^{1 Ref} And the days are many, and the word of Jehovah hath been unto Elijah in the third year, saying, `Go, appear unto Ahab, and I give rain on the face of the ground;'

^{2 Ref} and Elijah goeth to appear unto Ahab. And the famine is severe in Samaria,

^{3 Ref} and Ahab calleth unto Obadiah, who `is' over the house -- and Obadiah hath been fearing Jehovah greatly,

^{4 Ref} and it cometh to pass, in Jezebel's cutting off the prophets of Jehovah, that Obadiah taketh a hundred prophets, and hideth them, fifty men in a cave, and hath sustained them with bread and water --

^{5 Ref} and Ahab saith unto Obadiah, `Go through the land, unto all fountains of waters, and unto all the brooks, if so be we find hay, and keep alive horse and mule, and do not cut off any of the cattle.'

^{6 Ref} And they apportion to themselves the land, to pass over into it; Ahab hath gone in one way by himself, and Obadiah hath gone in another way by himself;

^{7 Ref} and Obadiah `is' in the way, and lo, Elijah -- to meet him; and he discerneth him, and falleth on his face, and saith, `Art thou he -- my lord Elijah?'

^{8 Ref} And he saith to him, `I `am'; go, say to thy lord, Lo, Elijah.'

^{9 Ref} And he saith, `What have I sinned, that thou art giving thy servant into the hand of Ahab -- to put me to death?

^{10 Ref} Jehovah thy God liveth, if there is a nation and kingdom whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee; and they said, He is not, then he caused the kingdom and the nation to swear, that it doth not find thee;

^{11 Ref} and now, thou art saying, Go, say to thy lord, Lo, Elijah;

^{12 Ref} and it hath been, I go from thee, and the Spirit of Jehovah doth lift thee up, whither I know not, and I have come to declare to Ahab, and he doth not find thee, and he hath slain me; and thy servant is fearing Jehovah from my youth.

^{13 Ref} `Hath it not been declared to my lord that which I have done in Jezebel's slaying the prophets of Jehovah, that I hide of the prophets of Jehovah a hundred men, fifty by fifty in a cave, and sustained them with bread and water?

^{14 Ref} and now thou art saying, Go, say to my lord, Lo, Elijah -- and he hath slain me!'

^{15 Ref} And Elijah saith, `Jehovah of Hosts liveth, before whom I have stood, surely to-day I appear unto him.'

¹⁶ And Obadiah goeth to meet Ahab, and declareth `it' to him, and Ahab goeth to meet Elijah,

^{17 Ref} and it cometh to pass at Ahab's seeing Elijah, that Ahab saith unto him, `Art thou he -- the troubler of Israel?'

^{18 Ref} And he saith, `I have not troubled Israel, but thou and the house of thy father, in your forsaking the commands of Jehovah, and thou goest after the Baalim;

^{19 Ref} and now, send, gather unto me all Israel, unto the mount of Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the shrine, four hundred -- eating at the table of Jezebel.'

^{20 Ref} And Ahab sendeth among all the sons of Israel, and gathereth the prophets unto the mount of Carmel;

^{21 Ref} and Elijah cometh nigh unto all the people, and saith, `Till when are ye leaping on the two branches? -- if Jehovah `is' God, go after Him; and if Baal, go after him;' and the people have not answered him a word.

^{22 Ref} And Elijah saith unto the people, `I -- I have been left a prophet of Jehovah -- by myself; and the prophets of Baal `are' four hundred and fifty men;

²³ and let them give to us two bullocks, and they choose for themselves the one bullock, and cut it in pieces, and place `it' on the wood, and place no fire; and I -- I prepare the other bullock, and have put `it' on the wood, and fire I do not place; --

^{24 Ref} and ye have called in the name of your god, and I -- I call in the name of Jehovah, and it hath been, the god who answereth by fire -- He `is' the God.' And all the people answer and say, `Good `is' the word.'

²⁵ And Elijah saith to the prophets of Baal, `Choose for you the one bullock, and prepare first, for ye `are' the multitude, and call ye in the name of your god, and place no fire.'

^{26 Ref} And they take the bullock that `one' gave to them, and prepare, and call in the name of Baal from the morning even till the noon, saying, `O Baal, answer us!' and there is no voice, and there is none answering; and they leap on the altar that one had made.

