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1 KIN G S 1 9
Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How
much longer will you waver, hobbling between
two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him!
But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the
people were completely silent.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only
prophet of the Lord who is left, but Baal has
450 prophets. 23 Now bring two 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 setting fire to
it. I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the
wood on the altar, but not set fire to it. 24 Then
call on the name of your god, and I will call on
the name of the Lord. The god who answers by
setting fire to the wood is the true God!” And all
the people agreed.
25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal,
“You go first, for there are many of you. Choose
one of the bulls, and prepare it and call on the
name of your god. But do not set fire to the
wood.”
26 So they prepared one of the bulls and
placed it on the altar. Then they called on the
name of Baal from morning until noontime,
shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was
no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made.
27 About noontime Elijah began mocking
them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed,
“for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself.* Or maybe he is
away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be
wakened!”
28 So they shouted louder, and following their
normal custom, they cut themselves with knives
and swords until the blood gushed out. 29 They
raved all afternoon until the time of the evening
sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply,
no response.
30 Then Elijah called to the people, “Come
over here!” 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,* 32 and he used the
stones to rebuild the altar in the name of the
Lord. Then he dug a trench around the altar
large enough to hold about three gallons.* 33 He
piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces,
and laid the pieces on the wood.*
Then he said, “Fill four large jars with water,
and pour the water over the offering and the
wood.”
34 After they had done this, he said, “Do the
same thing again!” And when they were finished, he said, “Now do it a third time!” So they
did as he said, 35 and the water ran around the
altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the usual time for offering the evening
sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the
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altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob,* prove today that you are God
in 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, O Lord, are God and that you
have brought them back to yourself.”
38 Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed
down from heaven and burned up the young
bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even
licked up all the water in the trench! 39 And
when all the people saw it, they fell face down
on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—he is
God! Yes, the Lord is God!”
40 Then Elijah commanded, “Seize all the
prophets of Baal. Don’t let a single one escape!”
So the people seized them all, and Elijah took
them down to the Kishon Valley and killed them
there.
Elijah Prays for Rain
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go get something
to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm
coming!”
42 So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah
climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed
low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees.
43 Then he said to his servant, “Go and look
out toward the sea.”
The servant went and looked, then returned
to Elijah and said, “I didn’t see anything.”
Seven times Elijah told him to go and look.
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, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home.
If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’”
45 And soon the sky was black with clouds.
A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and
Ahab left quickly for Jezreel. 46 Then the Lord
gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his
cloak into his belt* and ran ahead of Ahab’s
chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.
Elijah Flees to Sinai
When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel
everything Elijah had done, including
the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal.
2 So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May
the gods strike me and even kill me if by this
time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you
killed them.”
3 Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He
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18:27 Or is busy somewhere else, or is engaged in business.
18:31 Hebrew each of the tribes of the sons of Jacob to whom
the Lord had said, “Your name will be Israel.” 18:32 Hebrew
2 seahs [14.6 liters] of seed. 18:33 Verse 18:34 in the Hebrew
text begins here. 18:36 Hebrew and Israel. The names
“Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the
Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch
and sometimes to the nation. 18:46 Hebrew He bound up
his loins.