1 Kings 18
1 Sometime later, during the third year, a message from the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and appear before Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”
And it came to pass after many days, that the word of Jehovah came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.
2 So Elijah went to appear before Ahab. In the meantime the famine had become severe in Samaria.
And Elijah went to shew himself to Ahab. And the famine was severe in Samaria.
3 Ahab summoned Obadiah, the manager of his palace (Obadiah was a very sincere believer in the Lord.
And Ahab called Obadiah, who was the steward of his house (now Obadiah feared Jehovah greatly;
4 While Jezebel was busy killing the Lord's prophets, Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty in each of two caves, and had provided them with food and water.)
and it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of Jehovah, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and maintained them with bread and water);
5 Ahab told Obadiah, “Go throughout the country and check all the springs and valleys. Perhaps we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not lose any of the animals.”
and Ahab said to Obadiah, Go through the land, to all the fountains of water and to all the torrents, perhaps we may find grass to save the horses and the mules alive, so that we may not have to destroy some of [our] beasts.
6 So they divided the land between them. Ahab went in one direction, and Obadiah the other.
And they divided the land between them to pass through it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
7 As Obadiah went on his way, Elijah came to meet him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him; and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Is it indeed thou, my lord Elijah?
8 “It's me,” Elijah replied. “Go and tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”
And he said to him, I [am he]: go, say to thy lord, Behold Elijah!
9 “How have I sinned that you are handing me, your servant, over to Ahab to be killed?
And he said, What have I sinned, that thou givest thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to put me to death?
10 As the Lord your God lives, there's no nation or kingdom where my master hasn't sent someone to search for you. When a nation or kingdom said you weren't there, he made them swear that they couldn't find you.
As Jehovah thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom whither my lord has not sent to seek thee; and when they said, He is not [here], he took an oath of the kingdom or nation that they found thee not.
11 And now you're telling me to go to my master and announce, ‘Elijah is here!’
And now thou sayest, Go, say to thy lord, Behold Elijah!
12 I have no idea where the Spirit of the Lord will take you after I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and then he can't find you, he's going to kill me, even though I, your servant, have worshiped the Lord since I was young.
And it shall come to pass when I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of Jehovah shall carry thee whither I know not; and when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will kill me; and I thy servant fear Jehovah from my youth.
13 Didn't you hear, my lord, what I did when Jezebel was busy killing the Lord's prophets? I hid a hundred of the Lord's prophets, fifty in each of two caves, and provided them with food and water.
Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of Jehovah, how I hid a hundred men of Jehovah's prophets by fifty in a cave, and maintained them with bread and water?
14 And now you're telling me to go to my master and announce, ‘Elijah is here.’ He's going to kill me!”
And now thou sayest, Go, say to thy lord, Behold Elijah! and he will kill me.
15 Elijah replied, “As the Lord Almighty lives, the one I serve, I will definitely appear before Ahab today.”
And Elijah said, As Jehovah of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will certainly shew myself to him to-day.
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
Then Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you—you who are causing trouble for Israel?”
And it came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Is it thou, the troubler of Israel?
18 “I'm not causing trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “It's you and your father's family! You have rejected the Lord's commands and are worshiping the Baals.
And he said, I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of Jehovah, and thou hast followed the Baals.
19 Now call together all of Israel and meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who are supported by Jezebel.”
And now send, gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, who eat at Jezebel's table.
20 So Ahab summoned all of Israel and also gathered the prophets on Mount Carmel.
So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
21 Elijah approached the people and asked them, “How long will you hobble along, hesitating between two opposite beliefs? If the Lord is God, then follow him. But if Baal is God, then follow him.” But the people gave o answer.
Then Elijah drew near to all the people, and said, How long do ye halt between two opinions? if Jehovah be God, follow him; and if Baal, follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
22 Then Elijah told them, “I am the only one left of the Lord's prophets—just me alone—but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.
And Elijah said to the people, I, only I, remain a prophet of Jehovah; and Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
23 Provide us with two bulls. Let the prophets of Baal choose for themselves the one they want, and have them cut it into pieces and place it on the firewood. But don't set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and place it on the firewood but I won't set fire to it.
Let them therefore give us two bullocks: and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and put it on the wood, and put no fire; and I will sacrifice the other bullock, and put it on the wood, and put no fire.
24 Then you call on your god by name, and I will call on the Lord by name. The god who replies by sending fire—he is God.” Then all the people said, “We agree to what you say.”
