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Obadiah Meets Elijah
18 Now it happened (A)after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and (B)I will send rain on the face of the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 3 Ahab called Obadiah (C)who was over the household. (Now Obadiah [a](D)feared the Lord greatly; 4 for (E)when Jezebel [b]destroyed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and (F)provided them with bread and water.) 5 Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys; perhaps we will find grass and keep the horses and mules alive, and not [c]have to kill some of the cattle.” 6 So they divided the land between them to [d]survey it; Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way by himself.
7 Now as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah [e]met him, (G)and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is this you, Elijah my master?” 8 He said to him, “It is I. Go, say to your master, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” 9 He said, “What [f]sin have I committed, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab to put me to death? 10 (H)As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to search for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you. 11 And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’ 12 It will come about when I leave you (I)that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you where I do not know; so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have [g]feared the Lord from my youth. 13 (J)Has it not been told to my master what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, that I hid [h]a hundred prophets of the Lord by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water? 14 And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here”’; he will then kill me.” 15 Elijah said, “(K)As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, (L)Ahab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?” 18 He said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because (M)you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and (N)you have followed the Baals. 19 Now then send and gather to me all Israel at (O)Mount Carmel, (P)together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of (Q)the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
God or Baal on Mount Carmel
20 So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah came near to all the people and said, “(R)How long will you [i]hesitate between two opinions? (S)If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I (T)alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are (U)450 men. 23 Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and (V)the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people said, “[j]That is a good idea.”
25 So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” 26 Then they took the ox which [k]was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was (W)no voice and no one answered. And they [l]leaped about the altar which [m]they made. 27 It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” 28 So they cried with a loud voice and (X)cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. 29 When midday was past, they [n]raved (Y)until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no [o]one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And (Z)he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “(AA)Israel shall be your name.” 32 So with the stones he built an altar in (AB)the name of the Lord, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two [p]measures of seed. 33 (AC)Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. 34 And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And 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. 35 The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.
Elijah’s Prayer
36 (AD)At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “(AE)O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that (AF)You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and (AG)I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” 38 Then the (AH)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. 39 When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “(AI)The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.” 40 Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to (AJ)the brook Kishon, (AK)and slew them there.
41 Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of (AL)Carmel; and he (AM)crouched down on the earth and put his face between his knees. 43 He said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go back” seven times. 44 It came about at the seventh time, that he said, “Behold, (AN)a cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘[q]Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.’” 45 In a little while the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to (AO)Jezreel. 46 Then (AP)the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and (AQ)he girded up his loins and [r]outran Ahab [s]to Jezreel.
Peter Reports at Jerusalem
11 Now the apostles and (A)the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, [a](B)those who were circumcised took issue with him, 3 saying, “(C)You [b]went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 But Peter began speaking [c]and proceeded to explain to them (D)in orderly sequence, saying, 5 “(E)I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw (F)a vision, an [d]object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from [e]the sky; and it came right down to me, 6 and when I had fixed my gaze on it and was observing it [f]I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the [g]crawling creatures and the birds of the [h]air. 7 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; [i]kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing [j]unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘(G)What God has cleansed, no longer [k]consider unholy.’ 10 This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into [l]the sky. 11 And behold, at that moment three men appeared at the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from (H)Caesarea. 12 (I)The Spirit told me to go with them [m](J)without misgivings. (K)These six brethren also went with me and we entered the man’s house. 13 And he reported to us how he had seen the angel [n]standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; 14 and he will speak (L)words to you by which you will be saved, you and (M)all your household.’ 15 And as I began to speak, (N)the Holy Spirit fell upon them just (O)as He did upon us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘(P)John baptized with water, but you will be baptized [o]with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 Therefore if (Q)God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, (R)who was I that I could [p]stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard this, they [q]quieted down and (S)glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the (T)repentance that leads to life.”
The Church at Antioch
19 (U)So then those who were scattered because of the [r]persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way [s]to (V)Phoenicia and (W)Cyprus and (X)Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20 But there were some of them, men of (Y)Cyprus and (Z)Cyrene, who came to (AA)Antioch and began speaking to the [t](AB)Greeks also, [u](AC)preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And (AD)the hand of the Lord was with them, and (AE)a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The [v]news about them [w]reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent (AF)Barnabas off [x]to (AG)Antioch. 23 Then when he arrived and [y]witnessed (AH)the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with [z]resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and (AI)full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And (AJ)considerable [aa]numbers were [ab]brought to the Lord. 25 And he left for (AK)Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to (AL)Antioch. And for an entire year they [ac]met with the church and taught considerable [ad]numbers; and (AM)the disciples were first called (AN)Christians in (AO)Antioch.
27 Now [ae]at this time (AP)some prophets came down from Jerusalem to (AQ)Antioch. 28 One of them named (AR)Agabus stood up and began to indicate [af]by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine (AS)all over the [ag]world. [ah]And this took place in the reign of (AT)Claudius. 29 And in the proportion that any of (AU)the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the [ai]relief of (AV)the brethren living in Judea. 30 (AW)And this they did, sending it [aj]in charge of (AX)Barnabas and Saul to the (AY)elders.
Praise the Lord’s Wonderful Works. Vanity of Idols.
135 [a](A)Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, O (B)servants of the Lord,
2 You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In the (C)courts of the house of our God!
3 [c]Praise [d]the Lord, for (D)the Lord is good;
(E)Sing praises to His name, (F)for it is lovely.
4 For [e]the Lord has (G)chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His [f](H)own possession.
5 For I know that (I)the Lord is great
And that our Lord is (J)above all gods.
6 (K)Whatever the Lord pleases, He does,
In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.
7 [g]He (L)causes the [h]vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
Who (M)makes lightnings for the rain,
Who (N)brings forth the wind from His treasuries.
8 [i]He (O)smote the firstborn of Egypt,
[j]Both of man and beast.
9 [k]He sent (P)signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
Upon (Q)Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 [l](R)He (S)smote many nations
And slew mighty kings,
11 (T)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
And (U)Og, king of Bashan,
And (V)all the kingdoms of Canaan;
12 And He (W)gave their land as a heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.
13 Your (X)name, O Lord, is everlasting,
Your [m]remembrance, O Lord, [n]throughout all generations.
14 For the Lord will (Y)judge His people
And (Z)will have compassion on His servants.
15 The (AA)idols of the nations are but silver and gold,
The work of man’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
They have eyes, but they do not see;
17 They have ears, but they do not hear,
Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
Yes, everyone who trusts in them.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.