Elijah’s Message to Ahab 1 ULT And it was many days, and the word of Yahweh was to Elijah in the third year, saying,“Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will give rain on the face of the ground.” 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 ULT So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab.(Now the famine{ was} strong in Samaria.) BSB BSB: So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria,
3 ULT And Ahab called to Obadiah, who{ was} over the house.(Now Obadiah was fearing Yahweh greatly. BSB BSB: and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD,
4 ULT Now it had happened, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of Yahweh, that Obadiah had taken 100 prophets and hidden them, 50 men in the cave, and he had sustained them{ with} bread and water.) 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 ULT And Ahab said to Obadiah,“Go into the land, to all of the springs of water and to all of the wadis. Perhaps we will find grass, and we will keep alive a horse or a mule, and we will not cut off from the cattle.” 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 ULT And they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one way by himself, and Obadiah went in one way 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 ULT And it happened that Obadiah{ was} on the road, and behold, Elijah met him. And he recognized him, and he fell on his face and said,“{ Is} this you, my lord Elijah?” 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 ULT And he said to him,“{ It is} I. Go, say to your master,‘Behold, Elijah.’” BSB BSB: “It is I,” he answered. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here!’”
9 ULT And he said,“How have I sinned, that you are putting your servant into the hand of Ahab to 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 ULT The life of Yahweh your God, if{ there} is a nation or a kingdom where my master has not sent to seek you there. If they said‘Not,’ then he made the kingdom or the nation swear that it had not found you. 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 ULT And now you are saying,‘Go, say to your master,“Behold, Elijah.”’ BSB BSB: And now you say, ‘Go tell your master that Elijah is here!’
12 ULT And it will happen that I, I will go from with you, and the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you to where I do not know. And I will come to declare to Ahab, but he will not find you, and he will kill me. But your servant{ has been} fearing Yahweh from my youth. 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 ULT Has it not been declared to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh, that I hid 100 men from the prophets of Yahweh, 50, 50 men in the cave, and I sustained them with bread and water? 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 ULT And now you are saying,‘Go, say to your master,“Behold, Elijah,”’ and he will kill me.” BSB BSB: And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord that Elijah is here!’ He will kill me!”
15 ULT And Elijah said,“The life of Yahweh of Armies, to whose face I stand, surely today I will show myself to him.” 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 ULT So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and he declared to him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah. BSB BSB: So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah.
17 ULT And it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him,“{ Is} this you, one troubling Israel?” BSB BSB: When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
18 ULT And he said,“I have not troubled Israel, but rather you and the house of your father, by your forsaking the commandments of Yahweh and going after the Baals. 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 ULT And now, send, gather to me all of Israel to Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, eaters at the table of Jezebel.” 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 ULT And Elijah approached to all of the people, and he said,“Until when{ will} you{ be} limping on two opinions? If Yahweh{ is} God, go after him, but if Baal, go after him.” But the people did not answer him a word. 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 ULT And Elijah said to the people,“I, I remain a prophet of Yahweh by myself, but the prophets of Baal{ are} 450 men. 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 ULT Now let them give two bulls to us, and let them choose for themselves one bull, and let them cut it up. And let them set{ it} on the wood, but let them not set a fire. And I, I will prepare one bull, and I will put{ it} on the wood, but I will not set a fire. 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 ULT And you will call on the name of your god, and I, I will call on the name of Yahweh. And it will happen that the God who answers with fire, he{ is} God.” And all of the people answered and said,“The word{ is} 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 ULT And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal,“Choose for yourselves one bull, and prepare{ it} first, for you are many. And call on the name of your god, but you shall not set a fire.” 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 ULT And they took the bull that one gave to them, and they prepared, and they called on the name of Baal from morning and to midday, saying,“Baal, answer us!” But{ there was} no voice, and{ there was} no answering. And they limped beside the altar that one 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 ULT And it happened at midday that Elijah mocked them and said,“Call out with a great voice, for he is a god. Surely{ he is in} contemplation, or surely{ he has} a withdrawal for himself, or surely a way{ is} to him. Perhaps he{ is} asleep and he will awaken.” 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 ULT And they called out with a great voice, and they cut themselves, according to their custom, with swords and with spears until a pouring of blood{ was} on them. BSB BSB: So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them.
29 ULT And it happened, when midday passed, that they prophesied until the offering of the grain offering. But{ there was} no voice, and{ there was} no answering, and there was no 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 ULT And Elijah said to all of the people,“Come near to me.” And all of the people came near to him. And he repaired the broken- down altar of Yahweh. 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 ULT And Elijah took 12 stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of Yahweh had been, saying,“Israel shall be your name.” 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 ULT And with the stones he built an altar in the name of Yahweh. And he made a trench around the altar like the house of two seahs{ of} seed. 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 ULT And he arranged the wood, and he cut up the bull, and he set{ it} on the wood. BSB BSB: Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood,
34 ULT And he said,“Fill four jars{ with} water, and pour{ it} on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said,“Do a second time,” and they did a second time. And he said,“Do a third time,” and they did a third time. 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 ULT And the water went around the altar, and it even filled the trench with water. BSB BSB: So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
Elijah’s Prayer 36 ULT And it happened at the offering of the grain offering that Elijah the prophet came near, and he said,“Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and I{ am} your servant and by your word I have done all these things. 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 ULT Answer me, Yahweh! Answer me so that this people may know that you, Yahweh,{ are} God, and you, you have turned their heart back.” 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 ULT And the fire of Yahweh fell, and it consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust. And it licked up the water that{ was} in the trench. 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 ULT And all of the people saw, and they fell on their faces. And they said,“Yahweh, he{ is} God! Yahweh, he{ 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 ULT And Elijah said to them,“Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a man from them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah led them down to the wadi Kishon, and he slaughtered them 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 ULT And Elijah said to Ahab,“Go up, eat and drink, for{ there is} the sound of the roar of a shower.” BSB BSB: And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
42 ULT So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the head of Carmel, and he bowed down to the ground, and he put his face between his knees. 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 ULT And he said to his servant,“Go up, please, look the way of the sea.” And he went up, and he looked, and he said,“{ There is} not anything.” And he said,“Return,” 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 ULT And it happened on the seventh time that he said,“Behold, a small cloud like the palm of a man is coming up from the sea.” And he said,“Go up, say to Ahab,‘Harness and go down so the rain does not stop you.’” 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 ULT And it happened to thus and to thus that the heavens darkened{ with} clouds and wind, and{ there} was a great shower. And Ahab rode and went to 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 ULT And the hand of Yahweh was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins, and he ran to the face of Ahab to your coming{ 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.