Elijah’s Message to Ahab 1 UDB For almost three years there was no rain in Samaria. Then Yahweh said this to Elijah: "Go and meet with King Ahab and tell him that I will soon send rain." BSB BSB: After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.”
2 UDB So Elijah went to talk to Ahab. In Samaria there was almost no food for anyone to eat. BSB BSB: So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria,
3 UDB There was a man there named Obadiah. He was in charge of the king's palace. He greatly revered Yahweh. BSB BSB: and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD,
4 UDB One time when Queen Jezebel had tried to kill all Yahweh's prophets, Obadiah hid a hundred of them in two caves. He put fifty prophets in each cave, and he brought food and water to them. BSB BSB: for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
5 UDB By this time, the famine had become very severe in Samaria. So Ahab summoned Obadiah and said to him, "We must look near every spring and in every valley to see if we can find enough grass to give to some of my horses and mules so that they will not all die." BSB BSB: Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock.”
6 UDB So they both started walking through the land. Obadiah went by himself in one direction, and Ahab went in another direction by himself. BSB BSB: So they divided the land to explore. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.
7 UDB While Obadiah was walking along, he saw Elijah coming toward him. Obadiah recognized Elijah and bowed down in front of him and said, "Is it really you, Elijah my master?" BSB BSB: Now as Obadiah went on his way, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
8 UDB Elijah replied, "Yes. Now go and tell Ahab your master that I am here." BSB BSB: “It is I,” he answered. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here!’”
9 UDB Obadiah objected. He said, "Sir, I have not harmed you at all. So why are you sending me back to Ahab? He will kill me! BSB BSB: But Obadiah replied, “How have I sinned, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death?
10 UDB Yahweh your God knows that I am telling the truth when I solemnly declare that King Ahab has searched in every kingdom to find you. Each time that some king said to him, 'Elijah is not here,' Ahab demanded that the king of that country solemnly swear that the king was telling the truth. BSB BSB: As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you.
11 UDB Now you say to me, 'Go and tell your master that Elijah is here!' BSB BSB: And now you say, ‘Go tell your master that Elijah is here!’
12 UDB But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you away, and I will not know where he will take you. So when I tell Ahab that you are here and he comes to me and he does not find you here, he will kill me! But I do not deserve to die, because I have revered Yahweh since I was a boy. BSB BSB: I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.
13 UDB My master, have you not heard about what I did when Jezebel wanted to kill all of Yahweh's prophets? I hid a hundred of them in two caves and took food and water to them. BSB BSB: Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water.
14 UDB Now, sir, you say, 'Go and tell your master that Elijah is here.' But if I do that and he comes and you are not here, he will kill me!" BSB BSB: And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord that Elijah is here!’ He will kill me!”
15 UDB But Elijah replied, "Yahweh, commander of the angel armies, the one whom I serve, knows that I am telling the truth as I solemnly declare that I will go to meet with Ahab today." BSB BSB: Then Elijah said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to Ahab today.”
Elijah on Mount Carmel 16 UDB So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come. Ahab went to meet with him. BSB BSB: So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah.
17 UDB When he saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, the one who causes trouble for the people of Israel?" BSB BSB: When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
18 UDB Elijah replied, "It is not I who have caused trouble for the people of Israel! You and your family are the ones who have caused trouble! You have refused to obey Yahweh's commands, and you have worshiped the idols of Baal instead. BSB BSB: “I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.
19 UDB So now, command all the Israelite people to come to Mount Carmel, and be sure to bring all the 450 prophets who worship Baal and the four hundred prophets who worship the goddess Asherah, the ones to whom your wife Jezebel always invites to eat with her." BSB BSB: Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
21 UDB Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, "How long are you going to be undecided about who is truly God? If Yahweh is God, then worship him. If Baal is truly God, then worship him!" But the people said nothing in reply, because they were afraid of what Jezebel would do to them if they admitted that they worshiped Yahweh. BSB BSB: Then Elijah approached 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 did not answer a word.
22 UDB Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only true prophet of Yahweh who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets. BSB BSB: Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.
23 UDB Bring two bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose the one that they want. They must kill it and cut it into pieces and lay the pieces on the wood that is on the altar that they made. But they must not light a fire under the wood. I will kill the other bull and cut it in pieces and lay the pieces on the altar that I make. BSB BSB: Get two bulls for us. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull for themselves, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. And I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire.
24 UDB Then they must call to their god, and I will call to Yahweh. The god who answers by lighting a fire to the wood that is on that altar is the true God!" Then all the people thought that Elijah's suggestion was good. BSB BSB: Then you may call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people answered, “What you say is good.”
25 UDB Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "You call to Baal first, because there are many of you. Choose one of the bulls and prepare it and then call to your god. But do not light a fire under the wood!" BSB BSB: Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.”
