very good proposal.
And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
25 Then Elias said to the prophets of Baal: Choose you one bullock and dress it first, because you are many: and call on the names of your gods, but put no fire under.
And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress [it] first; for ye [are] many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire [under].
26 And they took the bullock which he gave them, and dressed it: and they called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying: O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered: and they leaped over the altar that they had made.
And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed [it], and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But [there was] no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
27 And when it was now noon, Elias jested at them, saying: Cry with a louder voice: for he is a God, and perhaps he is talking, or is in an inn, or on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep, and must be awaked.
And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he [is] a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey, [or] perhaps he sleepeth, and must be awaked.
28 So they cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till they were all covered with blood.
And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.
29 And after midday was past, and while they were prophesying, the time was come of offering sacrifice, and there was no voice heard, nor did any one answer, nor regard them as they prayed:
And it came to pass, when mid-day was past, and they prophesied until the [time] of the offering of the [evening] sacrifice, that [there was] neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
30 Elias said to all the people: Come ye unto me. And the people coming near unto him, he repaired the altar of the Lord, that was broken down:
And Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD [that was] broken down.
31 And he took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying: Israel shall be thy name.
And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:
32 And he built with the stones an altar to the name of the Lord: and he made a trench for water, of the breadth of two furrows round about the altar.
And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
33 And he laid the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it upon the wood.
And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid [him] on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour [it] on the burnt-sacrifice, and on the wood.
34 And he said: Fill four buckets with water, and pour it upon the burnt offering, and upon the wood. And again he said: Do the same the second time. And when they had done it the second time, he said: Do the same also the third time. And they did so the third time.
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 And the water run round about the altar, and the trench was filled with water.
And the water ran around the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
36 And when it was now time to offer the holocaust, Elias the prophet came near and said: O Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, shew this day that thou art the God of Israel, and I thy servant, and that according to thy commandment I have done all these things.
And it came to pass at [the time of] the offering of the [evening] sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou [art] God in Israel, and [that] I [am] thy servant, and [that] I have done all these things at thy word.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me: that this people may learn, that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart again.
Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou [art] the LORD God, and [that] thou hast turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the holocaust, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt-sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that [was] in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw this, they fell on their faces, and they said: The Lord he is God, the Lord he is God.
And when all the people saw [it], they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he [is] the God; the LORD, he [is] the God.
40 And Elias said to them: Take the prophets of Baal, and let not one of them escape. And when they had taken them, Elias brought them down to the torrent Cison, and killed them there.
And Elijah said to them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
41 And Elias said to Achab: Go up, eat, and drink: for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
And Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink; for [there is] a sound of abundance of rain.
42 Achab went up to eat and drink: and Elias went up to the top of Carmel, and casting himself down upon the earth put his face between his knees,
So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,
43 And he said to his servant: Go up, and look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said: There is nothing. And again he said to him: Return seven times.
And said to his servant, Go up now, look towards the sea. And he went up and looked, and said, [There is] nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.
44 And at the seventh time, behold, a little cloud arose out of the sea like a man’s foot. And he said: Go up and say to Achab: Prepare thy chariot and go down, lest the rain prevent thee.
And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say to Ahab, Prepare [thy chariot], and go down, that the rain may not hinder thee.
45 And while he turned himself this way and that way, behold the heavens grew dark, with clouds, and wind, and there fell a great rain. And Achab getting up went away to Jezrahel:
And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
46 And the hand of the Lord was upon Elias, and he girded up his loins and ran before Achab, till he came to Jezrahel.
And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

< 1 Kings 18 >