1 Kings 16-18

Young's Literal Translation

16 And a word of Jehovah is unto Jehu son of Hanani, against Baasha, saying,

² `Because that I have raised thee up out of the dust, and appoint thee leader over My people Israel, and thou walkest in the way of Jeroboam, and causest My people Israel to sin -- to provoke Me to anger with their sins;

³ lo, I am putting away the posterity of Baasha, even the posterity of his house, and have given up thy house as the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat;

⁴ him who dieth of Baasha in a city do the dogs eat, and him who dieth of his in a field do fowl of the heavens eat.'

⁵ And the rest of the matters of Baasha, and that which he did, and his might, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?

⁶ And Baasha lieth with his fathers, and is buried in Tirzah, and Elah his son reigneth in his stead.

⁷ And also by the hand of Jehu son of Hanani the prophet a word of Jehovah hath been concerning Baasha, and concerning his house, and concerning all the evil that he did in the eyes of Jehovah to provoke Him to anger with the work of his hands, to be like the house of Jeroboam, and concerning that for which he smote him.

⁸ In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah reigned hath Elah son of Baasha over Israel in Tirzah, two years;

⁹ and conspire against him doth his servant Zimri (head of the half of the chariots) and he [is] in Tirzah drinking -- a drunkard in the house of Arza, who [is] over the house in Tirzah.

¹⁰ And Zimri cometh in and smiteth him, and putteth him to death, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigneth in his stead;

¹¹ and it cometh to pass in his reigning, at his sitting on his throne, he hath smitten the whole house of Baasha; he hath not left to him any sitting on the wall, and of his redeemers, and of his friends.

¹² And Zimri destroyeth the whole house of Baasha, according to the word of Jehovah, that He spake concerning Baasha, by the hand of Jehu the prophet:

¹³ concerning all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, that they sinned, and that they caused Israel to sin to provoke Jehovah, God of Israel, with their vanities.

¹⁴ And the rest of the matters of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?

¹⁵ In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, reigned hath Zimri seven days in Tirzah; and the people are encamping against Gibbethon, which [is] to the Philistines;

¹⁶ and the people who are encamping hear, saying, `Zimri hath conspired, and also hath smitten the king;' and all Israel cause Omri head of the host to reign over Israel on that day in the camp.

¹⁷ And Omri goeth up, and all Israel with him, from Gibbethon, and they lay siege to Tirzah.

¹⁸ And it cometh to pass, at Zimri's seeing that the city hath been captured, that he cometh in unto a high place of the house of the king, and burneth over him the house of the king with fire, and dieth,

¹⁹ for his sins that he sinned, to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, to walk in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin that he did, to cause Israel to sin;

²⁰ and the rest of the matters of Zimri, and his conspiracy that he made, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?

²¹ Then are the sons of Israel parted into halves; half of the people hath been after Tibni son of Ginath to cause him to reign, and the half after Omri;

²² and stronger are the people that are after Omri than the people that are after Tibni son of Ginath, and Tibni dieth, and Omri reigneth.

²³ In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah reigned hath Omri over Israel twelve years; in Tirzah he hath reigned six years,

²⁴ and he buyeth the mount Samaria from Shemer, with two talents of silver, and buildeth [on] the mount, and calleth the name of the city that he hath built by the name of Shemer, lord of the hill -- Samaria.

²⁵ And Omri doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and doth evil above all who [are] before him,

²⁶ and walketh in all the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and in his sin that he caused Israel to sin, to provoke Jehovah, God of Israel, with their vanities.

²⁷ And the rest of the matters of Omri that he did, and his might that he got, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?

²⁸ And Omri lieth with his fathers, and is buried in Samaria, and Ahab his son reigneth in his stead.

²⁹ And Ahab son of Omri hath reigned over Israel in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and Ahab son of Omri reigneth over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years,

³⁰ and Ahab son of Omri doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah above all who [are] before him.

³¹ And it cometh to pass -- hath it been light his walking in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat? -- then he taketh a wife, Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians, and goeth and serveth Baal, and boweth himself to it,

³² and raiseth up an altar for Baal, in the house of the Baal, that he built in Samaria;

³³ and Ahab maketh the shrine, and Ahab addeth to do so as to provoke Jehovah, God of Israel, above all the kings of Israel who have been before him.

³⁴ In his days hath Hiel the Beth-Elite built Jericho; in Abiram his first-born he laid its foundation, and in Segub his youngest he set up its doors, according to the word of Jehovah that He spake by the hand of Joshua son of Nun.

17 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, saith unto Ahab, `Jehovah, God of Israel, liveth, before whom I have stood, there is not these years dew and rain, except according to my word.'

² And the word of Jehovah is unto him, saying,

³ `Go from this [place]; and thou hast turned for thee eastward, and been hidden by the brook Cherith, that [is] on the front of the Jordan,

⁴ and it hath been, from the brook thou dost drink, and the ravens I have commanded to sustain thee there.'

