1 Kings 18
18
Elijah and the Prophets of Baal
1After some time, in the third year of the drought, the LORD said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab, and I will send rain.” 2So Elijah started out.
The famine in Samaria was at its worst, 3so Ahab called in Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Obadiah was a devout worshipper of the LORD, 4and when Jezebel was killing the LORD's prophets, Obadiah took a hundred of them, hid them in caves in two groups of fifty, and provided them with food and water.) 5Ahab said to Obadiah, “Let us go and look#18.5 One ancient translation Let us go and look; Hebrew You go and look. at every spring and every riverbed in the land to see if we can find enough grass to keep the horses and mules alive. Maybe we won't have to kill any of our animals.” 6They agreed on which part of the land each one would explore, and set off in different directions.
7As Obadiah was on his way, he suddenly met Elijah. He recognized him, bowed low before him, and asked, “Is it really you, sir?”
8“Yes, I'm Elijah,” he answered. “Go and tell your master the king that I am here.”
9Obadiah answered, “What have I done that you want to put me in danger of being killed by King Ahab? 10By the living LORD, your God, I swear that the king has made a search for you in every country in the world. Whenever the ruler of a country reported that you were not in his country, Ahab would require that ruler to swear that you could not be found. 11And now you want me to go and tell him that you are here? 12What if the Spirit of the LORD carries you off to some unknown place as soon as I leave? Then, when I tell Ahab that you are here, and he can't find you, he will put me to death. Remember that I have been a devout worshipper of the LORD ever since I was a boy. 13Haven't you heard that when Jezebel was killing the prophets of the LORD I hid a hundred of them in caves, in two groups of fifty, and supplied them with food and water? 14So how can you order me to go and tell the king that you are here? He will kill me!”
15Elijah answered, “By the living LORD, whom I serve, I promise that I will present myself to the king today.”
16So Obadiah went to King Ahab and told him, and Ahab set off to meet Elijah. 17When Ahab saw him, he said, “So there you are — the worst troublemaker in Israel!”
18“I'm not the troublemaker,” Elijah answered. “You are — you and your father. You are disobeying the LORD's commands and worshipping the idols of Baal. 19Now order all the people of Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel. Bring along the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of the goddess Asherah who are supported by Queen Jezebel.”
20So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and the prophets of Baal to meet at Mount Carmel. 21Elijah went up to the people and said, “How much longer will it take you to make up your minds? If the LORD is God, worship him; but if Baal is God, worship him!” But the people didn't say a word. 22Then Elijah said, “I am the only prophet of the LORD still left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal. 23Bring two bulls; let the prophets of Baal take one, kill it, cut it in pieces, and put it on the wood — but don't light the fire. I will do the same with the other bull. 24Then let the prophets of Baal pray to their god, and I will pray to the LORD, and the one who answers by sending fire — he is God.”
The people shouted their approval.
25Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since there are so many of you, you take a bull and prepare it first. Pray to your god, but don't set fire to the wood.”
26They took the bull that was brought to them, prepared it, and prayed to Baal until noon. They shouted, “Answer us, Baal!” and kept dancing round the altar they had built. But no answer came.
27At noon Elijah started making fun of them: “Pray louder! He is a god! Maybe he is daydreaming or relieving himself, or perhaps he's gone on a journey! Or maybe he's sleeping, and you've got to wake him up!” 28So the prophets prayed louder and cut themselves with knives and daggers, according to their ritual, until blood flowed. 29They kept on ranting and raving until the middle of the afternoon; but no answer came, not a sound was heard.
30Then Elijah said to the people, “Come closer to me,” and they all gathered round him. He set about repairing the altar of the LORD which had been torn down. 31#Gen 32.28; 35.10He took twelve stones, one for each of the twelve tribes named after the sons of Jacob, the man to whom the LORD had given the name Israel. 32With these stones he rebuilt the altar for the worship of the LORD. He dug a trench round it, large enough to hold almost fourteen litres of water. 33Then he placed the wood on the altar, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the offering and the wood.” They did so, 34and he said, “Do it again” — and they did. “Do it once more,” he said — and they did. 35The water ran down round the altar and filled the trench.
