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.
1 Kings 18
18
Elijah Comes to King Ahab
1A while later in the third year of the drought, the Lord spoke his word to Elijah: “Present yourself to Ahab. I will allow rain to fall on the ground.” 2So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.
The famine was particularly severe in Samaria. 3Ahab sent for Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. Obadiah was a devout worshiper of the Lord. 4(When Jezebel was killing the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had hidden 100 prophets in caves. He put 50 prophets in each cave and kept them alive by providing bread and water for them.) 5Ahab told Obadiah, “Let’s go throughout the countryside to every spring and stream. If we can find grass, then we can keep the horses and mules alive and not lose any animals.” 6So they split up in order to cover the entire countryside. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.
7Obadiah was on the road when he met Elijah. Obadiah recognized him and immediately bowed down to the ground. “Is it you, my master Elijah?” he asked.
8“Yes,” Elijah answered him. “Tell your master that Elijah is here.”
9Obadiah asked, “What have I done wrong to make you hand me over to Ahab to be killed? 10I solemnly swear, as the Lord your God lives, my master has searched for you in every region and kingdom. When people would say, ‘He isn’t here,’ my master made that kingdom or region take an oath that they hadn’t found you.
11“Now you say, ‘Tell your master that Elijah is here.’ 12This is what will happen: When I leave you, the Lord’s Spirit will take you away to some unknown place. I’ll tell Ahab, but he won’t be able to find you. Then he will kill me.
“I have been faithful to the Lord since I was a child. 13Haven’t you heard what I did when Jezebel killed the Lord’s prophets? Haven’t you heard how I hid 100 of the Lord’s prophets in caves? I hid 50 prophets in each cave and provided bread and water for them. 14Now you say that I should tell my master that Elijah is here. He will kill me.”
15Elijah said, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord of Armies whom I serve lives, I will present myself to Ahab.”
16So Obadiah went to tell Ahab.
Elijah and the Prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel
Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17When he saw Elijah, Ahab said, “Is that you, you troublemaker of Israel?”
18Elijah answered, “I haven’t troubled Israel. You and your father’s family have done it by disobeying the Lord’s commands and following the various Baal gods. 19Order all Israel to gather around me on Mount Carmel. And bring the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20Ahab sent word to all the Israelites and brought the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21Elijah stood up in front of all the people and asked them, “How long will you try to have it both ways? If the Lord is God, follow him; if Baal is God, follow him.” The people didn’t say a word.
22So Elijah told the people, “I’m the only surviving prophet of the Lord, but there are 450 prophets of Baal. 23Give us two bulls. Let the prophets of Baal choose one for themselves, cut it into pieces, lay it on the wood, but not set it on fire. I’ll do the same with the other bull.
24“You call on the name of your gods, but I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire is the real God.”
All the people answered, “That’s fine.”
25Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves. Prepare yours first, because there are more of you. Call on the name of your god, but don’t set the wood on fire.”
26They took the bull he gave them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon. They said, “Baal, answer us!” But there wasn’t a sound or an answer. So they danced around the altar they had made. 27At noon Elijah started to make fun of them. “Shout louder, since he is a god. Maybe he’s thinking, relieving himself, or traveling! Maybe he’s sleeping, and you have to wake him!”
28So they shouted louder. They also cut themselves with swords and spears until their blood flowed. (This is what their ritual called for.) 29In the afternoon they continued to rant and rave until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no sound, no answer, no attention given to them.
30Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come over here.” So all the people came to him. He rebuilt the Lord’s altar that had been torn down. 31Elijah took 12 stones, one for each of the tribes named after Jacob’s sons. (The Lord had spoken his word to Jacob: “Your name will be Israel.”) 32Elijah built an altar in the Lord’s name with those stones. He also made a trench that could hold 12 quarts of grain around the altar. 33He arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and put it on the wood.
34He said, “Fill four jars with water. Pour the water on the offering and on the wood.” Then he said, “Do it again,” and they did it again. Then he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35The water flowed around the altar, and even the trench was filled with water.
36When it was time to offer the sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward. He said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make known today that you are God in Israel and that I’m your servant and have done all these things by your instructions. 37Answer me, Lord! Answer me! Then these people will know that you, Lord, are God and that you are winning back their hearts.”
38So a fire from the Lord fell down and consumed the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dirt. The fire even dried up the water that was in the trench. 39All the people saw it and immediately bowed down to the ground. “The Lord is God!” they said. “The Lord is God!”
40Elijah told them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let any of them escape.” The people seized them, and Elijah took them to the Kishon River and slaughtered them there.
The Drought Ends
41Then Elijah told Ahab, “Get up, eat, and drink. It sounds like a heavy rain ⌞is coming⌟.” 42Ahab got up to eat and drink.
Elijah went to the top of Carmel and bowed down on the ground to pray. 43He said to his servant, “Please go back to ⌞Mount Carmel⌟, and look toward the sea.”
He went up, looked, ⌞came back,⌟ and said, “There’s nothing.”
Seven times Elijah told him, “Go back.”
44After the seventh time the servant said, “A little cloud like a man’s hand is coming from the sea.”
Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare ⌞your chariot⌟, and leave before the rain delays you.’ ”
45Gradually, the sky grew darker with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. Ahab got into his chariot to go back to Jezreel. 46The Lord’s power was on Elijah. He hiked up his robe and ran ahead of Ahab until they came to Jezreel.
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