1 Kings 18-19

English Standard Version

Elijah Confronts Ahab

18 ^(A)After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.” ²So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. ³And Ahab called Obadiah, who was ^(B)over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, ⁴and ^(C)when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.) ⁵And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.” ⁶So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.

⁷And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” ⁸And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” ⁹And he said, “How have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? ¹⁰^(D)As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. ¹¹And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’ ¹²And as soon as I have gone from you, ^(E)the Spirit of the Lord will carry you I know not where. And so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth. ¹³Has it not been told my lord what I did ^(F)when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water? ¹⁴And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here”’; and he will kill me.” ¹⁵And Elijah said, ^(G)“As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” ¹⁶So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.

¹⁷When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, ^(H)“Is it you, you ^(I)troubler of Israel?” ¹⁸And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father's house, because you have ^(J)abandoned the commandments of the Lord and ^(K)followed the Baals. ¹⁹Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount ^(L)Carmel, and the ^(M)450 prophets of Baal and ^(N)the 400 prophets of Asherah, ^(O)who eat at Jezebel's table.”

The Prophets of Baal Defeated

²⁰So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. ²¹And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long ^(P)will you go limping between two different opinions? ^(Q)If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. ²²Then Elijah said to the people, ^(R)“I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are ^(S)450 men. ²³Let two bulls be given to us, 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 and put no fire to it. ²⁴And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who ^(T)answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” ²⁵Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” ²⁶And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon 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 they had made. ²⁷And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” ²⁸And they cried aloud and ^(U)cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. ²⁹And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of ^(V)the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

³⁰Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been ^(W)thrown down. ³¹Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, ^(X)“Israel shall be your name,” ³²and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs^[a] of seed. ³³^(Y)And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and ^(Z)pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” ³⁴And 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 ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.

³⁶And at the time of ^(AA)the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, ^(AB)God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that ^(AC)you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that ^(AD)I have done all these things at your word. ³⁷Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” ³⁸^(AE)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 trench. ³⁹And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, ^(AF)“The Lord, he is God; the Lord, 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 ^(AG)the brook Kishon and ^(AH)slaughtered them there.

The Lord Sends Rain

⁴¹And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” ⁴²So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. ^(AI)And he bowed himself down on the earth 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. ⁴⁴And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, ^(AJ)a little cloud like a man's hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’” ⁴⁵And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to ^(AK)Jezreel. ⁴⁶^(AL)And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, ^(AM)and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of ^(AN)Jezreel.

Elijah Flees Jezebel

19 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how ^(AO)he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ²Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ^(AP)“So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” ³Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to ^(AQ)Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

⁴But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. ^(AR)And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” ⁵And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” ⁶And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. ⁷And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” ⁸And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food ^(AS)forty days and forty nights to ^(AT)Horeb, the mount of God.

The Lord Speaks to Elijah

⁹There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, ^(AU)the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰He said, “I have been very ^(AV)jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, ^(AW)thrown down your altars, and ^(AX)killed your prophets with the sword, ^(AY)and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” ¹¹And he said, “Go out and ^(AZ)stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and ^(BA)a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind ^(BB)an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹²And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.^[b] ¹³And when Elijah heard it, ^(BC)he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, ^(BD)there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁴He said, ^(BE)“I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, ^(BF)thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” ¹⁵And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. ¹⁶^(BG)And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and ^(BH)Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. ¹⁷And the one who escapes from ^(BI)the sword of Hazael ^(BJ)shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu ^(BK)shall Elisha put to death. ¹⁸^(BL)Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not ^(BM)kissed him.”

The Call of Elisha

¹⁹So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast ^(BN)his cloak upon him. ²⁰And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, ^(BO)“Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” ²¹And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh ^(BP)with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.