36At the hour of the afternoon sacrifice the prophet Elijah approached the altar and prayed, “O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove now that you are the God of Israel and that I am your servant and have done all this at your command. 37Answer me, LORD, answer me, so that this people will know that you, the LORD, are God, and that you are bringing them back to yourself.”#18.37 you are bringing them back to yourself; or you yourself made them turn away from you.
38The LORD sent fire down, and it burnt up the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones, scorched the earth and dried up the water in the trench. 39When the people saw this, they threw themselves on the ground and exclaimed, “The LORD is God; the LORD alone is God!”
40Elijah ordered, “Seize the prophets of Baal; don't let any of them get away!” The people seized them all, and Elijah led them down to the River Kishon and killed them.
The End of the Drought
41Then Elijah said to King Ahab, “Now, go and eat. I hear the roar of rain approaching.” 42#Jas 5.18While Ahab went to eat, Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, where he bowed down to the ground, with his head between his knees. 43He said to his servant, “Go and look towards the sea.”
The servant went and returned, saying, “I didn't see anything.” Seven times in all Elijah told him to go and look. 44The seventh time he returned and said, “I saw a little cloud no bigger than a man's hand, coming up from the sea.”
Elijah ordered his servant, “Go to King Ahab and tell him to get into his chariot and go back home before the rain stops him.”
45In a little while the sky was covered with dark clouds, the wind began to blow, and heavy rain began to fall. Ahab got into his chariot and started back to Jezreel. 46The power of the LORD came on Elijah; he fastened his clothes tight round his waist and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Melaḵim Aleph (1 Kings) 18
18
1And after many days it came to be that the word of יהוה came to Ěliyahu, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Aḥaḇ, and I give rain on the earth.”
2Thereupon Ěliyahu went to present himself to Aḥaḇ. And the scarcity of food in Shomeron was severe.#Lit. strong.
3And Aḥaḇ had called Oḇaḏyahu, who was over his house. Now Oḇaḏyahu feared יהוה exceedingly.
4And it came to be, while Izeḇel cut down the prophets of יהוה, that Oḇaḏyahu had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.
5And Aḥaḇ had said to Oḇaḏyahu, “Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the wadis, it could be that we find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, and not have any livestock cut off.
6And they divided the land between them to pass over it, Aḥaḇ went one way by himself, and Oḇaḏyahu went another way by himself.
7And as Oḇaḏyahu was on his way, then see, Ěliyahu met him. And he recognised him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is that you, my master Ěliyahu?”
8And he answered him, “It is I. Go, say to your master, ‘Ěliyahu is here.’ ”
9And he said, “What have I sinned, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Aḥaḇ, to kill me?
10“As יהוה your Elohim lives, there is no nation or reign where my master has not sent to look for you. And when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made the reign or nation swear that they could not find you.
11“And now you say, ‘Go, say to your master, “Ěliyahu is here” ’!
12“And it shall be, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of יהוה takes you away to a place I do not know. And I shall come to report to Aḥaḇ, and when he does not find you, he shall kill me. But I your servant have feared יהוה from my youth.
13“Was it not reported to my master what I did when Izeḇel killed the prophets of יהוה, how I hid one hundred men of the prophets of יהוה, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water?
14“And now you say, ‘Go, say to your master, “Ěliyahu is here!” ’ Then he shall kill me.”
15And Ěliyahu said, “As יהוה of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I shall indeed show myself to him today.”
16Oḇaḏyahu then went to meet Aḥaḇ and informed him, and Aḥaḇ went to meet Ěliyahu.