⁵ And he goeth and doth according to the word of Jehovah, yea, he goeth and dwelleth by the brook Cherith, that [is] on the front of the Jordan,

⁶ and the ravens are bringing to him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and of the brook he drinketh.

⁷ And it cometh to pass, at the end of days, that the brook drieth up, for there hath been no rain in the land,

⁸ and the word of Jehovah is unto him, saying,

⁹ `Rise, go to Zarephath, that [is] to Zidon, and thou hast dwelt there; lo, I have commanded there a widow woman to sustain thee.'

¹⁰ And he riseth, and goeth to Zarephath, and cometh in unto the opening of the city, and lo there, a widow woman gathering sticks, and he calleth unto her, and saith, `Bring, I pray thee, to me, a little water in a vessel, and I drink.'

¹¹ And she goeth to bring [it], and he calleth unto her and saith, `Bring, I pray thee, to me a morsel of bread in thy hand.'

¹² And she saith, `Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but the fulness of the hand of meal in a pitcher, and a little oil in a dish; and lo, I am gathering two sticks, and have gone in and prepared it for myself, and for my son, and we have eaten it -- and died.'

¹³ And Elijah saith unto her, `Fear not, go, do according to thy word, only make for me thence a little cake, in the first place, and thou hast brought out to me; and for thee and for thy son make -- last;

¹⁴ for thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, The pitcher of meal is not consumed, and the dish of oil is not lacking, till the day of Jehovah's giving a shower on the face of the ground.'

¹⁵ And she goeth, and doth according to the word of Elijah, and she eateth, she and he, and her household -- days;

¹⁶ the pitcher of meal was not consumed, and the dish of oil did not lack, according to the word of Jehovah that He spake by the hand of Elijah.

¹⁷ And it cometh to pass, after these things, the son of the woman, mistress of the house, hath been sick, and his sickness is very severe till that no breath hath been left in him.

¹⁸ And she saith unto Elijah, `What -- to me and to thee, O man of God? thou hast come unto me to cause mine iniquity to be remembered, and to put my son to death!'

¹⁹ And he saith unto her, `Give to me thy son;' and he taketh him out of her bosom, and taketh him up unto the upper chamber where he is abiding, and layeth him on his own bed,

²⁰ and crieth unto Jehovah, and saith, `Jehovah my God, also on the widow with whom I am sojourning hast Thou done evil -- to put her son to death?'

²¹ And he stretcheth himself out on the lad three times, and calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, `O Jehovah my God, let turn back, I pray Thee, the soul of this lad into his midst;'

²² and Jehovah hearkeneth to the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the lad turneth back into his midst, and he liveth.

²³ And Elijah taketh the lad, and bringeth him down from the upper chamber of the house, and giveth him to his mother, and Elijah saith, `See, thy son liveth!'

²⁴ And the woman saith unto Elijah, `Now, this I have known, that a man of God thou [art], and the word of Jehovah in thy mouth [is] truth.'

18 And the days are many, and the word of Jehovah hath been unto Elijah in the third year, saying, `Go, appear unto Ahab, and I give rain on the face of the ground;'

² and Elijah goeth to appear unto Ahab. And the famine is severe in Samaria,

³ and Ahab calleth unto Obadiah, who [is] over the house -- and Obadiah hath been fearing Jehovah greatly,

⁴ and it cometh to pass, in Jezebel's cutting off the prophets of Jehovah, that Obadiah taketh a hundred prophets, and hideth them, fifty men in a cave, and hath sustained them with bread and water --

⁵ and Ahab saith unto Obadiah, `Go through the land, unto all fountains of waters, and unto all the brooks, if so be we find hay, and keep alive horse and mule, and do not cut off any of the cattle.'

⁶ And they apportion to themselves the land, to pass over into it; Ahab hath gone in one way by himself, and Obadiah hath gone in another way by himself;

⁷ and Obadiah [is] in the way, and lo, Elijah -- to meet him; and he discerneth him, and falleth on his face, and saith, `Art thou he -- my lord Elijah?'

⁸ And he saith to him, `I [am]; go, say to thy lord, Lo, Elijah.'

⁹ And he saith, `What have I sinned, that thou art giving thy servant into the hand of Ahab -- to put me to death?

¹⁰ Jehovah thy God liveth, if there is a nation and kingdom whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee; and they said, He is not, then he caused the kingdom and the nation to swear, that it doth not find thee;

¹¹ and now, thou art saying, Go, say to thy lord, Lo, Elijah;

¹² and it hath been, I go from thee, and the Spirit of Jehovah doth lift thee up, whither I know not, and I have come to declare to Ahab, and he doth not find thee, and he hath slain me; and thy servant is fearing Jehovah from my youth.

¹³ `Hath it not been declared to my lord that which I have done in Jezebel's slaying the prophets of Jehovah, that I hide of the prophets of Jehovah a hundred men, fifty by fifty in a cave, and sustained them with bread and water?

¹⁴ and now thou art saying, Go, say to my lord, Lo, Elijah -- and he hath slain me!'

¹⁵ And Elijah saith, `Jehovah of Hosts liveth, before whom I have stood, surely to-day I appear unto him.'

