1And it happened after many days that the word of Yahweh came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will give rain upon the face of the ground.”
2So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria.
3And Ahab called for Obadiah, who was over the house. Now Obadiah greatly feared Yahweh.
4And it happened, when Jezebel was cutting off the prophets of Yahweh, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them, fifty men to a cave, and sustained them with bread and water.
5And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land, to all the springs of water and to all the wadis; perhaps we may find grass and keep horse and mule alive, and not have to cut off any of the animals.”
6And they divided the land between them to pass through it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
7Now Obadiah was on the way, and behold, Elijah met him. He recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
8And he said to him, “It is I. Go, say to your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah.’”
9And he said, “What have I sinned, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab to put me to death?
10As 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 made the kingdom and the nation swear that they could not find you.
11And now you say, ‘Go, say to your lord, “Behold, Elijah.”’
12And it will happen, when I go from you, that the spirit of Yahweh will carry you off to where I do not know; and I will come to tell Ahab, and he will not find you, and he will kill me — yet your servant has feared Yahweh from my youth.
13Has it not been told to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh — how I hid a hundred men of Yahweh’s prophets, fifty men to a cave, and sustained them with bread and water?
14And now you say, ‘Go, say to your lord, “Behold, Elijah,”’ and he will kill me!”
15And Elijah said, “As Yahweh of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely today I will present myself to him.”
16So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17And it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is it you, the troubler of Israel?”
18And he said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in your forsaking the commandments of Yahweh and going after the Baals.
19And now, send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20So Ahab sent among all the sons of Israel and gathered the prophets to Mount Carmel.
21And Elijah drew near to all the people and said, “How long will you keep limping between the two forks? If Yahweh is God, go after him; and if Baal, go after him.” But the people answered him not a word.
22And Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left as a prophet to Yahweh, but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men.
23Let them give us two bulls, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; and I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it.
24Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of Yahweh; and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered and said, “The word is good.”
25And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are the many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire to it.”
26So they took the bull that was given to them and prepared it, and they called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that had been made.
27And it happened at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god! Surely he is musing, or has stepped aside, or is on a journey; perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”
28So they called out with a loud voice and cut themselves, according to their custom, with swords and lances until blood gushed out over them.
29And it happened, when noon had passed, that they prophesied in a frenzy until the time of offering up the grain offering; but there was no voice, and no one answered, and there was no attention.
30Then Elijah said to all the people, “Draw near to me.” And all the people drew near to him. And he repaired the altar of Yahweh that had been torn down.
31And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of Yahweh had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”
32And he built the stones into an altar in the name of Yahweh, and he made a trench about as large as would hold two seahs of seed all around the altar.
33And he arranged the wood, and he cut the bull in pieces, and he laid it on the wood.
34And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time.
35And the water flowed around the altar, and he also filled the trench with water.
36And it happened, at the time of the offering up of the grain offering, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that by your word I have done all these things.
37Answer me, Yahweh, answer me, so that this people may know that you, Yahweh, are God, and that you have turned their heart back again.”
38Then the fire of Yahweh fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.
39And all the people saw it, and they fell on their faces and said, “Yahweh, he is God! Yahweh, he is God!”
40And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon and slaughtered them there.
41And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a rushing of rain.”
42So Ahab went up to eat and to drink, while Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed down to the earth and put his face between his knees.
43And he said to his servant, “Go up, please; look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go back,” seven times.
44And it happened, at the seventh time, that he said, “Behold, a small cloud, like a man’s hand, is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Harness and go down, so that the rain does not stop you.’”
45And it happened, in the meantime, that the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode off and went to Jezreel.
46And the hand of Yahweh was upon Elijah, and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab as far as the entrance to Jezreel.
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