The First Book of the Kings

⭑ Catholic Public Domain :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 18 -

After many days, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go and show yourself to Ahab, so that I may grant rain upon the face of the earth.”

Therefore, Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. For there was a severe famine in Samaria.

And Ahab called Obadiah, the manager of his household. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly.

For when Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord, he took one hundred prophets, and concealed them, fifty and fifty, in caves. And he fed them with bread and water.

Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go into the land, to all fountains of water, and to all the valleys, for perhaps we will be able to find plants, and save the horses and mules, so that the beasts of burden may not perish entirely.”

And they divided the regions among themselves, so that they might travel through them. Ahab went one way alone, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

And while Obadiah was on the way, Elijah met him. And when he had recognized him, he fell on his face, and he said, “Are you not my lord Elijah?”

And he responded to him: “I am. Go and tell your lord that Elijah is here.”

And he said: “How have I sinned that you would deliver me, your servant, into the hand of Ahab, so that he would put me to death?

As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom to which my lord has not sent, seeking you. And when all responded, ‘He is not here,’ he swore each kingdom and nation to an oath, because you were not found at all.(a)

And now, you say to me, ‘Go and tell your lord that Elijah is here.’

And when I will have departed from you, the Spirit of the Lord will transport you to a place that I do not know. And entering, I will report to Ahab. And he, not finding you, will put me to death. Yet your servant has feared the Lord from his infancy.

Has it not been revealed to you, my lord, what I did when Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord: how I hid one hundred men from the prophets of the Lord, fifty and fifty, in caves, and how I fed them with bread and water?

And now you say: ‘Go and tell your lord that Elijah is here,’ so that he may kill me!”

And Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whose face I stand, this day I will appear to him.”

Elijah on Mount Carmel

Therefore, Obadiah went away to meet Ahab, and he reported to him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.

And when he had seen him, he said, “Are you the one who is disturbing Israel?”

And he said: “I have not troubled Israel. But it is you, and the house of your father, who have abandoned the commandments of the Lord, and have followed the Baals.

Yet truly now, send and gather to me all of Israel, on Mount Carmel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of the sacred groves, who eat from the table of Jezebel.”

Ahab sent to all the sons of Israel, and he gathered together the prophets on mount Carmel.

Then Elijah, drawing near to all the people, said: “How long will you waver between two sides? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal is, then follow him.” And the people did not respond a word to him.

And Elijah said again to the people: “I alone remain as a prophet of the Lord. But the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men.

Let two oxen be given to us. And let them choose one ox for themselves, and, cutting it into pieces, let them set it on the wood. But they may not place fire under it. And I will prepare the other ox, and set it on the wood. But I will not place fire under it.

Call upon the names of your gods. And I will call on the name of my Lord. And the God who will have heeded with fire, let him be God.” And in response, all the people said, “Excellent proposition.”

Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal: “Choose for yourselves one ox, and prepare it first. For you are many. And call on the names of your gods, but do not place fire under it.”

And when they had taken an ox, which he had given to them, they prepared it. And they called on the name of Baal, from morning even until midday, saying, “O Baal, heed us.” And there was no voice, nor did anyone respond. And so they leaped upon the altar that they had made.

And when it was now midday, Elijah ridiculed them, saying: “Cry out with a louder voice. For he is a god, and perhaps he is talking, or at an inn, or on a journey, or certainly he may be asleep, and must be awakened.”

Then they cried out with a loud voice, and they cut themselves, in accord with their ritual, with knives and lancets, until they were entirely covered in blood.

Then, after midday had passed, and they were prophesying, the time had arrived when the sacrifice is usually offered. And there was no voice heard, neither did anyone heed or respond to the praying.

Elijah said to all the people, “Draw near to me.” And as the people were drawing near to him, he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down.

And he took twelve stones, in accord with the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”

And he built from the stones an altar to the name of the Lord. And he made a trench for water, like two furrows of plowed land, all around the altar.

And he arranged the wood, and he cut the ox into pieces, and he placed it on the wood.

And he said, “Fill four containers with water, and pour it over the holocaust, and over the wood.” And again, he said, “Do this a second time.” And when they had done it a second time, he said, “Do it also a third time.” And they did so a third time.

And the water was running down around the altar, and the pit of the trench was filled with water.

Elijah’s Prayer

And when it was now time for the holocaust to be offered, the prophet Elijah, drawing near, said: “O Lord, God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, reveal this day that you are the God of Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have acted, in all these things, in accord with your precept.

