Elijah and Obadiah
1After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” 2So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.
Now the famine was severe in Samaria, 3and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord. 4While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) 5Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.” 6So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.
7As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?”
8“Yes,” he replied. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’ ”
9“What have I done wrong,” asked Obadiah, “that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? 10As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. 11But now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ 12I don’t know where the Spirit of the Lord may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the Lord since my youth. 13Haven’t you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord? I hid a hundred of the Lord’s prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. 14And now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ He will kill me!”
15Elijah said, “As the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today.”
Elijah on Mount Carmel
16So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
18“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. 19Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
22Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24Then 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 is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
25Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
30Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs18:32 That is, probably about 24 pounds or about 11 kilograms of seed. 33He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
34“Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
40Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
41And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” 42So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
43“Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
“There is nothing there,” he said.
Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
44The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”
So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’ ”
45Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
以利亞戰勝巴力的先知
1旱災持續了三年。一天，耶和華對以利亞說：「你去見亞哈。我要降雨在地上。」 2以利亞就去見亞哈。當時，撒瑪利亞正遭受嚴重饑荒。 3-4亞哈的宮廷總管俄巴底非常敬畏耶和華，耶洗別屠殺耶和華的眾先知時，他救了一百名先知，把他們分別藏在兩個山洞裡，每洞五十人，並供應他們飲食。亞哈召見俄巴底， 5對他說：「我們去各地的水泉和河谷，也許可以找到草救活騾馬，不致喪失牲畜。」 6於是，亞哈和俄巴底分頭到不同地區尋找。
7俄巴底在路上遇見了以利亞，俄巴底認出了他，就俯伏在地上說：「你是我主以利亞嗎？」 8以利亞回答說：「我就是，你去告訴你主人我在這裡。」 9俄巴底說：「僕人犯了什麼罪，你竟叫我去亞哈那裡送死？ 10我憑你的上帝——永活的耶和華起誓，王派人到各邦各國尋找你，任何邦國若說你不在那裡，王就要他們起誓說真的找不到你。 11現在，你叫我去告訴我主人你在這裡， 12我離開你以後，不知道耶和華的靈會把你帶到哪裡。如果我去告訴亞哈，他來了卻找不到你，必定會殺我。但僕人自幼就敬畏耶和華。 13耶洗別屠殺耶和華的眾先知時，我把一百名先知分別藏在兩個山洞裡，每洞五十人，供應他們飲食。我主沒有聽說這事嗎？ 14現在，你要我去告訴我主人你在這裡，這是讓我去送死。」 15以利亞說：「我事奉的是永活的萬軍之耶和華，我憑祂起誓，我今天必出現在亞哈面前。」
16於是，俄巴底去稟告亞哈，亞哈就來找以利亞， 17見到以利亞後，就說：「給以色列帶來災禍的就是你嗎？」 18以利亞回答說：「給以色列帶來災禍的不是我，而是你和你父親家，因為你們拋棄耶和華的誡命，去隨從巴力。 19現在，你快派人去召集所有的以色列人到迦密山來見我，把四百五十名巴力的先知和耶洗別所供養的四百名亞舍拉的先知也帶來。」
20亞哈便派人把以色列人和那些先知招聚到迦密山。 21以利亞走到眾人面前說：「你們三心二意要到什麼時候呢？如果耶和華是上帝，你們當跟從祂；如果巴力是上帝，你們就跟從他吧！」他們都默不作聲。 22以利亞繼續對眾人說：「耶和華的先知現在只剩下我一人，巴力的先知卻有四百五十人。 23請給我們牽兩頭公牛來，巴力的先知可以選一頭，切成塊放在柴上，但不要點火；我會把另一頭公牛預備好，放在柴上，也不點火。 24然後，你們求告你們神明的名字，我求告耶和華的名，那聽禱告降下火來的就是上帝。」眾人非常贊同他的主意。 25以利亞對巴力的先知說：「你們人數眾多，可先選一頭公牛預備好，然後呼求你們的神明，但不可點火。」 26他們取了公牛預備好，然後從早上到正午不斷地呼求巴力的名：「巴力啊，求你應允我們！」可是毫無動靜。他們又繞著自己築的祭壇跳個不停。
27中午時分，以利亞譏諷他們說：「喊大聲點吧，它肯定是神明！也許它在沉思冥想，也許太忙了，也許出遊了，也許睡著了，需要人叫醒它！」 28於是，他們更加大聲呼求，並按自己的風俗用刀槍自割自刺，直到身體流血。 29過了中午，他們仍不斷地狂呼亂叫，直到獻晚祭的時候，仍然毫無動靜，沒有半點反應。
30以利亞把眾人召集到自己跟前，他重修已遭毀壞的耶和華的祭壇， 31拿了十二塊石頭分別代表雅各子孫的十二支派。耶和華曾經對雅各說：「你的名字要叫以色列。」 32以利亞就奉耶和華的名用那些石頭築了一座祭壇，又在壇的周圍挖了一條能盛十五升穀種的溝， 33然後在壇上擺好柴，把公牛切成塊放在柴上，對眾人說：「你們去打四桶水倒在祭物和柴上。」他們照做了。 34以利亞吩咐他們再倒一次，他們又倒了一次。以利亞又吩咐他們倒第三次，他們就倒了第三次。 35水流到壇的四周，溝裡也灌滿了。
36到了獻晚祭的時候，以利亞先知走到壇前禱告：「亞伯拉罕、以撒、以色列的上帝耶和華啊，求你今天讓這些人知道你是以色列的上帝，我是你的僕人，我是按你的命令做這一切事。 37耶和華啊，求你應允我，應允我，好讓眾人知道你耶和華是上帝，你要使他們回心轉意。」 38於是，耶和華降火燒盡了祭物、木柴、石頭、塵土，甚至燒乾了溝裡的水。 39眾人看見這情景，都俯伏在地高呼：「耶和華是上帝！耶和華是上帝！」 40以利亞對他們說：「抓住巴力的先知，別放走一個人！」眾人就抓住他們，以利亞把他們帶到基順河邊，在那裡殺了他們。
上帝降雨
41以利亞對亞哈說：「你去吃喝吧，因為已傳來大雨聲。」 42亞哈就去吃喝。以利亞上到迦密山頂，跪在地上，臉伏在雙膝之間。 43他吩咐僕人：「你去向海的方向觀看。」僕人就去觀看，然後說：「什麼也沒有。」以利亞又讓他去觀看，前後共七次。 44第七次，僕人說：「我看見一朵手掌那麼大的雲從海裡升起來了。」以利亞便吩咐他：「你去告訴亞哈，叫他套車下山，免得被雨阻擋。」 45霎時間，天上烏雲密佈，狂風大作，下起大雨。亞哈坐著馬車回耶斯列。 46耶和華的手按在以利亞身上，他就束上腰帶，飛奔回城，在亞哈之前到達耶斯列的城門。