26 UDB So they killed one of the bulls and cut it up and placed the pieces on the altar. Then they called out to Baal all morning. They shouted, "Baal, answer us!" But no one answered. There was no reply at all. Then they danced wildly around the altar that they had made. BSB BSB: And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made.
27 UDB About noontime, Elijah started to make fun of them. He said, "Surely Baal is a god, so it seems that you must shout louder! Perhaps he is thinking about something, or perhaps he has gone to the toilet. Or perhaps he is traveling somewhere, or perhaps he is asleep and you need to wake him up!" BSB BSB: At noon Elijah began to taunt them, saying, “Shout louder, for he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or occupied, or on a journey. Perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened!”
28 UDB So they shouted louder. Then, doing one of the things that they frequently did when they worshiped Baal, they slashed themselves with knives and swords until much blood flowed. BSB BSB: So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them.
29 UDB They continued calling out to Baal all afternoon. But there was no voice that gave a reply, no answer, and no god who paid attention. BSB BSB: Midday passed, and they kept on raving until the time of the evening sacrifice. But there was no response; no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 UDB Then Elijah called to the people saying, "Come closer!" So they all crowded around him. Then Elijah repaired the altar of Yahweh that had been ruined by the prophets of Baal. BSB BSB: Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people approached him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down.
31 UDB Then he took twelve large stones, each one to represent one of the Israelite tribes whose ancestors were the twelve sons of Jacob. BSB BSB: And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.”
32 UDB With these stones he rebuilt Yahweh's altar. Then around the altar he dug a little ditch that was large enough to hold about fifteen liters of water. BSB BSB: And with the stones, Elijah built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.
33 UDB He piled wood on top of the stones. He killed the bull and cut it in pieces. Then he laid the pieces on top of the wood. Then he said, "Fill four large jars with water, and pour the water on top of the pieces of meat and the wood." So they did that. BSB BSB: Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood,
34 UDB Then he said, "Do the same thing again!" So they did it again. Then he said, "Do it a third time!" So they did it again. BSB BSB: and said, “Fill four waterpots and pour the water on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it a second time,” he said, and they did it a second time. “Do it a third time,” he said, and they did it a third time.
35 UDB As a result, the water flowed down below the altar and filled the ditches. BSB BSB: So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
Elijah’s Prayer 36 UDB When it was time to offer the evening sacrifices, Elijah walked close to the altar and prayed. He said, "Yahweh, you who are the God that our ancestors Abraham and Isaac and Jacob worshiped, prove today that you are the God whom the Israelite people should worship and prove that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all these things because you told me to do them. BSB BSB: At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command.
37 UDB Yahweh, answer me! Answer me so that these people will know that you, Yahweh, are God and that you have caused them to trust in you again!" BSB BSB: Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again.”
38 UDB Immediately a fire from Yahweh flashed down from the sky. The fire burned up the pieces of meat, the wood, the stones, and the dirt that was around the altar. It even dried up all the water in the ditch! BSB BSB: Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench.
39 UDB When the people saw that, they prostrated themselves on the ground and shouted, "Yahweh is God! Yahweh is God!" BSB BSB: When all the people saw this, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
40 UDB Then Elijah commanded them, "Seize all the prophets of Baal! Do not allow any of them to escape!" So the people seized all the prophets of Baal and took them down the mountain to the river Kishon, and Elijah killed them all there. BSB BSB: Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
The LORD Sends Rain 41 UDB Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go and get something to eat and drink. But do it quickly, because it is soon going to rain very hard!" BSB BSB: And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
42 UDB So Ahab and his men left to prepare a big meal. But Elijah went back up to the top of Mount Carmel and prayed. BSB BSB: So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the summit of Carmel, bent down on the ground, and put his face between his knees.
43 UDB Then he said to his servant, "Go and look out toward the sea to see if there are any rain clouds." So his servant went and looked and came back and said, "I do not see anything." This happened seven times. BSB BSB: “Go and look toward the sea,” he said to his servant. So the servant went and looked, and he said, “There is nothing there.” Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
44 UDB But when the servant went the seventh time, he came back and said, "I saw a very small cloud above the sea. As I extend my arm, the cloud is about the size of my hand." Then Elijah shouted to him, "Go and tell King Ahab to get his chariot ready and go home immediately! If he does not do that, the rain will stop him!" BSB BSB: On the seventh time the servant reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.” And Elijah replied, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”
45 UDB Very soon the sky was full of black clouds. There was a strong wind and then it began to rain very hard. Ahab got into his chariot and started to return to the city of Jezreel. BSB BSB: Meanwhile, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain began to fall. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.
46 UDB Yahweh gave extra strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt in order to run fast, and he ran ahead of Ahab's chariot all the way to Jezreel. BSB BSB: And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.