1 Kings 18

1And it happened after many days that the word of Yahweh came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will give rain upon the face of the land.”

2So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria.

3And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. Now Obadiah feared Yahweh greatly.

4When Jezebel was cutting off the prophets of Yahweh, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them, fifty men to a cave, and provided them with bread and water.

5And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the wadis. Perhaps we may find grass and keep horse and mule alive, so that we do not have to cut off some of the livestock.”

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

7As Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah came to meet him. When he recognized him, he fell on his face and said, “Is that you, my lord Elijah?”

8And he said to him, “I am he. Go, say to your master, ‘Look, Elijah is here.’”

9And he said, “What have I sinned, that you are giving your servant into Ahab’s hand to put me to death?”

10As Yahweh 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 made the kingdom and the nation swear that they could not find you.

11And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your lord, “Look, Elijah is here.”’

12And when I go away from you, the Spirit of Yahweh may carry you where I do not know. Then when I come and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me—though your servant has feared Yahweh from my youth.

13Has it not been told to my lord what I did when Jezebel was killing the prophets of Yahweh—how I hid a hundred of the prophets of Yahweh, fifty men in each cave, and provided them with bread and water?

14And now you are saying, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Look, Elijah is here,”’ and he will kill me.’

15And Elijah said, “As Yahweh of hosts lives, before whom I stand, today I will surely present myself to him.”

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

17And when Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, troubler of Israel?”

18And he said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of Yahweh and have gone after the Baals.”

19Now send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, along with the prophets of Baal, four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of Asherah, four hundred, who eat at Jezebel’s table.

20So Ahab sent to all the sons of Israel and gathered the prophets to Mount Carmel.

21Then Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you keep limping between two opinions? If Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.

22Then Elijah said to the people, “I, I alone, am left as 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 one bull for themselves, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it. And I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood, and I will put no fire under it.

24Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh; and the God who answers by fire, he is God." And all the people answered and said, "The word is good.

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

26So they took the bull that had been given to them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that had been made.

27And it happened at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry out with a loud voice, for he is a god. For he is musing, or he has gone aside, or he is on a journey. Perhaps he is sleeping and will awake.”

28So they cried out with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and spears until the blood gushed out on them.

29And it happened, when noon had passed, that they kept prophesying until the offering up of the grain offering, but there was no voice, no one answering, and no one paying attention.

30Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him, and he repaired the altar of Yahweh that had been torn down.

31And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of Yahweh had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”

32And with the stones he built an altar in the name of Yahweh, and he made a trench around the altar, like the capacity for two seahs of seed.

33Then he arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces, and placed it on the wood.

34Then he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time. Then he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time.

35And the water went all around the altar, and it also filled the trench with water.

36And it happened, at the offering up of the grain offering, that Elijah the prophet came near and 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 by your word I have done all these things.”

37Answer me, O Yahweh, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O Yahweh, are God, and that you have turned their heart back.

38Then the fire of Yahweh fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

39When all the people saw it, 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; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Wadi and slaughtered them there.

41And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of the abundance of rain.”

42So Ahab went up to eat and to drink, but Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, and he bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.

43Then he said to his servant, “Please go up and look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” Then he said, “Go back seven times.”

44And it happened on the seventh time that he said, “Look, a small cloud, like a man’s palm, is rising from the sea.” Then he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Harness your chariot and go down, so that the rain does not stop you.’”

45And in a little while, the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. Then Ahab mounted his chariot and went to Jezreel.

46And the hand of Yahweh was on Elijah, and he tucked up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab as far as the entrance to Jezreel.