Obadiah Meets Elijah

18 Now it happened ^(A)after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and ^(B)I will provide rain on the face of the earth.” ² So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. ³ Ahab summoned Obadiah, ^(C)who was in charge of the household. (Now Obadiah ^[a](D)feared the Lord greatly; ⁴ for ^(E)when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and ^(F)provided them with bread and water.) ⁵ Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the river valleys; perhaps we will find grass and keep the horses and mules alive, and not have to kill some of the cattle.” ⁶ So they divided the land between them to ^[b]survey it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

⁷ Now as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him, ^(G)and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, Elijah my master?” ⁸ And he said to him, “It is I. Go, say to your master, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” ⁹ But he said, “What ^[c]sin have I committed, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab, to put me to death? ^10 (H)As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom to which my master has not sent word to search for you; and whenever they say, ‘He is not here,’ he makes the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you. ¹¹ Yet now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here!”’ ¹² And it will come about when I leave you ^(I)that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to where I do not know; so when I come and inform Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, though I, your servant, have ^[d]feared the Lord from my youth. ^13 (J)Has it not been reported to my master what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, that I hid a hundred ^[e]prophets of the Lord by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water? ¹⁴ Yet now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here”’; he will then kill me!” ¹⁵ Then Elijah said, “^(K)As surely as the Lord of armies lives, before whom I stand, I will certainly present myself to him today.” ¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and informed him; then Ahab went to meet Elijah.

¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, ^(L)Ahab said to him, “Is this you, the cause of disaster to Israel?” ¹⁸ He said, “I have not brought disaster to Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because ^(M)you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and ^(N)you have followed the Baals. ¹⁹ Now then, send orders and gather to me all Israel at ^(O)Mount Carmel, ^(P)together with 450 prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of ^[f](Q)the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

God or Baal on Mount Carmel

²⁰ So Ahab sent orders among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. ²¹ Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “^(R)How long are you going to ^[g]struggle with the two choices? ^(S)If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him so much as a word. ²² Then Elijah said to the people, “I ^(T)alone am left as a prophet of the Lord, while Baal’s prophets are ^(U)450 men. ²³ Now have them give us two oxen; and have them choose the one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. ²⁴ Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and ^(V)the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people replied, “^[h]That is a good idea.”

²⁵ So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose the one ox for yourselves and prepare it first, since there are many of you, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under the ox.” ²⁶ Then they took the ox which ^[i]was given them and they prepared it, and they called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was ^(W)no voice and no one answered. And they ^[j]limped about the altar which ^[k]they had made. ²⁷ And at noon Elijah ridiculed them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, since he is a god; undoubtedly he is attending to business, or is on the way, or is on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep, and will awaken.” ²⁸ So they cried out with a loud voice, and ^(X)cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until blood gushed out on them. ²⁹ When midday was past, they raved ^(Y)until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and ^[l]no one paid attention.

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come forward to me.” So all the people came forward to him. And ^(Z)he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down. ³¹ Then Elijah took twelve stones, corresponding to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “^(AA)Israel shall be your name.” ³² And with the stones he built an altar in ^(AB)the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two ^[m]measures of seed. ^33 (AC)Then he laid out the wood, and he cut the ox in pieces and placed it on the wood. ³⁴ And he said, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time,” so they did it a second time. Then he said, “Do it a third time,” so they did it a third time. ³⁵ The water flowed around the altar, and he also filled the trench with water.

Elijah’s Prayer

³⁶ Then ^(AD)at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached and said, “^(AE)Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that ^(AF)You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant, and that ^(AG)I have done all these things at Your word. ³⁷ Answer me, Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that You, Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back.” ³⁸ Then the ^(AH)fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood, and the stones and the dust; and it licked up the water that was in the trench. ³⁹ When all the people saw this, they fell on their faces; and they said, “^(AI)The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God!” ⁴⁰ Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to ^(AJ)the brook Kishon, ^(AK)and slaughtered them there.

⁴¹ Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.” ⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of ^(AL)Carmel; and he ^(AM)bent down to the earth and put his face between his knees. ⁴³ And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, but he said, “There is nothing.” Yet Elijah said, “Go back” seven times. ⁴⁴ And when he returned the seventh time, he said, “Behold, ^(AN)a cloud as small as a person’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And Elijah said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Harness your chariot horses and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.’” ⁴⁵ Meanwhile the sky became dark with clouds and wind came up, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to ^(AO)Jezreel. ⁴⁶ Then ^(AP)the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and ^(AQ)he ^[n]belted his cloak around his waist and ^[o]outran Ahab ^[p]to Jezreel.