^{27 Ref} And it cometh to pass, at noon, that Elijah playeth on them, and saith, `Call with a loud voice, for he `is' a god, for he is meditating, or pursuing, or on a journey; it may be he is asleep, an doth awake.'

^{28 Ref} And they call with a loud voice, and cut themselves, according to their ordinance, with swords and with spears, till a flowing of blood `is' on them;

^{29 Ref} and it cometh to pass, at the passing by of the noon, that they feign themselves prophets till the going up of the present, and there is no voice, and there is none answering, and there is none attending.

^{30 Ref} And Elijah saith to all the people, `Come nigh unto me;' and all the people come nigh unto him, and he repaireth the altar of Jehovah that is broken down;

^{31 Ref} and Elijah taketh twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of Jehovah was, saying, `Israel is thy name;'

^{32 Ref} and he buildeth with the stones an altar, in the name of Jehovah, and maketh a trench, as about the space of two measures of seed, round about the altar.

^{33 Ref} And he arrangeth the wood, and cutteth in pieces the bullock, and placeth `it' on the wood, and saith, `Fill ye four pitchers of water, and pour on the burnt-offering, and on the wood;

^{34 Ref} and he saith, `Do `it' a second time;' and they do `it' a second time; and he saith, `Do `it' a third time;' and they do `it' a third time;

^{35 Ref} and the water goeth round about the altar, and also, the trench he hath filled with water.

^{36 Ref} And it cometh to pass, at the going up of the `evening-'present, that Elijah the prophet cometh nigh and saith, `Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to-day let it be known that Thou `art' God in Israel, and I Thy servant, that by Thy word I have done the whole of these things;

^{37 Ref} answer me, O Jehovah, answer me, and this people doth know that Thou `art' Jehovah God; and Thou hast turned their heart backward.'

^{38 Ref} And there falleth a fire of Jehovah, and consumeth the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and the water that `is' in the trench it hath licked up.

^{39 Ref} And all the people see, and fall on their faces, and say, `Jehovah, He `is' the God, Jehovah, He `is' the God.'

^{40 Ref} And Elijah saith to them, `Catch ye the prophets of Baal; let not a man escape of them;' and they catch them, and Elijah bringeth them down unto the stream Kishon, and doth slaughter them there.

^{41 Ref} And Elijah saith to Ahab, `Go up, eat and drink, because of the sound of the noise of the shower.'

^{42 Ref} And Ahab goeth up to eat, and to drink, and Elijah hath gone up unto the top of Carmel, and he stretcheth himself out on the earth, and he placeth his face between his knees,

^{43 Ref} and saith unto his young man, `Go up, I pray thee, look attentively the way of the sea;' and he goeth up and looketh attentively, and saith, `There is nothing;' and he saith, `Turn back,' seven times.

^{44 Ref} And it cometh to pass, at the seventh, that he saith, `Lo, a little thickness as the palm of a man is coming up out of the sea.' And he saith, `Go up, say unto Ahab, `Bind -- and go down, and the shower doth not restrain thee.'

^{45 Ref} And it cometh to pass, in the meantime, that the heavens have become black -- thick clouds and wind -- and the shower is great; and Ahab rideth, and goeth to Jezreel,

^{46 Ref} and the hand of Jehovah hath been on Elijah, and he girdeth up his loins, and runneth before Ahab, till thine entering Jezreel.

^{1 Ref} 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 send rain on the earth.

^{2 Ref} Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. The famine was sore in Samaria.

^{3 Ref} Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared Yahweh greatly:

^{4 Ref} for it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of Yahweh, that Obadiah took one hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)

^{5 Ref} Ahab said to Obadiah, Go through the land, to all the springs of water, and to all the brooks: peradventure we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, that we not lose all the animals.

^{6 Ref} 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 Ref} As Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Is it you, my lord Elijah?

^{8 Ref} He answered him, It is I: go, tell your lord, Behold, Elijah [is here].

^{9 Ref} He said, Wherein have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?

^{10 Ref} As Yahweh your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom, where my lord has not sent to seek you: and when they said, He is not here, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they didn't find you.

^{11 Ref} Now you say, Go, tell your lord, Behold, Elijah [is here].

^{12 Ref} It will happen, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you I don't know where; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can't find you, he will kill me: but I your servant fear Yahweh from my youth.

^{13 Ref} Wasn't it told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh, how I hid one hundred men of Yahweh's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?

