1 Kings 18 – NIVUK & NIRV

New International Version – UK

1 Kings 18:1-46

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 recognised 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 worshipped 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 that was given to 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 travelling. 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 round it large enough to hold two seahs18:32 That is, probably 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 towards 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 rainstorm came on 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.

New International Reader’s Version

1 Kings 18:1-46

Elijah and Obadiah

1It was now three years since it had rained. A message came to Elijah from the Lord. He said, “Go. Speak to Ahab. Then I will send rain on the land.” 2So Elijah went to speak to Ahab.

There wasn’t enough food in Samaria. The people there were very hungry. 3Ahab had sent for Obadiah. He was in charge of Ahab’s palace. Obadiah had great respect for the Lord. 4Ahab’s wife Jezebel had been killing off the Lord’s prophets. So Obadiah had hidden 100 prophets in two caves. He had put 50 in each cave. He had supplied them with food and water. 5Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land. Go to all the valleys and springs of water. Maybe we can find some grass there. It will keep the horses and mules alive. Then we won’t have to kill any of our animals.” 6So they decided where each of them would look. Ahab went in one direction. Obadiah went in another.

7As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him. He bowed down to the ground. He said, “My master Elijah! Is it really you?”

8“Yes,” he replied. “Go and tell your master Ahab, ‘Elijah is here.’ ”

9“What have I done wrong?” asked Obadiah. “Why are you handing me over to Ahab to be put to death? 10My master has sent people to look for you everywhere. There isn’t a nation or kingdom where he hasn’t sent someone to look for you. Suppose a nation or kingdom would claim you weren’t there. Then Ahab would make them give their word that they couldn’t find you. And that’s just as sure as the Lord your God is alive. 11But now you are telling me to go to my master. You want me to say, ‘Elijah is here.’ 12But the Spirit of the Lord might carry you away when I leave you. Then I won’t know where you are. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he’ll kill me. But I’ve worshiped the Lord ever since I was young. 13My master, haven’t you heard what I did? Jezebel was killing the Lord’s prophets. But I hid 100 of them in two caves. I put 50 in each cave. I supplied them with food and water. 14And now you are telling me to go to my master Ahab. You want me to say to him, ‘Elijah is here.’ Ahab will kill me!”

15Elijah said, “I serve the Lord who rules over all. You can be sure that he lives. And you can be just as sure that I will speak to Ahab today.”

Elijah on Mount Carmel

16Obadiah went back to Ahab. He told Ahab that Elijah wanted to see him. So Ahab went to where Elijah was. 17When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you? You are always stirring up trouble in Israel.”

18“I haven’t made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have turned away from the Lord’s commands. You have followed gods that are named Baal. 19Now send for people from all over Israel. Tell them to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the 450 prophets of the god named Baal. Also bring the 400 prophets of the female god named Asherah. All of them eat at Jezebel’s table.”

20So Ahab sent that message all through Israel. He gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21Elijah went there and stood in front of the people. He said, “How long will it take you to make up your minds? If the Lord is the one and only God, worship him. But if Baal is the one and only God, worship him.”

The people didn’t say anything.

22Then Elijah said to them, “I’m the only one of the Lord’s prophets left. But Baal has 450 prophets. 23Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves. Let them cut it into pieces. Then let them put it on the wood. But don’t let them set fire to it. I’ll prepare the other bull. I’ll put it on the wood. But I won’t set fire to it. 24Then you pray to your god. And I’ll pray to the Lord. The god who answers by sending fire down is the one and only God.”

Then all the people said, “What you are saying is good.”

25Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls. There are many of you. So prepare your bull first. Pray to your god. But don’t light the fire.” 26So they prepared the bull they had been given.

They prayed to Baal from morning until noon. “Baal! Answer us!” they shouted. But there wasn’t any reply. No one answered. Then they danced around the altar they had made.

27At noon Elijah began to tease them. “Shout louder!” he said. “I’m sure Baal is a god! Perhaps he has too much to think about. Or maybe he has gone to the toilet. Or perhaps he’s away on a trip. Maybe he’s sleeping. You might have to wake him up.” 28So they shouted louder. They cut themselves with swords and spears until their blood flowed. That’s what they usually did when things really looked hopeless. 29It was now past noon. The prophets of Baal continued to prophesy with all their might. They did it until the time came to offer the evening sacrifice. But there wasn’t any reply. No one answered. No one paid any attention.

30Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” So they went to him. He rebuilt the altar of the Lord. It had been torn down. 31Elijah got 12 stones. There was one for each tribe in the family line of Jacob. The Lord’s message had come to Jacob. It had said, “Your name will be Israel.” 32Elijah used the stones to build an altar to honor the Lord. He dug a ditch around it. The ditch was large enough to hold 24 pounds of seeds. 33He arranged the wood for the fire. He cut the bull into pieces. He placed the pieces on the wood. Then he said to some of the people, “Fill four large jars with water. Pour it on the offering and the wood.” So they did.

34“Do it again,” he said. So 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. It even filled the ditch.

36When it was time to offer the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward. He prayed, “Lord, you are the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. Today let everyone know that you are God in Israel. Let them know I’m your servant. Let them know I’ve done all these things because you commanded me to. 37Answer me. Lord, answer me. Then these people will know that you are the one and only God. They’ll know that you are turning their hearts back to you again.”

38The fire of the Lord came down. It burned up the sacrifice. It burned up the wood and the stones and the soil. It even dried up the water in the ditch.

39All the people saw it. Then they fell down flat with their faces toward the ground. They cried out, “The Lord is the one and only God! The Lord is the one and only God!”

40Then Elijah commanded them, “Grab the prophets of Baal. Don’t let a single one of them get away!” So they grabbed them. Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley. There he had them put to death.

41Elijah said to Ahab, “Go. Eat and drink. I can hear the sound of a heavy rain.” 42So Ahab went off to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel. He bent down toward the ground. Then he put his face between his knees.

43“Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. So he went up and looked.

“I don’t see anything there,” he said.

Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

44The seventh time the servant said, “I see a cloud. It’s as small as a man’s hand. It’s coming up over the sea.”

Elijah said, “Go to Ahab. Tell him, ‘Tie your chariot to your horse. Go down to Jezreel before the rain stops you.’ ”

45Black clouds filled the sky. The wind came up, and a heavy rain began to fall. Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46The power of the Lord came on Elijah. He tucked his coat into his belt. And he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.