1 Kings 18 | King James Version

King James Version

1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. 2 And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. 3 And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: 4 For it was so , when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. 6 So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. 7 And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah? 8 And he answered him, I am : go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here . 9 And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? 10 As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there ; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. 11 And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here . 12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth. 13 Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD' prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 14 And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here : and he shall slay me. 15 And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day. 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? 18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father' house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. 19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel' table. 20 So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. 22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal' prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under : and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under : 24 And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. 25 And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under . 26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it , and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. 27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. 28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. 30 And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: 32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. 34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. 35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. 36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. 37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. 38 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it , they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. 40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. 41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, 43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. 44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man' hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot , and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. 45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. 46 And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

New International Reader’s Version

Elijah and Obadiah

1 It was now three years since it had rained. A message came to Elijah from the LORD. He said, ‘Go. Speak to Ahab. Then I will send rain on the land.’ 2 So Elijah went to speak to Ahab. There wasn’t enough food in Samaria. The people there were very hungry. 3 Ahab had sent for Obadiah. He was in charge of Ahab’s palace. Obadiah had great respect for the LORD. 4 Ahab’s wife Jezebel had been killing off the LORD’s prophets. So Obadiah had hidden 100 prophets in two caves. He had put 50 in each cave. He had supplied them with food and water. 5 Ahab had said to Obadiah, ‘Go through the land. Go to all the valleys and springs of water. Maybe we can find some grass there. It will keep the horses and mules alive. Then we won’t have to kill any of our animals.’ 6 So they decided where each of them would look. Ahab went in one direction. Obadiah went in another. 7 As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognised him. He bowed down to the ground. He said, ‘My master Elijah! Is it really you?’ 8 ‘Yes’, he replied. ‘Go and tell your master Ahab, “Elijah is here.” ’ 9 ‘What have I done wrong?’ asked Obadiah. ‘Why are you handing me over to Ahab to be put to death? 10 My master has sent people to look for you everywhere. There isn’t a nation or kingdom where he hasn’t sent someone to look for you. Suppose a nation or kingdom would claim you weren’t there. Then Ahab would make them give their word that they couldn’t find you. And that’s just as sure as the LORD your God is alive. 11 But now you are telling me to go to my master. You want me to say, “Elijah is here.” 12 But the Spirit of the LORD might carry you away when I leave you. Then I won’t know where you are. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he’ll kill me. But I’ve worshipped the LORD ever since I was young. 13 My master, haven’t you heard what I did? Jezebel was killing the LORD’s prophets. But I hid 100 of them in two caves. I put 50 in each cave. I supplied them with food and water. 14 And now you are telling me to go to my master Ahab. You want me to say to him, “Elijah is here.” Ahab will kill me!’ 15 Elijah said, ‘I serve the LORD who rules over all. You can be sure that he lives. And you can be just as sure that I will speak to Ahab today.’

Elijah on Mount Carmel

16 Obadiah went back to Ahab. He told Ahab that Elijah wanted to see him. So Ahab went to where Elijah was. 17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, ‘Is that you? You are always stirring up trouble in Israel.’ 18 ‘I haven’t made trouble for Israel,’ Elijah replied. ‘But you and your father’s family have. You have turned away from the LORD’s commands. You have followed gods that are named Baal. 19 Now send for people from all over Israel. Tell them to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the 450 prophets of the god named Baal. Also bring the 400 prophets of the female god named Asherah. All of them eat at Jezebel’s table.’ 20 So Ahab sent that message all through Israel. He gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went there and stood in front of the people. He said, ‘How long will it take you to make up your minds? If the LORD is the one and only God, worship him. But if Baal is the one and only God, worship him.’ The people didn’t say anything. 22 Then Elijah said to them, ‘I’m the only one of the LORD’s prophets left. But Baal has 450 prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves. Let them cut it into pieces. Then let them put it on the wood. But don’t let them set fire to it. I’ll prepare the other bull. I’ll put it on the wood. But I won’t set fire to it. 24 Then you pray to your god. And I’ll pray to the LORD. The god who answers by sending fire down is the one and only God.’ Then all the people said, ‘What you are saying is good.’ 25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, ‘Choose one of the bulls. There are many of you. So prepare your bull first. Pray to your god. But don’t light the fire.’ 26 So they prepared the bull they had been given. They prayed to Baal from morning until noon. ‘Baal! Answer us!’ they shouted. But there wasn’t any reply. No one answered. Then they danced around the altar they had made. 27 At noon Elijah began to tease them. ‘Shout louder!’ he said. ‘I’m sure Baal is a god! Perhaps he has too much to think about. Or maybe he has gone to the toilet. Or perhaps he’s away on a trip. Maybe he’s sleeping. You might have to wake him up.’ 28 So they shouted louder. They cut themselves with swords and spears until their blood flowed. That’s what they usually did when things really looked hopeless. 29 It was now past noon. The prophets of Baal continued to prophesy with all their might. They did it until the time came to offer the evening sacrifice. But there wasn’t any reply. No one answered. No one paid any attention. 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, ‘Come here to me.’ So they went to him. He rebuilt the altar of the LORD. It had been torn down. 31 Elijah got 12 stones. There was one for each tribe in the family line of Jacob. The LORD’s message had come to Jacob. It had said, ‘Your name will be Israel.’ 32 Elijah used the stones to build an altar to honour the LORD. He dug a ditch around it. The ditch was large enough to hold 10 kilograms of seeds. 33 He arranged the wood for the fire. He cut the bull into pieces. He placed the pieces on the wood. Then he said to some of the people, ‘Fill four large jars with water. Pour it on the offering and the wood.’ So they did. 34 ‘Do it again,’ he said. So they did it again. ‘Do it a third time,’ he ordered. And they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar. It even filled the ditch. 36 When it was time to offer the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward. He prayed, ‘LORD, you are the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. Today let everyone know that you are God in Israel. Let them know I’m your servant. Let them know I’ve done all these things because you commanded me to. 37 Answer me. LORD, answer me. Then these people will know that you are the one and only God. They’ll know that you are turning their hearts back to you again.’ 38 The fire of the LORD came down. It burned up the sacrifice. It burned up the wood and the stones and the soil. It even dried up the water in the ditch. 39 All the people saw it. Then they fell down flat with their faces towards the ground. They cried out, ‘The LORD is the one and only God! The LORD is the one and only God!’ 40 Then Elijah commanded them, ‘Grab the prophets of Baal. Don’t let a single one of them get away!’ So they grabbed them. Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley. There he had them put to death. 41 Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go. Eat and drink. I can hear the sound of a heavy rain.’ 42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel. He bent down towards the ground. Then he put his face between his knees. 43 ‘Go and look towards the sea,’ he told his servant. So he went up and looked. ‘I don’t see anything there,’ he said. Seven times Elijah said, ‘Go back.’ 44 The seventh time the servant said, ‘I see a cloud. It’s as small as a man’s hand. It’s coming up over the sea.’ Elijah said, ‘Go to Ahab. Tell him, “Tie your chariot to your horse. Go down to Jezreel before the rain stops you.” ’ 45 Black clouds filled the sky. The wind came up, and a heavy rain began to fall. Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 The power of the LORD came on Elijah. He tucked his coat into his belt. And he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.