^{14 Ref} Now you say, Go, tell your lord, Behold, Elijah [is here]; and he will kill me.

^{15 Ref} Elijah said, As 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 Ref} It happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Is it you, you troubler of Israel?

^{18 Ref} He answered, I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father's house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of Yahweh, and you have followed the Baals.

^{19 Ref} Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, who eat at Jezebel's table.

^{20 Ref} So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together to Mount Carmel.

^{21 Ref} Elijah came near to all the people, and said, "How long will you waver between the two sides? If Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." The people answered him not a word.

^{22 Ref} Then Elijah said to the people, "I, even I only, am left a prophet of Yahweh; but Baal's prophets are four hundred fifty men.

²³ Let them therefore give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under; and I will dress the other bull, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under.

^{24 Ref} You call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh; and the God who answers by fire, let him be God." All the people answered, "It is well said."

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

^{26 Ref} They took the bull which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any who answered. They leaped about the altar which was made.

^{27 Ref} It happened at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud; for he is a god: either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is on a journey, or peradventure he sleeps and must be awakened.

^{28 Ref} They cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them.

^{29 Ref} It was so, when midday was past, that they prophesied until the time of the offering of the [evening] offering; but there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any who regarded.

^{30 Ref} Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me; and all the people came near to him. He repaired the altar of Yahweh that was thrown down.

^{31 Ref} Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of Yahweh came, saying, Israel shall be your name.

^{32 Ref} With the stones he built an altar in the name of Yahweh; and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.

^{33 Ref} He put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood.

^{34 Ref} He said, Do it the second time; and they did it the second time. He said, Do it the third time; and they did it the third time.

^{35 Ref} The water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.

^{36 Ref} It happened at the time of the offering of the [evening] offering, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.

^{37 Ref} Hear me, Yahweh, hear me, that this people may know that you, Yahweh, are God, and [that] you have turned their heart back again.

^{38 Ref} Then the fire 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 Ref} When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, Yahweh, he is God; Yahweh, he is God.

^{40 Ref} and Elijah said to them, Take the prophets of Baal; don't let one of them escape. They took them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there.

^{41 Ref} Elijah said to Ahab, Get you up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.

^{42 Ref} So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down on the earth, and put his face between his knees.

^{43 Ref} He said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. He went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. He said, Go again seven times.

^{44 Ref} It happened at the seventh time, that he said, "Behold, a small cloud, like a man's hand, is rising out of the sea." He said, Go up, tell Ahab, Make ready [your chariot], and get you down, that the rain not stop you.

^{45 Ref} It happened in a little while, that the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel:

^{46 Ref} and the hand of Yahweh was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

^{1 Ref} Now after a long time, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go and let Ahab see you, so that I may send rain on the earth.

^{2 Ref} So Elijah went to let Ahab see him. Now there was no food to be had in Samaria.

^{3 Ref} And Ahab sent for Obadiah, the controller of the king's house. (Now Obadiah had the fear of the Lord before him greatly;

^{4 Ref} For when Jezebel was cutting off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred of them, and kept them secretly in a hole in the rock, fifty at a time, and gave them bread and water.)

^{5 Ref} And Ahab said to Obadiah, Come, let us go through all the country, to all the fountains of water and all the rivers, and see if there is any grass to be had for the horses and the transport beasts, so that we may be able to keep some of the beasts from destruction.

^{6 Ref} So they went through all the country, covering it between them; Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another by himself.

^{7 Ref} And while Obadiah was on his way, he came face to face with Elijah; and seeing who it was, he went down on his face and said, Is it you, my lord Elijah?

^{8 Ref} And Elijah in answer said, It is I; now go and say to your lord, Elijah is here.

^{9 Ref} And he said, What sin have I done, that you would give up your servant into the hand of Ahab, and be the cause of my death?

^{10 Ref} By the life of the Lord your God, there is not a nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent in search of you; and when they said, He is not here; he made them take an oath that they had not seen you.

^{11 Ref} And now you say, Go, say to your lord, Elijah is here.

^{12 Ref} And straight away, when I have gone from you, the spirit of the Lord will take you away, I have no idea where, so that when I come and give word to Ahab, and he sees you not, he will put me to death: though I, your servant, have been a worshipper of the Lord from my earliest years.

