18 1 Elijah is sent to Ahab. 13 Obadiah hideth an hundred Prophets. 40 Elijah killeth all Baal’s prophets. 45 He obtaineth rain.
1 After many days, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the [a]third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.
2 And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab, and there was a great famine in Samaria.
3 And Ahab called Obadiah the governor of his house: (and Obadiah [b]feared God greatly:
4 For when Jezebel destroyed the Prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took an hundred Prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and he fed them with bread and water.)
5 And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all the fountains of water, and unto all the rivers, if so be that we may find grass to save the horses and the mules alive, lest we deprive the land of the beasts.
6 And so they divided the land between them to walk through it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
7 ¶ And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah [c]met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art not thou my lord Elijah?
8 And he answered him, Yea, go tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
9 And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me?
10 As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not here, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, if they had not found thee.
11 And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
12 And when I am gone from thee, the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee into some place that I do not know: so when I come and tell Ahab, if he cannot find thee, then will he kill me: But I thy servant [d]fear the Lord from my youth.
13 Was it not told my lord, what I did when Jezebel slew the Prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of the Lord’s Prophets by fifties in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?
14 And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here, that he may slay me.
15 And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely show [e]myself unto him this day.
16 ¶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 And when Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but [f]thou and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baal.
19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.
20 ¶ So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long [g]halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him, but if Baal be he, then go after him. And the people answered him not a word.
22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I only remain a Prophet of the Lord: but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks, and let them choose the one, and cut him in pieces, and lay him on the wood, but put no fire under, and I will prepare the other bullock, and lay him on the wood, and will put no fire under.
24 Then call ye on the name of your god, and I will call on the Name of the Lord: and then the God that answereth [h]by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered, and said, It is well spoken.
25 And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you a bullock, and prepare him first, (for ye are many) and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.
26 So they took the one bullock that was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning to noon, saying, O Baal, hear us: but there was no voice, nor any to answer: and they [i]leapt upon the altar that was made.
27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a [j]god: either he talketh or pursueth his enemies, or is in his journey, or it may be that he sleepeth, and must be [k]awaked.
28 And they cried loud, and cut themselves as their manner was, with knives and lancers, till the blood gushed out upon them.
29 And when midday was passed, and they had prophesied until the offering of the evening sacrifice, there was neither voice, nor one to answer, nor any that regarded.
30 And Elijah said unto all the people, Come to me. And all the people came to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, (unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, (A)Israel shall be thy name)
32 And with the stones he built an altar in the Name of the Lord: and he made a ditch round about the altar, as great as would contain two [l]measures of seed.
33 And he put the wood in order, and hewed the bullock in pieces, and laid him in the wood:
34 And said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it upon the burnt offering and on the wood. Again he said, Do so again. And they did so the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
35 And the water ran round about the altar: and he [m]filled the ditch with water also.
36 And when they should offer the evening sacrifice, Elijah the Prophet came and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day, that thou art the God of Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy commandment.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, and let this people know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart again [n]at the last.
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 ditch.
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces, and said, The Lord is God, the Lord is God.
40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal, let not [o]a man of them escape: and they took them, and Elijah brought them to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
41 ¶ And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of much rain.
42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink, and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel: and he crouched unto the earth, and put his face between his knees,
43 And said to his servant, Go up now, and look toward the way of the Sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. Again he said, Go again [p]seven times.
44 And at the seventh time he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the Sea like a man’s hand. Then he said, Up, and say unto Ahab, Make ready the chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stay thee not.
45 And [q]in the meanwhile the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Then Ahab went up, and came to Jezreel,
46 And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins, and ran [r]before Ahab till he came to Jezreel.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 18:1 After that he departed from the river Cherith.
- 1 Kings 18:3 God had begun to work his fear in his heart, but had not yet brought him to that knowledge, which is also requisite of the godly: that is, to profess his Name openly.
- 1 Kings 18:7 God pitieth oft times the wicked for the godly’s sake, and causeth Elijah to meet with Obadiah, that the benefit might be known to be granted for God’s children’s sake.
- 1 Kings 18:12 I am none of the wicked persecutors that thou shouldest procure unto me such displeasure, but serve God, and favor his children.
- 1 Kings 18:15 By my presence I will declare that thou hast told him the truth.
- 1 Kings 18:18 The true ministers of God ought not only not to suffer the truth to be unjustly slandered, but to reprove boldly the wicked slanderers without respect of person.
- 1 Kings 18:21 Be constant in religion, and make it not as a thing indifferent, whether ye follow God or Baal, or whether ye serve God wholly or in part, Zeph. 1:5.
- 1 Kings 18:24 By sending down fire from heaven to burn the sacrifice.
- 1 Kings 18:26 As men ravished with some strange spirit.
- 1 Kings 18:27 You esteem him as God.
- 1 Kings 18:27 He mocketh their beastly madness, which think that by any instance or suit, the dead and vile idols can help their worshippers in their necessity.
- 1 Kings 18:32 Hebrew, seahs, which some think contain about three pottles and a third part a piece.
- 1 Kings 18:35 Hereby he declared the excellent power of God, who contrary to nature could make the fire burn even in the water, to the intent they should have none occasion to doubt that he is the only God.
- 1 Kings 18:37 Though God suffer his to run in blindness and error for a time, yet at the length he calleth them home to him by some notorious sign and work.
- 1 Kings 18:40 He commanded them that as they were truly persuaded to confess the only God: so they would serve him with all their power, and destroy the idolaters his enemies.
- 1 Kings 18:43 As God’s spirit moved him to pray, so was he strengthened by the same, that he did not faint, but continued still till he had obtained.
- 1 Kings 18:45 Or, here and there.
- 1 Kings 18:46 He was so strengthened with God’s spirit, that he ran faster than the chariot was able to run.