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.
Currently Selected:
1 Kings 18: GNBUK
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
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
War between Elijah and the Prophets of Baal
1It happened many days later that the word of Yahweh came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab so that I may give rain on the surface of the earth.” 2So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 3Ahab summoned Obadiah who was over the house. (Now Obadiah was fearing Yahweh greatly. 4It had happened that when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties#Literally “fifty men” in the cave and sustained them with food and water.) 5Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the wadis.#A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season Perhaps we may find green grass that we may keep horses and mules alive and that we might not lose any of the animals.” 6So they divided the land for themselves in order to pass through it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
7It happened that Obadiah was on the way, and suddenly Elijah was there to meet him. When he recognized him, he fell on his face and said, “Is this you, my lord Elijah?” 8He said to him, “I am. Go, say to your lord, ‘Elijah is here.’ ” 9He said, “How have I sinned that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab to kill me? 10As Yahweh your God lives,#Literally “The life of Yahweh your God” surely there is not a nation or a kingdom to which my lord has not sent me to seek you. If they would say, ‘He is not here,’ then he would make the kingdom or the nation swear that it could not find you. 11Now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your lord: “Elijah is here.” ’ 12And it will happen that I will go from you and the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you up to where I do not know. Then I will come to tell Ahab, but he will not find you, and then he will kill me, even though your servant has feared Yahweh from my youth. 13Has it not been told to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh? I hid a hundred men of the prophets of Yahweh by fifties#Literally “fifty fifty men” in the cave, and I sustained them with food and water. 14Now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your lord: “Elijah is here,” ’ and he will kill me.” 15Elijah said, “As Yahweh of hosts lives,#Literally “The life of Yahweh of hosts” before whom I stand, I will certainly show myself to him today.”
16So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and he told him, so Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is this you who throws Israel into confusion?” 18He said, “I did not throw Israel into confusion; rather you and the house of your father have by forsaking the commands of Yahweh when you went after the Baals! 19So then, send word and assemble all of Israel to me on Mount Carmel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at the table of Jezebel.”
20So Ahab sent word among the Israelites,#Literally “sons/children of Israel” and he assembled the prophets to Mount Carmel. 21Elijah approached to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping over two opinions? If Yahweh is God, go after him; but if Baal, go after him.” But the people did not answer him a word. 22Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of Yahweh, but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men. 23Let them give us two bulls, and let them choose for themselves one bull, cut him in pieces, and put it on the wood, but don’t let them start a fire on it. I will prepare the other bull and set it on the wood, but I will put no fire on it. 24Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh, and it shall be that the god who answers by fire, he is God.”#Baal is known in Canaanite texts as being the god in control of lightning and fire Then all the people answered and said, “The word is good!”
25Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are the majority, and call on the name of your god, but don’t set fire under it.” 26So they took the bull that he allowed to them, prepared it, and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice and there was no answer, so they limped#That is, moved about the altar in a cultic dance step about the altar which they had made. 27It happened at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god! Perhaps he is meditating, or is using the bathroom,#Literally “has backed off for himself” or is on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep and must wake up!” 28So they called out with a loud voice, and they cut themselves with swords and with spears as was their custom, until the blood poured out over them. 29It happened as noon passed, they raged until the time of the evening offering, but there was no voice, there was no answer, and no one paid attention.
30Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me,” so all the people came closer to him. He repaired the altar of Yahweh that had been destroyed. 31Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of God came, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32With them, he built an altar in the name of Yahweh, and he made a trench which would have held#Literally “as the house of” about two seahs of seed, all around the altar. 33And he arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces, and placed it on the wood.#in the Hebrew Bible, 1 Kings 18:34 begins here Then he said, “Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34He said, “Do it again!” They did it again. He said, “Do it a third time!” So they did it a third time. 35The water went all around the altar, and the trench also was filled with water.
36It happened at the offering of the evening oblation, Elijah the prophet went near, and he said, “O Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and that I have done all of these things by your words. 37Answer me, O Yahweh, answer me; that this people may know that you, O Yahweh, are God and that you have turned their hearts back again.” 38Then the fire of Yahweh fell, and it consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust; and the water which was in the trench it licked up! 39When all the people saw, they fell on their faces and said, “Yahweh, he is God! Yahweh, he is God!” 40Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; don’t let any man of them escape!” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the wadi#A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season of Kishon and killed them there.
41Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of the noise of rain.” 42So Ahab went up to eat and to drink while Elijah went to the top of Carmel, bent down to the earth, and put his face between his knees. 43Then he said to his servant, “Please go and look in the direction of the sea.” So he went up and looked; then he said, “There is nothing.” Then he said, “Go back,” seven times. 44It happened that at the seventh time, he said, “Look, there is a small cloud, as the hand of a man, coming up from the sea.” Then Elijah said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Harness your horses and go down, lest the rain stop you.’ ” 45In no time#Literally “Until here and until here” the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was heavy rain. Ahab rode and he went to Jezreel, 46but the hand of Yahweh was on Elijah; he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab as one comes to Jezreel.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
2010 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software