3 Kings 18
18
1After many days the word of the Lord came to Elias, in the third year, saying: Go and shew thyself to Achab, that I may give rain upon the face of the earth.
2And Elias went to shew himself to Achab: and there was a grievous famine in Samaria.
3And Achab called Abdias, the governor of his house. Now Abdias feared the Lord very much.
4For when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, he took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and water.
5And Achab said to Abdias: Go into the land unto all fountains of waters, and into all valleys, to see if we can find grass, and save the horses and mules, that the beasts may not utterly perish.
6And they divided the countries between them, that they might go round about them: Achab went one way, and Abdias another way by himself.
7And as Abdias was in the way Elias met him. And he knew him, and fell on his face, and said: Art thou my lord Elias?
8And he answered: I am. Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here.
9And he said: What have I sinned, that thou wouldst deliver me thy servant into the hand of Achab, that he should kill me?
10As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee. And when all answered: He is not here, he took an oath of every kingdom and nation, because thou wast not found.
11And now thou sayest to me: Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here.
12And when I am gone from thee, the spirit of the Lord will carry thee into a place that I know not: and I shall go in and tell Achab, and he not finding thee will kill me. But thy servant feareth the Lord from his infancy.
13Hath it not been told thee, my lord, what I did when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the prophets of the Lord by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and water?
14And now thou sayest: Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here; that he may kill me.
15And Elias said: As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whose face I stand, this day I will shew myself unto him.
16Abdias therefore went to meet Achab, and told him: and Achab came to meet Elias.
17And when he had seen him, he said: Art thou he that troublest Israel?
18And he said: I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house, who have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and have followed Baalim.
19Nevertheless send now, and gather unto me all Israel, unto mount Carmel: and the prophets of Baal, four hundred and fifty: and the prophets of the groves four hundred, who eat at Jezabel's table.
20Achab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered together the prophets unto mount Carmel.
21And Elias coming to all the people said: How long do you halt between two sides? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word.
22And Elias said again to the people: I only remain a prophet of the Lord: but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men.
23Let two bullocks be given us, and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces and lay it upon wood, but put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under it.
24Call ye on the names of your gods, and I will call on the name of my Lord: and the God that shall answer by fire, let him be God. And all the people answering said: A very good proposal.
25Then Elias said to the prophets of Baal: Choose you one bullock, and dress it first, because you are many: and call on the names of your gods, but put no fire under.
26And they took the bullock which he gave them, and dressed it. And they called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying: O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered: and they leaped over the altar that they had made.
27And when it was now noon, Elias jested at them, saying: Cry with a louder voice; for he is a God, and perhaps he is talking, or is in an inn, or on a journey; or perhaps he is asleep, and must be awaked.
28So they cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till they were all covered with blood.
29And after midday was past, and while they were prophesying, the time was come of offering sacrifice: and there was no voice heard, nor did any one answer, nor regard them as they prayed.
30Elias said to all the people: Come ye unto me. And the people coming near unto him, he repaired the altar of the Lord, that was broken down.
31And he 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 thy name.
32And he built with the stones an altar to the name of the Lord: and he made a trench for water, of the breadth of two furrows round about the altar.
33And he laid the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it upon the wood.
34And he said: Fill four buckets with water, and pour it upon the burnt-offering, and upon the wood. And again he said: Do the same the second time. And when they had done it the second time, he said: Do the same also the third time. And they did so the third time.
35And the water run round about the altar: and the trench was filled with water.
36And when it was now time to offer the holocaust, Elias the prophet came near and said: O Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, shew this day that thou art the God of Israel, and I thy servant, and that according to thy commandment I have done all these things.
37Hear me, O Lord, hear me: that this people may learn, that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart again.
38Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the holocaust, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39And when all the people saw this, they fell on their faces. And they said: The Lord he is God; the Lord he is God.
40And Elias said to them: Take the prophets of Baal, and let not one of them escape. And when they had taken them, Elias brought them down to the torrent Cison, and killed them there.
41And Elias said to Achab: Go up, eat, and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
42Achab went up to eat and drink. And Elias went up to the top of Carmel, and casting himself down upon the earth put his face between his knees.
43And he said to his servant: Go up, and look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said: There is nothing. And again he said to him: Return seven times.
