New Heart English Bible

1Kings 18

1 And it happened after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth."

2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. And the famine was severe in Samaria.

3 And Ahab summoned Obadiah, the steward of the house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly.

4 And it came about, when Jezebel was killing the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them, fifty by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)

5 And 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 save the horses and mules alive, that we not lose all the animals."

6 So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way alone, and Obadiah went another way alone.

7 And as Obadiah was on the way, look, Elijah met him; and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, "Is it you, my lord Elijah?"

8 He answered him, "It is I. Go, tell your lord, 'Look, Elijah is here.'"

9 And he said, "How have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?

10 As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom, where my lord has not sent to seek you. When they said, 'He is not here,' he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they did not find you.

11 Now you say, 'Go, tell your lord, "Look, Elijah is here."'

12 It will happen, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you I do not know where; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can't find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.

13 Wasn't it told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid one hundred men of the LORD's prophets, fifty by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?

14 Now you say, 'Go, tell your lord, "Look, Elijah is here";' and he will kill me."

15 Elijah said, "As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today."

16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

17 It happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?"

18 He answered, "I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father's house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and you have followed the Baals.

19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and four hundred fifty of the prophets of Baal, and four hundred of the prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."

20 So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel.

21 Elijah came near to all the people, and said, "How long will you keep limping between two positions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." But the people did not answer him a word.

22 Then Elijah said to the people, "I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD; but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men, and the prophets of Asherah four hundred.

23 Let them therefore give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under. And I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under it.

24 You call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD, and the god who answers by fire, he is God." All the people answered, "It is well said."

25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one bull for yourselves, and prepare it first, for you are the majority, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it."

26 And they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, "Baal, answer us." But there was no voice, nor any who answered. And they limped about the altar they had made.

27 And it came about, at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, "Cry aloud, for he is a god. Maybe he is thinking about it, or he is busy, or he is on a trip, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened."

28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with swords and spears, until the blood gushed out on them.

29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the offering up of the offering; but there was no voice, no answer, and no response.

30 Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me"; and all the people came near to him. He repaired the altar of the LORD that 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 came, saying, "Israel shall be your name."

32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD. And he made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two seahs of seed.

33 And he arranged the wood, and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood.

34 And he said, "Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood." And they did so. And he said, "Do it a second time"; and they did it the second time. And he said, "Do it a third time"; and they did it the third time.

35 And the water ran around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.

36 It happened at the time of the offering up of the offering, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, "LORD, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.

37 Hear me, LORD, hear me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God, and that you have turned their heart back again."

38 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.

39 And when all the people saw it, they fell facedown and said, "The LORD, he is God. The LORD, he is God."

40 And Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal. Do not let one of them escape." And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon, and killed them there.

41 And Elijah said to Ahab, "Get up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of a heavy rain."

42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down toward the ground, 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, and said, "There is nothing." Then he said, "Go again" seven times. And the servant went again seven times.

44 It happened at the seventh time, that he said, "Look, a small cloud, like a man's hand, is rising out of the sea." He said, "Go up, tell Ahab, 'Get ready and go down, so that the rain doesn't stop you.'"

45 It happened in a little while, that the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.

46 The hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.