^aNow it happened after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and ^bI will send rain on the face of the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 3 Ahab called Obadiah ^awho was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah ^bfeared the LORD greatly; 4 for ^awhen Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and ^bprovided them with bread and water.) 5 Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go into the land to all the sources of water and to all the streams; perhaps we may find grass and keep the horses and mules alive, and not have to kill some of the cattle.” 6 So they divided the land between them to ¹survey it. Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way by himself.

7 As Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. ^aHe recognized him and fell face downward out of respect and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” 8 He answered him, “It is I. Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’” 9 But he said, “What sin have I committed, that you would hand over your servant to Ahab to put me to death? 10 ^aAs the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent messengers to seek you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ Ahab made the kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you. 11 And now you are saying, ‘Go, tell your master, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’ 12 And as soon as I leave you, ^athe Spirit of the LORD will carry you ¹to a place I do not know; so when I come to tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. Yet your servant has reverently feared the LORD from my youth. 13 ^aHas it not been told to my lord Elijah what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid a hundred of the LORD’S prophets by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water? 14 And now you are saying, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here”’; and he will kill me.” 15 Elijah said, “^aAs the LORD of hosts (armies) lives, before whom I stand, I will certainly show myself to Ahab today.” 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

17 When Ahab saw Elijah, ^aAhab said to him, “Are you the one who is bringing disaster on Israel?” 18 Elijah said, “I have not brought disaster on Israel, but you and your father’s household have, by ^aabandoning (rejecting) the commandments of the LORD and by ^bfollowing the Baals. 19 Now then, send word and gather to me all Israel at ^aMount Carmel, together with ^bthe 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of the goddess ^cAsherah, who eat at Queen Jezebel’s table.”

20 So Ahab sent word to all the Israelites and assembled the pagan prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah approached all the people and said, “^aHow long will you ¹hesitate between two opinions? ^bIf the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people of Israel did not answer him so much as a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “^aI alone remain a prophet of the LORD, while Baal’s prophets are ^b450 men. 23 Now let them give us two oxen, and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and ^athe god who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.”

25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, since there are many of you; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” 26 So they took the bull that was given to them and prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, hear and answer us.” But there was ^ano voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they had made. 27 At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied, or he is out at the moment, or he is on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened!” 28 So they cried out with a loud voice to get Baal’s attention and ^acut themselves with swords and lances in accordance with their custom, until the blood flowed out on them. 29 As midday passed, they played the part of prophets and raved dramatically ^auntil the time for offering the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people approached him. And ^ahe repaired and rebuilt the old altar of the LORD that had been torn down by Jezebel. 1+@Kin 18:13; 19:10 31 Then Elijah took twelve stones in accordance with the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “^aIsrael shall be your name.” Gen 32:28 32 So with the stones Elijah built an altar in ^athe name of the LORD. He made a trench around the altar large enough to hold ¹two measures of seed. 33 ^aThen he laid out the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. 34 And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and the wood.” 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 a third time. 35 The water flowed around the altar, and he also filled the trench with water.

36 ^aAt the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “^bO LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Jacob) , let it be known today that ^cYou are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and that ^dI have done all these things at Your word. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You.” 38 Then the ^afire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood, and even the stones and the dust; it also licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw it, they fell face downward; and they said, “^aThe LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!” 40 Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” They seized them; and Elijah brought them down to ^athe brook Kishon, ^band as God’s law required killed them there. Deut 13:5, 12-15; 18:20

41 Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of the roar of an abundance of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of ^aCarmel; and he ^bcrouched down to the earth and put his face between his knees, 43 and he said to his servant, “Go up, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” Elijah said, “Go back” seven times. 44 And at the seventh time the servant said, “^aA cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And Elijah said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the rain shower does not stop you.’” 45 In a little while the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and there were heavy showers. And Ahab mounted and rode his chariot and went inland to ^1aJezreel. 46 ^aThen the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah giving him supernatural strength. ^bHe ¹girded up his loins and outran Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel nearly twenty miles.

Now it happened ^aafter many days that the word of Yahweh came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and ^bI will send rain on the face of the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 3 And Ahab called Obadiah ^awho was over the household. (Now Obadiah ^1bfeared Yahweh greatly. 4 And it happened that ^awhen Jezebel was cutting down the prophets of Yahweh, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and ^bsustained them with bread and water.) 5 Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys; perhaps we will find grass and keep the horses and mules alive, and not have to cut down some of the cattle.” 6 So they divided the land between them to pass through it; Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way by himself.

