I Kings 18

¹Now after a long time, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go and let Ahab see you, so that I may send rain on the earth.

²So Elijah went to let Ahab see him. Now there was no food to be had in Samaria.

³And Ahab sent for Obadiah, the controller of the king's house. (Now Obadiah had the fear of the Lord before him greatly;

⁴For when Jezebel was cutting off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred of them, and kept them secretly in a hole in the rock, fifty at a time, and gave them bread and water.)

⁵And Ahab said to Obadiah, Come, let us go through all the country, to all the fountains of water and all the rivers, and see if there is any grass to be had for the horses and the transport beasts, so that we may be able to keep some of the beasts from destruction.

⁶So they went through all the country, covering it between them; Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another by himself.

⁷And while Obadiah was on his way, he came face to face with Elijah; and seeing who it was, he went down on his face and said, Is it you, my lord Elijah?

⁸And Elijah in answer said, It is I; now go and say to your lord, Elijah is here.

⁹And he said, What sin have I done, that you would give up your servant into the hand of Ahab, and be the cause of my death?

¹⁰By the life of the Lord your God, there is not a nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent in search of you; and when they said, He is not here; he made them take an oath that they had not seen you.

¹¹And now you say, Go, say to your lord, Elijah is here.

¹²And straight away, when I have gone from you, the spirit of the Lord will take you away, I have no idea where, so that when I come and give word to Ahab, and he sees you not, he will put me to death: though I, your servant, have been a worshipper of the Lord from my earliest years.

¹³Has my lord not had word of what I did when Jezebel was putting the Lord's prophets to death? how I kept a hundred of them in a secret hole in the rock, fifty at a time, and gave them bread and water?

¹⁴And now you say, Go and say to your Lord, Elijah is here; and he will put me to death.

¹⁵And Elijah said, By the life of the Lord of armies, whose servant I am, I will certainly let him see me today.

¹⁶So Obadiah went to Ahab and gave him the news; and Ahab went to see Elijah.

¹⁷And when he saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, Is it you, you troubler of Israel?

¹⁸Then he said in answer, I have not been troubling Israel, but you and your family; because, turning away from the orders of the Lord, you have gone after the Baals.

¹⁹Now send, and get Israel together before me at Mount Carmel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal who get their food at Jezebel's table.

²⁰So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and got the prophets together at Mount Carmel.

²¹And Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long will you go on balancing between two opinions? if the Lord is God, then give worship to him; but if Baal, give worship to him. And the people said not a word in answer.

²²Then Elijah said to the people, I, even I, am the only living prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

²³Now, let them give us two oxen; and let them take one for themselves, and have it cut up, and put it on the wood, but put no fire under it; I will get the other ox ready, and put it on the wood, and put no fire under it.

²⁴And do you make prayers to your god, and I will make a prayer to the Lord: and it will be clear that the one who gives an answer by fire is God. And all the people in answer said, It is well said.

²⁵Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Take one ox for yourselves and get it ready first, for there are more of you; and make your prayers to your god, but put no fire under.

²⁶So they took the ox which was given them, and made it ready, crying out to Baal from morning till the middle of the day, and saying, O Baal, give ear to us. But there was no voice and no answer. And they were jumping up and down before the altar they had made.

²⁷And in the middle of the day, Elijah made sport of them, saying, Give louder cries, for he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or he may have gone away for some purpose, or he may be on a journey, or by chance he is sleeping and has to be made awake.

²⁸So they gave loud cries, cutting themselves with knives and swords, as was their way, till the blood came streaming out all over them.

²⁹And from the middle of the day they went on with their prayers till the time of the offering; but there was no voice, or any answer, or any who gave attention to them.

³⁰Then Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me; and all the people came near. And he put up again the altar of the Lord which had been broken down.

³¹And Elijah took twelve stones, the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the Lord had said, Israel will be your name:

³²And with the stones he made an altar to the name of the Lord; and he made a deep drain all round the altar, great enough to take two measures of seed.

³³And he put the wood in order, and, cutting up the ox, put it on the wood. Then he said, Get four vessels full of water and put it on the burned offering and on the wood. And he said, Do it a second time, and they did it a second time;

³⁴And he said, Do it a third time, and they did it a third time.