¹⁶ And Obadiah goeth to meet Ahab, and declareth [it] to him, and Ahab goeth to meet Elijah,

¹⁷ and it cometh to pass at Ahab's seeing Elijah, that Ahab saith unto him, `Art thou he -- the troubler of Israel?'

¹⁸ And he saith, `I have not troubled Israel, but thou and the house of thy father, in your forsaking the commands of Jehovah, and thou goest after the Baalim;

¹⁹ and now, send, gather unto me all Israel, unto the mount of Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the shrine, four hundred -- eating at the table of Jezebel.'

²⁰ And Ahab sendeth among all the sons of Israel, and gathereth the prophets unto the mount of Carmel;

²¹ and Elijah cometh nigh unto all the people, and saith, `Till when are ye leaping on the two branches? -- if Jehovah [is] God, go after Him; and if Baal, go after him;' and the people have not answered him a word.

²² And Elijah saith unto the people, `I -- I have been left a prophet of Jehovah -- by myself; and the prophets of Baal [are] four hundred and fifty men;

²³ and let them give to us two bullocks, and they choose for themselves the one bullock, and cut it in pieces, and place [it] on the wood, and place no fire; and I -- I prepare the other bullock, and have put [it] on the wood, and fire I do not place; --

²⁴ and ye have called in the name of your god, and I -- I call in the name of Jehovah, and it hath been, the god who answereth by fire -- He [is] the God.' And all the people answer and say, `Good [is] the word.'

²⁵ And Elijah saith to the prophets of Baal, `Choose for you the one bullock, and prepare first, for ye [are] the multitude, and call ye in the name of your god, and place no fire.'

²⁶ And they take the bullock that [one] gave to them, and prepare, and call in the name of Baal from the morning even till the noon, saying, `O Baal, answer us!' and there is no voice, and there is none answering; and they leap on the altar that one had made.

²⁷ And it cometh to pass, at noon, that Elijah playeth on them, and saith, `Call with a loud voice, for he [is] a god, for he is meditating, or pursuing, or on a journey; it may be he is asleep, an doth awake.'

²⁸ And they call with a loud voice, and cut themselves, according to their ordinance, with swords and with spears, till a flowing of blood [is] on them;

²⁹ and it cometh to pass, at the passing by of the noon, that they feign themselves prophets till the going up of the present, and there is no voice, and there is none answering, and there is none attending.

³⁰ And Elijah saith to all the people, `Come nigh unto me;' and all the people come nigh unto him, and he repaireth the altar of Jehovah that is broken down;

³¹ and Elijah taketh twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of Jehovah was, saying, `Israel is thy name;'

³² and he buildeth with the stones an altar, in the name of Jehovah, and maketh a trench, as about the space of two measures of seed, round about the altar.

³³ And he arrangeth the wood, and cutteth in pieces the bullock, and placeth [it] on the wood, and saith, `Fill ye four pitchers of water, and pour on the burnt-offering, and on the wood;

³⁴ and he saith, `Do [it] a second time;' and they do [it] a second time; and he saith, `Do [it] a third time;' and they do [it] a third time;

³⁵ and the water goeth round about the altar, and also, the trench he hath filled with water.

³⁶ And it cometh to pass, at the going up of the [evening-]present, that Elijah the prophet cometh nigh and saith, `Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to-day let it be known that Thou [art] God in Israel, and I Thy servant, that by Thy word I have done the whole of these things;

³⁷ answer me, O Jehovah, answer me, and this people doth know that Thou [art] Jehovah God; and Thou hast turned their heart backward.'

³⁸ And there falleth a fire of Jehovah, and consumeth the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and the water that [is] in the trench it hath licked up.

³⁹ And all the people see, and fall on their faces, and say, `Jehovah, He [is] the God, Jehovah, He [is] the God.'

⁴⁰ And Elijah saith to them, `Catch ye the prophets of Baal; let not a man escape of them;' and they catch them, and Elijah bringeth them down unto the stream Kishon, and doth slaughter them there.

⁴¹ And Elijah saith to Ahab, `Go up, eat and drink, because of the sound of the noise of the shower.'

⁴² And Ahab goeth up to eat, and to drink, and Elijah hath gone up unto the top of Carmel, and he stretcheth himself out on the earth, and he placeth his face between his knees,

⁴³ and saith unto his young man, `Go up, I pray thee, look attentively the way of the sea;' and he goeth up and looketh attentively, and saith, `There is nothing;' and he saith, `Turn back,' seven times.

⁴⁴ And it cometh to pass, at the seventh, that he saith, `Lo, a little thickness as the palm of a man is coming up out of the sea.' And he saith, `Go up, say unto Ahab, `Bind -- and go down, and the shower doth not restrain thee.'

⁴⁵ And it cometh to pass, in the meantime, that the heavens have become black -- thick clouds and wind -- and the shower is great; and Ahab rideth, and goeth to Jezreel,

⁴⁶ and the hand of Jehovah hath been on Elijah, and he girdeth up his loins, and runneth before Ahab, till thine entering Jezreel.