1 Kings 18

¹After many days the word of the Lord came to Eliʹjah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.” ²So Eliʹjah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samarʹia. ³And Ahab called Obadiʹah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiʹah revered the Lord greatly; ⁴and when Jezʹebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiʹah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) ⁵And Ahab said to Obadiʹah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys; perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.” ⁶So they divided the land between them to pass through it; Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiʹah went in another direction by himself.

⁷And as Obadiʹah was on the way, behold, Eliʹjah met him; and Obadiʹah recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is it you, my lord Eliʹjah?” ⁸And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Eliʹjah is here.’ ” ⁹And he said, “Wherein have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? ¹⁰As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom whither my lord has not sent to seek you; and when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. ¹¹And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Eliʹjah is here.” ’ ¹²And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you whither I know not; and so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have revered the Lord from my youth. ¹³Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezʹebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord’s prophets by fifties in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? ¹⁴And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Eliʹjah is here” ’; and he will kill me.” ¹⁵And Eliʹjah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” ¹⁶So Obadiʹah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Eliʹjah.

¹⁷When Ahab saw Eliʹjah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” ¹⁸And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel; but you have, and your father’s house, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baʹals. ¹⁹Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baʹal and the four hundred prophets of Asheʹrah, who eat at Jezʹebel’s table.”

²⁰So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel, and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. ²¹And Eliʹjah came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baʹal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. ²²Then Eliʹjah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baʹal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. ²³Let two bulls be given to us; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; and I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, and put no fire to it. ²⁴And you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” ²⁵Then Eliʹjah said to the prophets of Baʹal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” ²⁶And they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baʹal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baʹal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped about the altar which they had made. ²⁷And at noon Eliʹjah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is musing, or he has gone aside, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” ²⁸And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. ²⁹And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice; no one answered, no one heeded.

³⁰Then Eliʹjah said to all the people, “Come near to me”; and all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down; ³¹Eliʹjah 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 your name”; ³²and 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. ³³And he put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood.” ³⁴And he said, “Do it a second time”; and they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time”; and they did it a third time. ³⁵And the water ran round about the altar, and filled the trench also with water.

³⁶And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Eliʹjah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and 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. ³⁷Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that thou, O Lord, art God, and that thou hast turned their hearts back.” ³⁸Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt offering, 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 it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” ⁴⁰And Eliʹjah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baʹal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them; and Eliʹjah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there.

⁴¹And Eliʹjah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” ⁴²So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Eliʹjah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees. ⁴³And he 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.” ⁴⁴And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising out of the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’ ” ⁴⁵And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. ⁴⁶And the hand of the Lord was on Eliʹjah; and he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.