1 Kings 18

1And it came to pass after many days, that the word of Jehovah came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.

1After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah. He said, 'Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.'

2And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab. And the famine was sore in Samaria.

2So Elijah went to see Ahab. The famine was very severe in Samaria.

3And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared Jehovah greatly:

3Ahab called for Obadiah, who was in charge of his palace. Now Obadiah was a man who deeply respected and feared the LORD.

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

4When Queen Jezebel was killing off the LORD’s prophets, Obadiah took a hundred of them and hid them in two caves, fifty in each, and he kept them supplied with food and water.

5And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go through the land, unto all the fountains of water, and unto all the brooks: peradventure we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts.

5Ahab said to Obadiah, 'Go through the whole land to every spring and every valley. Maybe we can find enough grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we don’t lose all our livestock.'

6So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

6So they divided the land between them to explore it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

7And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Is it thou, my lord Elijah?

7While Obadiah was on his way, Elijah suddenly met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and asked, 'Is it really you, my lord Elijah?'

8And he answered him, It is I: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.

8'Yes, it is I,' Elijah replied. 'Go and tell your master, "Elijah is here."'

9And he said, Wherein have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me?

9'What have I done wrong,' Obadiah asked, 'that you would hand me over to Ahab to be killed?'

10As Jehovah 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 here, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.

10'As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master hasn’t sent someone to look for you. Whenever a kingdom said you weren't there, he made them swear an oath that they couldn't find you.'

11And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.

11'And now you are telling me to go and say to my master, "Elijah is here."'

12And it will come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of Jehovah will carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will slay me: but I thy servant fear Jehovah from my youth.

12'If I go, the Spirit of the LORD might carry you away to some place I don't know. When I tell Ahab and he can't find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have worshiped the LORD since I was young.'

13Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of Jehovah, how I hid a hundred men of Jehovah’s prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?

13'Haven't you heard what I did when Jezebel was killing the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred of the LORD’s prophets in caves, fifty in each, and gave them food and water.'

14And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here; and he will slay me.

14'And now you say, "Go, tell your master, Elijah is here." He will certainly kill me!'

15And Elijah said, As Jehovah of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him to-day.

15Elijah said, 'As surely as the LORD of Heaven’s Armies lives, whom I serve, I will definitely present myself to Ahab today.'

16So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

16So Obadiah went to find Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

17And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel?

17When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, 'Is that you, the one who brings trouble to Israel?'

18And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of Jehovah, and thou hast followed the Baalim.

18'I have not brought trouble to Israel,' Elijah replied. 'You and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the commands of the LORD and have followed the Baals.'

19Now 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 Asherah four hundred, that eat at Jezebel’s table.

19'Now demand that all the people of Israel meet me at Mount Carmel. Bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.'

20So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.

20So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel.

21And Elijah came near unto all the people, and said, How long go ye limping between the two sides? if Jehovah be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

21Elijah went before all the people and said, 'How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.' But the people didn't say a word.

22Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, am left a prophet of Jehovah; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

22Then Elijah said to them, 'I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.'

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

23'Bring two bulls for us. Let Baal's prophets choose one for themselves. Let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood, but don't set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but won't set fire to it either.'

24And call ye on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Jehovah; and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.

24'Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire is the true God.' All the people answered, 'That sounds good.'

25And 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 god, but put no fire under.

25Elijah told the prophets of Baal, 'Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.'

26And 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 about the altar which was made.

26So they took the bull given to them and prepared it. They called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, 'O Baal, answer us!' But there was no sound; no one answered. And they danced wildly around the altar they had made.

27And it came to pass 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 sleepeth and must be awaked.

27At noon Elijah began to tease them. 'Shout louder!' he said. 'Surely he is a god! Maybe he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be woken up.'

28And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lances, till the blood gushed out upon them.

28So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.

29And it was so, when midday was past, that they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening oblation; but there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.

29Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was still no sound, no answer, and no one paying attention.

30And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me; and all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of Jehovah that was thrown down.

30Then Elijah said to all the people, 'Come here to me.' They all crowded around him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which had been torn down.

31And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of Jehovah came, saying, Israel shall be thy name.

31Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes named after the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, 'Your name shall be Israel.'

32And with the stones he built an altar in the name of Jehovah; and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.

32With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD. He dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold about two pecks of seed.

33And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock 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.

33He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces, and laid them on the wood. Then he said, 'Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.'

34And 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.

34'Do it again,' he said, and they did it a second time. 'Do it a third time,' he ordered, and they did it a third time.

35And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.

35The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

36And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening oblation, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, O Jehovah, the God of Abraham, of 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.

36At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet stepped forward and prayed: 'LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.'

37Hear me, O Jehovah, hear me, that this people may know that thou, Jehovah, art God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.

37'Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.'

38Then the fire of Jehovah 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.

38Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil, and it even licked up the water in the trench.

39And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, Jehovah, he is God; Jehovah, he is God.

39When all the people saw this, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, 'The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!'

40And 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.

40Then Elijah commanded them, 'Seize the prophets of Baal. Don't let one of them get away!' They grabbed them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and killed there.

41And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.

41And Elijah said to Ahab, 'Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain coming.'

42So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees.

42So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, bent down to the ground, 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.

43'Go and look toward the sea,' he told his servant. The servant went up and looked and said, 'There is nothing there.' Seven times Elijah said, 'Go back.'

44And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a cloud out of the sea, as small as a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Make ready thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.

44The seventh time the servant reported, 'A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.' So Elijah said, 'Go and tell Ahab, "Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you."'

45And it came to pass in a little while, that the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel:

45In a little while, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, and a heavy rain fell. Ahab rode off to Jezreel.

46and the hand of Jehovah was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

46The power of the LORD came upon Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.