And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of Jehovah; and the god that answers by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, The word is good.
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “You choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, because there are so many of you. Call on your god by name, but don't light the fire.”
And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Choose one bullock for yourselves, and sacrifice it first; for ye are the many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire.
26 So they took the bull provided and prepared it. Then they called on Baal by name from morning until noon. “Baal, answer us!” they pleaded. But no voice was heard, no one answered. They hobbled in a dance around the altar they had made.
And they took the bullock which had been given them, and sacrificed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, O Baal, answer us! But there was no voice, and none answered. And they leaped about the altar that had been made.
27 At noon Elijah began to mock them. “Shout really loud!” he said. “Isn't he meant to be a god? Maybe he's meditating, or he's gone to the bathroom, or he's away on a trip! Maybe he's asleep and has to be woken up!”
And it came to pass at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, Cry aloud; for he is a god; for he is meditating, or gone aside, or he is on a journey; perhaps he sleeps, and will awake.
28 They shouted even louder and cut themselves with swords and spears until they bled. This was their usual way of worshiping.
And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with swords and spears, till the blood gushed out upon them.
29 Noon came and went, and they went on with their manic “prophesying” until the time of the evening sacrifice. But no voice was heard, no one answered, no one was listening.
And it came to pass when midday was past, that they prophesied until the [time] of the offering up of the oblation; but there was neither voice, nor any that answered, nor any attention.
30 Then Elijah told everyone, “Come over here to me.” They went over to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down.
Then Elijah said to all the people, Draw near to me. And all the people drew near to him. And he repaired the altar of Jehovah which was broken down.
31 Elijah took twelve stones to represent the tribes of the sons of Jacob. (Jacob was the one who received the Lord's message that said, “Israel shall be your name.”)
And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of Jehovah came saying, Israel shall be thy name;
32 With the stones he built an altar in the Lord's name. He dug a ditch around it that could hold two seahs of seed.
and with the stones he built an altar in the name of Jehovah, and made a trench round about the altar, of the capacity of two measures of seed;
33 He put the wood in place, cut the bull into pieces, and laid it on the wood. Then he told them, “Fill up four large jars with water and pour it over the offering and the wood.”
and he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, Fill four pitchers with water, and pour it on the burnt-offering, and on the wood.
34 “Do it again,” he said. So they did. “Do it for a third time,” he said. So they did it for 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 The water ran down all over the altar and even filled the ditch.
And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
36 At the time of the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah went over to the altar and prayed: “Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, demonstrate today that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that everything I have done has been at your command.
And it came to pass at [the time of] the offering up of the oblation, that Elijah the prophet drew near, and said, Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac and 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 by thy word.
37 Answer me, Lord! Answer me, so that these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are bringing them back to you.”
Answer me, Jehovah, answer me, that this people may know that thou Jehovah art God, and [that] thou hast turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord came down and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil—it even licked up the water in the ditch!
And the fire of Jehovah 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 When all the people saw this, they fell face down on the ground and shouted, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!”
And all the people saw [it], and they fell on their faces and said, Jehovah, he is God! Jehovah, he is God!
40 Then Elijah ordered them, “Grab hold of the prophets of Baal. Don't let any escape!” They grabbed them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and killed them there.
And Elijah said to them, Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape! And they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the torrent of Kishon, and slaughtered them there.
41 Elijah told Ahab, “Go and eat and drink, for I hear the sound of a heavy rain coming.”
And Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
42 So Ahab went to eat and drink, but Elijah went to the top of Carmel. There he bent down to the ground, putting his face between his knees.
And Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed down on the earth, and put his face between his knees.
43 “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. The man went and looked. “There's nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah told him, “Go and look again.”
And he said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked, and said, [There is] nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.
44 The seventh time the servant came back and said, “I saw a small cloud the size of a man's hand coming up from the sea.” So Elijah said, “Run to Ahab and tell him, ‘Get your chariot ready and go down before the rain stops you.’”
And it came to pass at the seventh time that he said, Behold there is a cloud, small as a man's hand, arising out of the sea. And he said, Go up, say to Ahab, Harness and go down, that the pour of rain stop thee not.
45 Very quickly the sky grew dark with clouds, the wind blew, heavy rain started falling, and Ahab rode down to Jezreel.
And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heavens became black [with] clouds and wind, and there was a great pour of rain. And Ahab got on the chariot, and went to Jizreel.
46 The Lord gave his power to Elijah—he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
And the hand of Jehovah was upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jizreel.