7 Now it happened that as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah ¹met him, ^aand he recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is this you, Elijah my master?” 8 And he said to him, “It is I. Go, say to your master, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” 9 And he said, “What ¹sin have I committed, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab to put me to death? 10 ^aAs Yahweh your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to search for you; and if they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you. 11 And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’ 12 And it will be that when I leave you, ^athe Spirit of Yahweh will carry you where I do not know; and I will come and tell Ahab, and he will not find you, and he will kill me, although I your servant have ¹feared Yahweh from my youth. 13 ^aHas it not been told to my master what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh, that I hid ¹one hundred prophets of Yahweh by fifties in a cave, and sustained them with bread and water? 14 So now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here”’; he will then kill me.” 15 And Elijah said, “^aAs Yahweh of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

17 Now it happened when Ahab saw Elijah, that ^aAhab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?” 18 And he said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because ^ayou have forsaken the commandments of Yahweh and ^byou have followed the Baals. 19 So now then send and gather to me all Israel at ^aMount Carmel, ^btogether with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of ^cthe Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

20 So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “^aHow long will you be limping between two opinions? ^bIf Yahweh is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I ^aalone am left a prophet of Yahweh, but Baal’s prophets are ^b450 men. 23 Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but place no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and put it on the wood, and I will not place fire under it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh, and ^athe God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people answered and said, “¹That is a good word.”

25 So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but place no fire under it.” 26 Then they took the ox which ¹was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was ^ano voice and no one answered. And they ²limped about the altar which ³they had made. 27 Now it happened at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or relieving himself, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” 28 So they cried with a loud voice and ^agashed themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. 29 Now it happened when noon had passed, that they prophesied ^auntil the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no ¹one paid attention.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And ^ahe repaired the altar of Yahweh which had been pulled down. 31 Then 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, “^aIsrael shall be your name.” 32 And with the stones he built an altar in ^athe name of Yahweh, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two ¹seahs of seed. 33 ^aThen he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and placed it on the wood. 34 And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And 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. 35 And the water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.

36 ^aNow it happened at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “^bO Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that ^cYou are God in Israel and that I am Your slave and ^dI have done all these things at Your word. 37 Answer me, O Yahweh, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Yahweh, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” 38 Then the ^afire of Yahweh 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. 39 And all the people saw it and fell on their faces and said, “^aYahweh, He is God; Yahweh, He is God.” 40 Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to ^athe brook Kishon, ^band slaughtered them there.

41 Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the tumult of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of ^aCarmel; and he ^bstretched himself down toward the ground and put his face between his knees. 43 And he said to his young man, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go back” seven times. 44 Now it happened at the seventh time, that he said, “Behold, ^aa cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘¹Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the rain does not stop you.’” 45 Now it happened that in a little while the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. And Ahab rode and went to ^aJezreel. 46 But ^athe hand of Yahweh was on Elijah, and ^bhe girded up his loins and ¹outran Ahab unto where you enter Jezreel.

Now it happened ^aafter many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and ^bI will send rain on the face of the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 3 Ahab called Obadiah ^awho was over the household. (Now Obadiah ^1bfeared the LORD greatly; 4 for ^awhen Jezebel ¹destroyed the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and ^bprovided them with bread and water.) 5 Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys; perhaps we will find grass and keep the horses and mules alive, and not ¹have to kill some of the cattle.” 6 So they divided the land between them to ¹survey it; Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way by himself.

7 Now as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah ¹met him, ^aand he recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is this you, Elijah my master?” 8 He said to him, “It is I. Go, say to your master, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” 9 He said, “What ¹sin have I committed, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab to put me to death? 10 ^aAs the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to search for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you. 11 And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’ 12 It will come about when I leave you ^athat the Spirit of the LORD will carry you where I do not know; so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have ¹feared the LORD from my youth. 13 ^aHas it not been told to my master what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, that I hid ¹a hundred prophets of the LORD by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water? 14 And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here”’; he will then kill me.” 15 Elijah said, “^aAs the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

17 When Ahab saw Elijah, ^aAhab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?” 18 He said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because ^ayou have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and ^byou have followed the Baals. 19 Now then send and gather to me all Israel at ^aMount Carmel, ^btogether with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of ^cthe Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

20 So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah came near to all the people and said, “^aHow long will you ¹hesitate between two opinions? ^bIf the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I ^aalone am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal’s prophets are ^b450 men. 23 Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD, and ^athe God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people said, “¹That is a good idea.”

25 So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” 26 Then they took the ox which ¹was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was ^ano voice and no one answered. And they ²leaped about the altar which ³they made. 27 It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” 28 So they cried with a loud voice and ^acut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. 29 When midday was past, they ¹raved ^auntil the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no ²one paid attention.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And ^ahe repaired the altar of the LORD which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “^aIsrael shall be your name.” 32 So with the stones he built an altar in ^athe name of the LORD, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two ¹measures of seed. 33 ^aThen he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. 34 And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And 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. 35 The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.

36 ^aAt the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “^bO LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that ^cYou are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and ^dI have done all these things at Your word. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” 38 Then the ^afire 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. 39 When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “^aThe LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God.” 40 Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to ^athe brook Kishon, ^band slew them there.

41 Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of ^aCarmel; and he ^bcrouched down on the earth and put his face between his knees. 43 He said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go back” seven times. 44 It came about at the seventh time, that he said, “Behold, ^aa cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘¹Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.’” 45 In a little while the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to ^aJezreel. 46 Then ^athe hand of the LORD was on Elijah, and ^bhe girded up his loins and ¹outran Ahab ²to Jezreel.