Heed me, O Lord, heed me, so that this people may learn that you are the Lord God, and that you have converted their heart again.”

Then the fire of the Lord fell down and devoured the holocaust, and the wood, and the stones, and even the dust, and it absorbed the water that was in the trench.

And when all the people had seen it, they fell upon their face, and they said: “The Lord himself is God! The Lord himself is God!”

And Elijah said to them, “Apprehend the prophets of Baal, and do not let even one of them escape.” And when they had apprehended them, Elijah led them down to the torrent Kishon, and he put them to death there.

The LORD Sends Rain

And Elijah said to Ahab “Ascend; eat and drink. For there is the sound of an abundance of rain.”

Ahab ascended, so that he might eat and drink. But Elijah ascended to the top of Carmel, and bending down to the ground, he placed his face between his knees.

And he said to his servant, “Ascend, and gaze out toward the sea.” And when he had ascended, and had contemplated, he said, “There is nothing.” And again, he said to him, “Return seven times.”

And at the seventh time, behold, a little cloud ascended from the sea like the footstep of a man. And he said: “Ascend, and say to Ahab, ‘Yoke your chariot, and descend; otherwise, the rain may prevent you.’ ”

And as he was turning himself this way and that, behold, the heavens were darkened, and there were clouds and wind, and a great rainstorm occurred. And so Ahab, going up, went away to Jezreel.

And the hand of the Lord was upon Elijah. And cinching his waist, he ran before Ahab, until he arrived at Jezreel.(b)

Footnotes

(a)18:10 In the persecution of the Church in the last days, during the second part of the tribulation, the Antichrist and the false prophetess (who is foreshadowed by Jezebel) will seek to kill all true Christians everywhere and will cause all nations to swear an oath against true Christianity. But some will be hidden, as the 100 prophets were hidden.(Conte)

(b)18:46 Elijah was wearing some kind of robe, and when he needed to run, he cinched the lower part of his garment to his belt, so that his legs were more free for running.(Conte)

After many days, the LORD’s word came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain on the earth.”

Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria.

Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly;

for when Jezebel cut off the LORD’s prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets, and hid them fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)

Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land, to all the springs of water, and to all the brooks. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, that we not lose all the animals.”

So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

As Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. He recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”

He answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah is here!’”

He said, “How have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?

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 didn’t find you.

Now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’

It will happen, as soon as I leave you, that the LORD’s Spirit will carry you I don’t 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.

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

Now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here”.’ He will kill me.”

Elijah said, “As the LORD of Armies lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.”

Elijah on Mount Carmel

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

When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”

He answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken the LORD’s commandments and you have followed the Baals.

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.”

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

Elijah came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you waver between the two sides? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” The people didn’t say a word.

Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left as a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred fifty men.

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 dress the other bull, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under it.

You call on the name of your god, and I will call on the LORD’s name. The God who answers by fire, let him be God.” All the people answered, “What you say is good.”

Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves, and dress it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”

They took the bull which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, “Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice, and nobody answered. They leaped about the altar which was made.

At noon, Elijah mocked them, and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is deep in thought, or he has gone somewhere, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he sleeps and must be awakened.”

They cried aloud, and cut themselves in their way with knives and lances until the blood gushed out on them.

When midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the evening offering; but there was no voice, no answer, and nobody paid attention.

Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me!”; and all the people came near to him. He repaired the LORD’s altar that had been thrown down.

Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the LORD’s word came, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”

With the stones he built an altar in the LORD’s name. He made a trench around the altar large enough to contain two seahs

(a)

of seed.

He put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.”

He said, “Do it a second time;” and they did it the second time. He said, “Do it a third time;” and they did it the third time.

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

Elijah’s Prayer

At the time of the evening offering, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.

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

Then the LORD’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust; and it licked up the water that was in the trench.

When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces. They said, “The LORD, he is God! the LORD, he is God!”

Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let one of them escape!” They seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there.

The LORD Sends Rain

Elijah said to Ahab, “Get up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”

So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down on the earth, and put his face between his knees.

He said to his servant, “Go up now and look toward the sea.” He went up and looked, then said, “There is nothing.” He said, “Go again” seven times.

On the seventh time, he said, “Behold, 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.’”

In a little while, the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.

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

Footnotes

(a)18:32 1 seah is about 7 liters or 1.9 gallons or 0.8 pecks