1 Kings 18:1-46
18 And after a long time Jehovah’s word came to Elijah, in the third year, “Go and appear before Ahab, so that I may send rain over the soil”;
2 and Elijah went to appear before Ahab.
And the famine was pressing hard in Samaria;
3 and Ahab called ʽObadiah the steward of the palace (ʽObadiah was a great fearer of Jehovah:
4 when Jezebel exterminated Jehovah’s prophets, ʽObadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them fifty in a cave, and furnished them bread and water),
5 and Ahab said to ʽObadiah “Come, let us go through the country to all the springs and arroyos; perhaps we may find grass and save the life of pony and mule, and not be deprived of the race of cattle.”
6 And they divided the country between them to go over: Ahab went one way and ʽObadiah went by himself another way.
7 And as ʽObadiah was on his way he found Elijah coming to meet him; and he recognized him and threw himself down on his face and said “Is this your reverence, Elijah?”
8 and he said to him “Yes; go tell your master ‘here is Elijah.’”
9 And he said “What wrong have I done, that you are giving your servant into Ahab’s hands to be put to death?
10 By your God Jehovah, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to look for you; and they would say ‘not here,’ and he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation that they did not find you.
11 And now you say ‘Go tell your master “here is Elijah”’;
12 and while I go from you Jehovah’s spirit will lift you away I do not know where, and I shall come to tell Ahab and he will not find you and will kill me; but your servant has been a fearer of Jehovah from boyhood.
13 Has your reverence not been told what I did when Jezebel was killing Jehovah’s prophets, and I hid a hundred of Jehovah’s prophets, fifty in a cave, and furnished them bread and water?
14 * and now you say ‘Go tell your master “here is Elijah,”’ and he will kill me.”
15 And Elijah said “By Jehovah of Armies, in whose service I am, today I will show myself to him.”
16 And ʽObadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 And when Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him “Is that you, you trouble-breeder of Israel?”
18 and he said “I have not bred trouble for Israel; it is you and your family that have, in leaving Jehovah and going after the Baals.
19 But now send and gather to meet me at Mount Carmel all Israel, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of the Baal and the four hundred prophets of the asherah who eat from Jezebel’s table.
20 And Ahab sent all through Israel and gathered all the prophets at Mount Carmel.
21 * And Elijah came up to all the people and said “Till when will you limp along on both conceptions? if Jehovah is God follow him, and if the Baal, follow him”; and the people gave him not a word of answer.
22 And Elijah said to the people “I am the only prophet of Jehovah left, and of the Baal’s prophets there are four hundred and fifty men.
23 Then let them give us two steers, and let them choose themselves one steer and cut it up and lay it on the wood, and not put in any fire, and I will prepare one steer and not put in any fire;
24 and you shall call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Jehovah, and the god that answers with fire is God.” And all the people answered “All right.”
25 And Elijah said to the prophets of the Baal “Choose yourselves one steer and prepare it first, because there are more of you, and call on the name of your god, but do not put in any fire.”
26 *** And they took the steer and prepared it, and called on the name of the Baal from morning till noon, “Baal, answer us!” without getting a sound of answer, and hobbled along by the altar they had made.
27 * And at noon Elijah derided them and said “Call loud, because he is a god—because he is occupied with his private concerns—because he is gone on an expedition—maybe he is asleep and will wake up”;
28 and they called loudly and hacked themselves with swords and lances in their fashion till blood flowed over them.
29 And through the afternoon they were under the power till time for making the offering, without getting a sound of answer or attention.
30 And Elijah said to all the people “Come here to me”; and all the people came to him; and he mended the broken-down altar of Jehovah.
31 And Elijah took twelve stones, equal in number to the tribes of the sons of Jacob to whom came Jehovah’s word “Your name shall be Israel,”
32 * and built the stones into an altar in Jehovah’s name, and made a trench, taking in room for about three pecks of seed, around the altar,
33 and laid the wood and cut up the steer and laid it on the wood, and said “Fill four jars with water and pour it over the burnt-offering and the wood”; and they did so.
34 And he said “Do it again”; and they did it again. And he said “Do it the third time”; and they did it the third time,
35 and the water ran around the altar, and he filled the trench with water too.
36 And at offering-making the prophet Elijah approached it and said “Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be recognized that you are God in Israel and I am your servant, and it was at your word I did all these things.
37 Answer me, Jehovah, answer me, and let this people know that you, Jehovah, are God, and it was you who turned their hearts backward.”
38 And Jehovah’s fire fell and consumed the burnt-offering and the wood and the stones and the soil, and licked up the water in the trench;
39 and all the people saw and threw themselves down on their faces and said “Jehovah is God, Jehovah is God.”
40 And Elijah said to them “Get hold of the prophets of the Baal; do not let a single man escape”; and they seized them, and Elijah took them down to Kishon Arroyo and cut their throats there.
41 And Elijah said to Ahab “Go up, eat and drink, because there is a roaring of rain in the air”;
42 and Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up on the top of Carmel and crouched on the ground and put his face between his knees,
43 and said to his man “Go up and look toward the west”; and he went up and looked, and said “There isn’t anything,” and he said “Go again,” seven times.
44 And at the seventh time he said “Here is a little cloud like a man’s hand coming up in the west”; and he said “Go up and tell Ahab ʽHarness and go down, so the rain will not keep you back.’”
45 And before long the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain; and Ahab rode to Jezreʽel,
46 but Jehovah’s hand was on Elijah and he girded his waist and ran before Ahab clear to Jezreʽel.
Footnotes
^ 18:14 Var. to tell Ahab and he will kill me
^ 18:21 Or be limping between the two conceptions
^ 18:26 Var. took the steer he had given them and prepared it
^ 18:26 Var. omits from morning till noon
^ 18:26 Lit. a sound or an answerer
^ 18:27 (occupied with his private concerns) Unc.; apparently a pun containing a word whose meaning is unknown but is suspected to be impolite
^ 18:32 This means an area of about 1800 square yards