17And it came to be, when Aḥaḇ saw Ěliyahu, that Aḥaḇ said to him, “Is that you, O disturber of Yisra’ĕl?”
18And he answered, “I have not disturbed Yisra’ĕl, but you and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken the commands of יהוה, and you have followed the Ba‛als.
19“And now, send and gather all Yisra’ĕl to me on Mount Karmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Ba‛al, and the four hundred prophets of Ashĕrah, who eat at Izeḇel’s table.”
20Aḥaḇ then sent for all the children of Yisra’ĕl, and gathered the prophets on Mount Karmel.
21And Ěliyahu came to all the people, and said, “How long would you keep hopping between two opinions? If יהוה is Elohim, follow Him; and if Ba‛al, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.
22And Ěliyahu said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of יהוה, but the prophets of Ba‛al are four hundred and fifty men.
23“Now let them give us two bulls. And let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but set no fire. And I, I prepare the other bull, and shall lay it on the wood, but set no fire.
24“And you shall call on the name of your mighty one, and I, I call on the Name of יהוה. And the Elohim who answers by fire, He is Elohim.” So all the people answered and said, “The word is good.”
25And Ěliyahu said to the prophets of Ba‛al, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many. And call on the name of your mighty one, but set no fire.”
26So they took the bull which was given them, and prepared it, and called on the name of Ba‛al from morning even until noon, saying, “O Ba‛al, answer us!” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the slaughter-place which they had made.
27And it came to be at noon, that Ěliyahu taunted them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a mighty one; he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or it could be that he is asleep and has to be awakened!”
28And they cried aloud, and cut themselves, according to their ruling, with knives and spears, until the blood gushed out on them.
29And it came to be when midday was past, that they prophesied until the time of bringing the evening offering. But there was no voice and no one answered, and no one paying attention.
30Then Ěliyahu said to all the people, “Come closer to me.” And all the people came closer to him. And he repaired the slaughter-place of יהוה that was broken down.
31And Ěliyahu took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Ya‛aqoḇ, to whom the word of יהוה had come, saying, “Yisra’ĕl is your name.”
32And with the stones he built a slaughter-place in the Name of יהוה. And he made a trench around the slaughter-place large enough to hold two seahs of seed.
33And he arranged the wood, and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the ascending offering and on the wood.”
34Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time.
35And the water flowed around the slaughter-place, and he filled the trench with water too.
36And it came to be, at the time of bringing the evening offering, that Ěliyahu the prophet came near and said, “יהוה Elohim of Aḇraham, Yitsḥaq, and Yisra’ĕl, let it be known today: You are Elohim in Yisra’ĕl, and I Your servant, have done all these matters by Your word.
37“Answer me, O יהוה, answer me, and let this people know that You are יהוה Elohim, and You shall turn their hearts back to You again.”
38Then the fire of יהוה fell and consumed the ascending offering, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.
39And all the people saw, and fell on their faces, and said, “יהוה, He is the Elohim! יהוה, He is the Elohim!”
40And Ěliyahu said to them, “Seize the prophets of Ba‛al! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them, and Ěliyahu brought them down to the wadi Qishon and slew them there.
41And Ěliyahu said to Aḥaḇ, “Go up, eat and drink, because of the sound of the noise of rain.”
42And Aḥaḇ went up to eat and to drink. And Ěliyahu went up to the top of Karmel, and he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,
43and said to his servant, “Go up, please, look closely toward the sea.” So he went up and looked closely, and said, “Not a speck.” And seven times he said, “Go again.”
44And it came to be the seventh time, that he said, “See, a little cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming out of the sea!” And he said, “Go up, say to Aḥaḇ, ‘Hitch up, and go down before the rain stops you.’ ”
45And in the meantime, it came to be that the heavens became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain, while Aḥaḇ rode and went to Yizre‛ĕl.
46And the hand of יהוה was on Ěliyahu. And he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Aḥaḇ to the entrance of Yizre‛ĕl.
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