I Kings Chapter 18

I Kings Chapter 18
1 After many days, the word of the Lord
came to Elijah, in the third year, saying,
Go, show thyself unto Ahab, and I will
send rain upon the earth. 2 And Elijah
went to show himself unto Ahab, and
there was a great famine in Samaria.
3 And Ahab called Obadiah the
governor of his house: (and Obadiah
feared God greatly:
4 For when Jezebel destroyed the
prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took an
hundred prophets, and hid them, by fifty
in a cave, and he fed them with bread
and water.)
5 And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into
the land, unto all the fountains of water,
and unto all the rivers, if so be that we
may find grass to save the horses and the
mules alive, lest we deprive the land of
the beasts. 6 And so they divided the
land between them to walk through 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
not thou my lord Elijah?
8 And he answered him, Yea, 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 here, he took an oath of
the kingdom and nation, if they had not
found thee.
11 And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy
lord, Behold, Elijah is here. 12 And
when I am gone from thee, the spirit of
the Lord shall carry thee into some place
that I do not know: so when I come and
tell Ahab, if he cannot find thee, then
will he kill 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's 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, that he may
slay me.
15 And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts
liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely
show myself unto him this day.
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and
told him: And Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 And when Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab
said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth
Israel?
18 And he answered, I have not troubled
Israel, but thou, and thy father's 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's 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 be he, then go after him.
And the people answered him not a
word.
22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I
only remain a prophet of the Lord: but
Baal's prophets are four hundred and
fifty men.
23 Let them therefore give us two
bullocks, and let them choose the one,
and cut him in pieces, and lay him on the
wood, but put no fire under, and I will
prepare the other bullock, and lay him on
the wood, and will put no fire under. 24
Then call ye on the name of your god,
and I will call on the name of the Lord:
and then 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 a bullock, and prepare
him first, (for ye are many) and call on
the name of your gods, but put no fire
under.
26 So they took the one bullock, that was
given them, and they prepared it, and
called on the name of Baal, from
morning to noon, saying, O Baal, hear
us: but there was no voice, nor any to
answer: and they leaped upon the altar
that was made.
27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, and
said, Cry loud: for he is a god: either he
talketh or pursueth his enemies, or is in
his journey, or it may be that he sleepeth,
and must be awaked.
28 And they cried loud, and cut
themselves as their manner was, with
knives and lancets, till the blood gushed
out upon them.
29 And when midday was passed, and
they had prophesied until the offering of
the evening sacrifice, there was neither
voice, nor one to answer, nor any that
regarded.
30 And Elijah said unto all the people,
Come to me. And all the people came to
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
ditch round about the altar, as great as
would contain two measures of seed.
33 And he put the wood in order, and
hewed the bullock in pieces, and laid
him on the wood,
34 And said, Fill four barrels with
water, and pour it on the burnt offering
and on the wood. Again he said, Do so
again. And they did so 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 ditch with water also.
36 And when they should offer the
evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet
came, and said, Lord God of Abraham,
Isaac and of Israel, let it be known this
day, that thou art the God of Israel, and
that I am thy servant, and that I have
done all these things at thy
commandment.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, and let
this people know that thou art the Lord
God, and that thou hast turned their heart
again at the last.
38 Then 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 ditch.
39 And when all the people saw it, they
fell on their faces, and said, The Lord is
God, the Lord is God.
40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the
prophets of Baal, let not a man of them
escape. and they took them, and Elijah
brought them 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
much rain.
42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink,
and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel:
and he crouched unto the earth, and put
his face between his knees, 43 And said
to his servant, Go up now and look
toward the way of the sea. And he went
up, and looked, and said, There is
nothing. Again he said, Go again seven
times.
44 And at the seventh time he said,
Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of
the sea like a man's hand. Then he said,
Up, and say unto Ahab, Make ready thy
chariot, and get thee down, that the rain
stay thee not. 45 And in the mean while
the heaven was black with clouds and
wind, and there was a great rain. Then
Ahab went up and came to Jezreel.
46 And the hand of the Lord was on
Elijah, and he girded up his loins, and
ran before Ahab till he came to Jezreel.