1 Kings 18:16-46
New American Standard Bible
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and informed him; then Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, (A)Ahab said to him, “Is this you, the cause of disaster to Israel?” 18 He said, “I have not brought disaster to Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because (B)you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and (C)you have followed the Baals. 19 Now then, send orders and gather to me all Israel at (D)Mount Carmel, (E)together with 450 prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of [a](F)the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
God or Baal on Mount Carmel
20 So Ahab sent orders among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “(G)How long are you going to [b]struggle with the two choices? (H)If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him so much as a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I (I)alone am left as a prophet of the Lord, while Baal’s prophets are (J)450 men. 23 Now have them give us two oxen; and have them choose the 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 (K)the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people replied, “[c]That is a good idea.”
25 So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose the one ox for yourselves and prepare it first, since there are many of you, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under the ox.” 26 Then they took the ox which [d]was given them and they prepared it, and they called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was (L)no voice and no one answered. And they [e]limped about the altar which [f]they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah ridiculed them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, since he is a god; undoubtedly he is attending to business, or is on the way, or is on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep, and will awaken.” 28 So they cried out with a loud voice, and (M)cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until blood gushed out on them. 29 When midday was past, they raved (N)until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and [g]no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come forward to me.” So all the people came forward to him. And (O)he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down. 31 Then Elijah took twelve stones, corresponding to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “(P)Israel shall be your name.” 32 And with the stones he built an altar in (Q)the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two [h]measures of seed. 33 (R)Then he laid out the wood, and he cut the ox in pieces and placed it on the wood. 34 And he said, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time,” so they did it a second time. Then he said, “Do it a third time,” so 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 Then (S)at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached and said, “(T)Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that (U)You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant, and that (V)I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that You, Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back.” 38 Then the (W)fire of the Lord 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. 39 When all the people saw this, they fell on their faces; and they said, “(X)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 (Y)the brook Kishon, (Z)and slaughtered 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 (AA)Carmel; and he (AB)bent down to the earth and put his face between his knees. 43 And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, but he said, “There is nothing.” Yet Elijah said, “Go back” seven times. 44 And when he returned the seventh time, he said, “Behold, (AC)a cloud as small as a person’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And Elijah said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Harness your chariot horses and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.’” 45 Meanwhile the sky became dark with clouds and wind came up, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to (AD)Jezreel. 46 Then (AE)the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and (AF)he [i]belted his cloak around his waist and [j]outran Ahab [k]to Jezreel.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 18:19 I.e., wooden symbol of a female deity
- 1 Kings 18:21 Lit limp on the two crutches
- 1 Kings 18:24 Lit The matter is good
- 1 Kings 18:26 Lit he gave
- 1 Kings 18:26 I.e., in a type of ceremonial dance
- 1 Kings 18:26 As in some mss and ancient versions; MT he
- 1 Kings 18:29 Lit there was no attention
- 1 Kings 18:32 Heb seahs; i.e., one seah equals about 7 qt. or 7.7 liters
- 1 Kings 18:46 I.e., for travel
- 1 Kings 18:46 Lit ran ahead of
- 1 Kings 18:46 Lit until your coming to
1 Kings 18:16-46
Living Bible
16 So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come; and Ahab went out to meet him.
17 “So it’s you, is it?—the man who brought this disaster upon Israel!” Ahab exclaimed when he saw him.
18 “You’re talking about yourself,” Elijah answered. “For you and your family have refused to obey the Lord and have worshiped Baal instead. 19 Now bring all the people of Israel to Mount Carmel, with all 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who are supported by Jezebel.”
20 So Ahab summoned all the people and the prophets to Mount Carmel.
21 Then Elijah talked to them. “How long are you going to waver between two opinions?” he asked the people. “If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!”
22 Then Elijah spoke again. “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left,” he told them, “but Baal has 450 prophets. 23 Now bring two young bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of their altar, but without putting any fire under the wood; and I will prepare the other young bull and lay it on the wood on the Lord’s altar, with no fire under it. 24 Then pray to your god, and I will pray to the Lord; and the god who answers by sending fire to light the wood is the true God!” And all the people agreed to this test.
25 Then Elijah turned to the prophets of Baal. “You first,” he said, “for there are many of you; choose one of the bulls and prepare it and call to your god; but don’t put any fire under the wood.”
26 So they prepared one of the young bulls and placed it on the altar; and they called to Baal all morning, shouting, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they began to dance around the altar. 27 About noontime, Elijah began mocking them.
“You’ll have to shout louder than that,” he scoffed, “to catch the attention of your god! Perhaps he is talking to someone, or is out sitting on the toilet, or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!”
28 So they shouted louder and, as was their custom, cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. 29 They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but there was no reply, no voice, no answer.
30 Then Elijah called to the people, “Come over here.”
And they all crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down. 31 He took twelve stones, one to represent each of the tribes of Israel,[a] 32 and used the stones to rebuild the Lord’s altar. Then he dug a trench about three feet wide[b] around the altar. 33 He piled wood upon the altar and cut the young bull into pieces and laid the pieces on the wood.
“Fill four barrels with water,” he said, “and pour the water over the carcass and the wood.”
After they had done this he said, 34 “Do it again.” And they did.
“Now, do it once more!” And they did; 35 and the water ran off the altar and filled the trench.
36 At the customary time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove today that you are the God of Israel and that I am your servant; prove that I have done all this at your command. 37 O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”
38 Then, suddenly, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, the dust, and even evaporated all the water in the ditch!
39 And when the people saw it, they fell to their faces upon the ground shouting, “Jehovah is God! Jehovah is God!”
40 Then Elijah told them to grab the prophets of Baal. “Don’t let a single one escape,” he commanded.
So they seized them all, and Elijah took them to Kishon Brook and killed them there.
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go and enjoy a good meal! For I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!”
42 So Ahab prepared a feast. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and got down on his knees, with his face between his knees, 43 and said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.”
He did, but returned to Elijah and told him, “I didn’t see anything.”
Then Elijah told him, “Go again, and again, and again, seven times!”
44 Finally, the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.”
Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him to get into his chariot and get down the mountain, or he’ll be stopped by the rain!”
45 And sure enough, the sky was soon black with clouds, and a heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm. Ahab left hastily for Jezreel, 46 and the Lord gave special strength to Elijah so that he was able to run ahead of Ahab’s chariot to the entrance of the city!
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 18:31 one to represent each of the tribes of Israel, literally, “each of the tribes of the sons of Jacob to whom the Lord had said, ‘Israel shall be your name.’”
- 1 Kings 18:32 three feet wide, literally, “as great as would contain two measures of seed.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.