^{13 Ref} Has my lord not had word of what I did when Jezebel was putting the Lord's prophets to death? how I kept a hundred of them in a secret hole in the rock, fifty at a time, and gave them bread and water?

^{14 Ref} And now you say, Go and say to your Lord, Elijah is here; and he will put me to death.

^{15 Ref} And Elijah said, By the life of the Lord of armies, whose servant I am, I will certainly let him see me today.

¹⁶ So Obadiah went to Ahab and gave him the news; and Ahab went to see Elijah.

^{17 Ref} And when he saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, Is it you, you troubler of Israel?

^{18 Ref} Then he said in answer, I have not been troubling Israel, but you and your family; because, turning away from the orders of the Lord, you have gone after the Baals.

^{19 Ref} Now send, and get Israel together before me at Mount Carmel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal who get their food at Jezebel's table.

^{20 Ref} So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and got the prophets together at Mount Carmel.

^{21 Ref} And Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long will you go on balancing between two opinions? if the Lord is God, then give worship to him; but if Baal, give worship to him. And the people said not a word in answer.

^{22 Ref} Then Elijah said to the people, I, even I, am the only living prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

²³ Now, let them give us two oxen; and let them take one for themselves, and have it cut up, and put it on the wood, but put no fire under it; I will get the other ox ready, and put it on the wood, and put no fire under it.

^{24 Ref} And do you make prayers to your god, and I will make a prayer to the Lord: and it will be clear that the one who gives an answer by fire is God. And all the people in answer said, It is well said.

²⁵ Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Take one ox for yourselves and get it ready first, for there are more of you; and make your prayers to your god, but put no fire under.

^{26 Ref} So they took the ox which was given them, and made it ready, crying out to Baal from morning till the middle of the day, and saying, O Baal, give ear to us. But there was no voice and no answer. And they were jumping up and down before the altar they had made.

^{27 Ref} And in the middle of the day, Elijah made sport of them, saying, Give louder cries, for he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or he may have gone away for some purpose, or he may be on a journey, or by chance he is sleeping and has to be made awake.

^{28 Ref} So they gave loud cries, cutting themselves with knives and swords, as was their way, till the blood came streaming out all over them.

^{29 Ref} And from the middle of the day they went on with their prayers till the time of the offering; but there was no voice, or any answer, or any who gave attention to them.

^{30 Ref} Then Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me; and all the people came near. And he put up again the altar of the Lord which had been broken down.

^{31 Ref} And Elijah took twelve stones, the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the Lord had said, Israel will be your name:

^{32 Ref} And with the stones he made an altar to the name of the Lord; and he made a deep drain all round the altar, great enough to take two measures of seed.

^{33 Ref} And he put the wood in order, and, cutting up the ox, put it on the wood. Then he said, Get four vessels full of water and put it on the burned offering and on the wood. And he said, Do it a second time, and they did it a second time;

^{34 Ref} And he said, Do it a third time, and they did it a third time.

^{35 Ref} And the water went all round the altar, till the drain was full.

^{36 Ref} Then at the time of the offering, Elijah the prophet came near and said, O Lord, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be seen this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things by your order.

^{37 Ref} Give me an answer, O Lord, give me an answer, so that this people may see that you are God, and that you have made their hearts come back again.

^{38 Ref} Then the fire of the Lord came down, burning up the offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and drinking up the water in the drain.

^{39 Ref} And when the people saw it, they all went down on their faces, and said, The Lord, he is God, the Lord, he is God.

^{40 Ref} And Elijah said to them, Take the prophets of Baal, let not one of them get away. So they took them, and Elijah made them go down to the stream Kishon, and put them to death there.

^{41 Ref} Then Elijah said to Ahab, Up! take food and drink, for there is a sound of much rain.

^{42 Ref} So Ahab went up to have food and drink, while Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he went down on the earth, putting his face between his knees.

^{43 Ref} And he said to his servant, Go now, and take a look in the direction of the sea. And he went up, and after looking said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times; and he went seven times.

^{44 Ref} And the seventh time he said, I see a cloud coming up out of the sea, as small as a man's hand. Then he said, Go up and say to Ahab, Get your carriage ready and go down or the rain will keep you back.

^{45 Ref} And after a very little time, the heaven became black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab went in his carriage to Jezreel.

^{46 Ref} And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he made himself strong, and went running before Ahab till they came to Jezreel.