³⁵And the water went all round the altar, till the drain was full.

³⁶Then at the time of the offering, Elijah the prophet came near and said, O Lord, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be seen this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things by your order.

³⁷Give me an answer, O Lord, give me an answer, so that this people may see that you are God, and that you have made their hearts come back again.

³⁸Then the fire of the Lord came down, burning up the offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and drinking up the water in the drain.

³⁹And when the people saw it, they all went down on their faces, and said, The Lord, he is God, the Lord, he is God.

⁴⁰And Elijah said to them, Take the prophets of Baal, let not one of them get away. So they took them, and Elijah made them go down to the stream Kishon, and put them to death there.

⁴¹Then Elijah said to Ahab, Up! take food and drink, for there is a sound of much rain.

⁴²So Ahab went up to have food and drink, while Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he went down on the earth, putting his face between his knees.

⁴³And he said to his servant, Go now, and take a look in the direction of the sea. And he went up, and after looking said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times; and he went seven times.

⁴⁴And the seventh time he said, I see a cloud coming up out of the sea, as small as a man's hand. Then he said, Go up and say to Ahab, Get your carriage ready and go down or the rain will keep you back.

⁴⁵And after a very little time, the heaven became black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab went in his carriage to Jezreel.

⁴⁶And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he made himself strong, and went running before Ahab till they came to Jezreel.

I Kings 18

¹It happened after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain on the earth."

²Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria.

³Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly:

⁴for it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took one hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)

⁵Ahab said to Obadiah, "Go through the land, to all the springs of water, and to all the brooks. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, that we not lose all the animals."

⁶So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

⁷As Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, "Is it you, my lord Elijah?"

⁸He answered him, "It is I. Go, tell your lord, 'Behold, Elijah is here!'"

⁹He said, "Wherein have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?

¹⁰As the Lord 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.

¹¹Now you say, 'Go, tell your lord, "Behold, Elijah is here."'

¹²It will happen, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the Lord 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 the Lord from my youth.

¹³Wasn't it told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid one hundred men of the Lord's prophets with fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water?

¹⁴Now you say, 'Go, tell your lord, "Behold, Elijah is here";' and he will kill me."

¹⁵Elijah said, "As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today."

¹⁶So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

¹⁷It happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?"

¹⁸He answered, "I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father's house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and you have followed the Baals.

¹⁹Now 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."

²⁰So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together to Mount Carmel.

²¹Elijah came near to all the people, and said, "How long will you waver between the two sides? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." The people answered him not a word.

²²Then Elijah said to the people, "I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred fifty men.

²³Let 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 dress the other bull, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under it.

²⁴You call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The God who answers by fire, let him be God." All the people answered, "It is well said."

²⁵Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one bull for yourselves, and dress it first; for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it."

²⁶They took the bull which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any who answered. They leaped about the altar which was made.

²⁷It happened at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, "Cry aloud; for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he has gone aside, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he sleeps and must be awakened."

²⁸They cried aloud, and cut themselves in their way with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them.

²⁹It was so, when midday was past, that they prophesied until the time of the offering of the offering; but there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any who regarded.

³⁰Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me"; and all the people came near to him. He repaired the altar of the Lord that was thrown down.

³¹Elijah 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 your name."

³²With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. He made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed.

³³He put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, "Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood."

³⁴He said, "Do it a second time"; and they did it the second time. He said, "Do it a third time"; and they did it the third time.

³⁵The water ran around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.

³⁶It happened at the time of the offering of the offering, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, "Lord, 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.

³⁷Hear me, Lord, hear me, that this people may know that you, Lord, are God, and that you have turned their heart back again."

³⁸Then the fire of the Lord 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.

³⁹When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces. They said, "The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!"

⁴⁰Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!" They seized them. Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there.

⁴¹Elijah said to Ahab, "Get up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain."

⁴²So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down on the earth, and put his face between his knees.

⁴³He said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea." He went up, and looked, and said, "There is nothing." He said, "Go again" seven times.

⁴⁴It happened at the seventh time, that he said, "Behold, 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.'"

⁴⁵It happened in a little while, that the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.

⁴⁶The hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.