44And at the seventh time, behold, a little cloud arose out of the sea like a man's foot. And he said: Go up and say to Achab: Prepare thy chariot and go down, lest the rain prevent thee.
45And while he turned himself this way and that way, behold, the heavens grew dark, with clouds, and wind: and there fell a great rain. And Achab getting up went away to Jezrahel.
46And the hand of the Lord was upon Elias: and he girded up his loins and ran before Achab, till he came to Jezrahel.
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3 Kings 18: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
1 Kings 18
18
The Contest on Mount Carmel
1Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!” 2So Elijah went to appear before Ahab.
Meanwhile, the famine had become very severe in Samaria. 3So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Obadiah was a devoted follower of the Lord. 4Once when Jezebel had tried to kill all the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had hidden 100 of them in two caves. He put fifty prophets in each cave and supplied them with food and water.) 5Ahab said to Obadiah, “We must check every spring and valley in the land to see if we can find enough grass to save at least some of my horses and mules.” 6So they divided the land between them. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
7As Obadiah was walking along, he suddenly saw Elijah coming toward him. Obadiah recognized him at once and bowed low to the ground before him. “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?” he asked.
8“Yes, it is,” Elijah replied. “Now go and tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”
9“Oh, sir,” Obadiah protested, “what harm have I done to you that you are sending me to my death at the hands of Ahab? 10For I swear by the Lord your God that the king has searched every nation and kingdom on earth from end to end to find you. And each time he was told, ‘Elijah isn’t here,’ King Ahab forced the king of that nation to swear to the truth of his claim. 11And now you say, ‘Go and tell your master, “Elijah is here.”’ 12But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you away to who knows where. When Ahab comes and cannot find you, he will kill me. Yet I have been a true servant of the Lord all my life. 13Has no one told you, my lord, about the time when Jezebel was trying to kill the Lord’s prophets? I hid 100 of them in two caves and supplied them with food and water. 14And now you say, ‘Go and tell your master, “Elijah is here.”’ Sir, if I do that, Ahab will certainly kill me.”
15But Elijah said, “I swear by the Lord Almighty, in whose presence I stand, that I will present myself to Ahab this very day.”
16So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come, and Ahab went out to meet Elijah. 17When Ahab saw him, he exclaimed, “So, is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel?”
18“I have made no trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the Lord and have worshiped the images of Baal instead. 19Now summon all Israel to join me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who are supported by Jezebel.#18:19 Hebrew who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20So Ahab summoned all the people of Israel and the prophets to Mount Carmel. 21Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.
22Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets. 23Now bring two bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of their altar, but without setting fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood on the altar, but not set fire to it. 24Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God!” And all the people agreed.
25Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “You go first, for there are many of you. Choose one of the bulls, and prepare it and call on the name of your god. But do not set fire to the wood.”
26So they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made.
27About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself.#18:27 Or is busy somewhere else, or is engaged in business. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!”
28So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. 29They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response.
30Then Elijah called to the people, “Come over here!” They all crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down. 31He took twelve stones, one to represent each of the tribes of Israel,#18:31 Hebrew each of the tribes of the sons of Jacob to whom the Lord had said, “Your name will be Israel.” 32and he used the stones to rebuild the altar in the name of the Lord. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold about three gallons.#18:32 Hebrew 2 seahs [14.6 liters] of seed. 33He piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood.#18:33 Verse 18:34 in the Hebrew text begins here.
Then he said, “Fill four large jars with water, and pour the water over the offering and the wood.”
34After they had done this, he said, “Do the same thing again!” And when they were finished, he said, “Now do it a third time!” So they did as he said, 35and the water ran around the altar and even filled the trench.
36At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,#18:36 Hebrew and Israel. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation. prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. 37O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”
38Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! 39And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!”
40Then Elijah commanded, “Seize all the prophets of Baal. Don’t let a single one escape!” So the people seized them all, and Elijah took them down to the Kishon Valley and killed them there.
Elijah Prays for Rain
41Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!”
42So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees.
43Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.”
The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, “I didn’t see anything.”
Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. 44Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.”
Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’”
45And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel. 46Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt#18:46 Hebrew He bound up his loins. and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.
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