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a long ime, the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year: “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.
Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 3 Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of his palace. (Obadiah was a man who greatly feared the Lord. 4 When Jezebel was killing off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men to a cave, and provided them with food and water.) 5 Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the wadis. Perhaps we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive, and not lose all the animals.” 6 So they divided the land between them to explore it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.
7 Now while Obadiah was walking along, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell face down, and said, “Is that you, my lord Elijah?”
8 “Yes, it is I,” he answered. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here’.”
9 But Obadiah said, “What sin have I committed, that you would hand over your servant to Ahab to put me to death? 10 As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to search for you. Then whenever they would say, ‘He is not here’, he made that kingdom or nation swear an oath that they could not find you. 11 And now you say, ‘Go, say to your lord: “Elijah is here!” ’ 12 But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you off I don’t know where. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. Yet I, your servant, have feared the Lord from my youth. 13 Surely my lord has heard what my did when Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord. I hid a hundred men of the Lord’s prophets, fifty to a cave, and provided them with food and water. 14 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord: “Elijah is here!” ’. He will kill me.”
15 Then Elijah said, “As the Lord of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to Ahab today.”
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”:
18 “ I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “It is you and your father’s house that have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. 19 Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20 So Ahab sent orders to all the people of Israel, and gathered the prophets at Mount Carmel. 21 Then Elijah approached all the people and said, came near Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you waiver between two opinions? 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 am the only prophet of the Lord left, but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23 Let two young bulls be given to us. Let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, but let them put no fire under it. I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood but not light the fire under it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The God who answers by fire, He indeed is God.”
All the people answered, “What you say is good” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Then call on the name of your god, but don’t light the fire under it.” 26 So they took the bull that was given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal answer us!” But there was no sound; no one answered. Then they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to mock them. He said, “Shout louder! Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is thinking it over, or he is busy, or he is away on a journey.” 28 So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and spears, as was their custom, until blood gushed out over them. 29 Midday passed, and they continued raving on until the time of the evening sacrifice. But there was no sound, no one answered, and no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near me.” So all the people came to him, and 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 had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32 Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 Next, he arranged the wood, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.”
34 Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time.
And then he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 So the water ran all around the altar, and he even filled the trench with water also.
36 At the time of sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came forward and said,
“O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and I have done all these things at Your command. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so that this people will know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You are turning their hearts back again.”
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the soil, and it also licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and cried, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”
40 Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let even a single one of them escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Wadi and slaughtered there.
41 Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of heavy rain approaching.” 42 So Ahab went to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the summit of Carmel. He bowed down to the ground, and put his face between his knees.
43 Then he said to his servant, “Go up and look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked.
“There is nothing there,” he said.
Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
44 On the seventh time, the servant reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea.”
Then Elijah said, “Go and say to Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you’.”
45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind sprang up, and a heavy downpour started. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46 The power of the Lord came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak under his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.