Elijah Flees from Jezebel

19 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, and ^[q](AR)how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ² Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “^(AS)So may the gods do to me and more so, if by about this time tomorrow I do not make your ^[r]life like the ^[s]life of one of them.” ³ And he ^[t]was afraid, and got up and ran for his ^[u]life and came to ^(AT)Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and he left his servant there. ⁴ But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and ^(AU)he asked for himself to die, and said, “Enough! Now, Lord, take my ^[v]life, for I am no better than my fathers.” ⁵ Then he lay down and fell asleep under a broom tree; but behold, there was ^(AV)an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat!” ⁶ And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a round loaf of bread baked on hot coals, and a pitcher of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. ⁷ But the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him, and said, “Arise, eat; because the journey is too long for you.” ⁸ So he arose and ate and drank, and he journeyed in the strength of that food for ^(AW)forty days and forty nights to ^(AX)Horeb, the mountain of God.

Elijah at Horeb

⁹ Then he came there to a cave and spent the night there; and behold, ^(AY)the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ And he said, “^(AZ)I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of armies; for the sons of Israel have abandoned Your covenant, ^(BA)torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And ^(BB)I alone am left; and they have sought to take my life.”

¹¹ So He said, “^(BC)Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And ^(BD)a great and powerful wind was tearing out the mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, ^(BE)a sound of a gentle blowing. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, ^(BF)he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, ^(BG)a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁴ Then he said, “^(BH)I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of armies; for the sons of Israel have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they have sought to take my life.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when you have arrived, ^(BI)you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram. ¹⁶ You shall also anoint ^(BJ)Jehu the son of Nimshi king over Israel; and you shall anoint ^(BK)Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. ¹⁷ And it shall come about that the ^(BL)one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu ^(BM)shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. ^18 (BN)Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not ^(BO)kissed him.”

¹⁹ So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat while he was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah came over to him and threw ^(BP)his cloak on him. ²⁰ Then he left the oxen behind and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please ^(BQ)let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back, for ^[w]what have I done to you?” ²¹ So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them, and ^(BR)cooked their meat with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he got up and followed Elijah and served him.

Ahab Covets Naboth’s Vineyard

21 Now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in ^(A)Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab, the king of Samaria. ² And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “^(B)Give me your vineyard so that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is close beside my house, and I will give you a better vineyard in place of it; if ^[a]you prefer, I will give you what ^[b]it is worth in money.” ³ But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid me ^(C)that I would give you the inheritance of my fathers!” ^4 (D)So Ahab entered his house sullen and furious because of the ^[c]answer that Naboth the Jezreelite had given to him, since he said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned his face away, and ate no ^[d]food.

⁵ But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating ^[e]food?” ⁶ So he said to her, “It is because I was speaking to Naboth the Jezreelite and saying to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you a vineyard in place of it.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” ⁷ Jezebel his wife said to him, “^(E)Do you now ^[f]reign over Israel? Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

^8 (F)So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to ^(G)the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city. ⁹ Now she had written in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people; ¹⁰ and seat two ^(H)worthless men opposite him, and have them testify against him, saying, ‘^(I)You ^[g]cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and ^(J)stone him ^[h]to death.”

Jezebel’s Plot

¹¹ So the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did just as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters which she had sent them. ¹² They ^(K)proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth at the head of the people. ¹³ Then the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him; and the worthless men testified against him, against Naboth, before the people, saying, “Naboth ^[i]cursed God and the king.” ^(L)So they took him outside the city and stoned him ^[j]to death with stones. ¹⁴ Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”

¹⁵ And when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” ¹⁶ When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

¹⁷ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ¹⁸ “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, ^(M)who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. ¹⁹ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “^(N)Have you murdered and also taken possession?”’ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘The Lord says this: “^(O)In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs will lick up your blood, yours as well.”’”

²⁰ Then Ahab said to Elijah, “^(P)Have you found me, enemy of mine?” And he ^[k]answered, “I have found you, ^(Q)because you have given yourself over to do evil in the sight of the Lord. ²¹ Behold, I am bringing disaster upon you, and I ^(R)will utterly sweep you away, and will eliminate from Ahab every male, both ^[l]bond and free in Israel; ²² and ^(S)I will make your house ^(T)like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and because you ^(U)have misled Israel into sin. ²³ The Lord has also spoken of Jezebel, saying, ‘^(V)The dogs will eat Jezebel in the ^[m]territory of Jezreel.’ ^24 (W)The one belonging to Ahab, who dies in the city, the dogs will eat; and the one who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat.”

^25 (X)There certainly was no one like Ahab who gave himself over to do evil in the sight of the Lord, ^[n]because Jezebel his wife incited him. ^26 (Y)He also acted very despicably in following idols, ^(Z)conforming to everything that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord drove out from the sons of Israel.

²⁷ Yet it came about, when Ahab heard these words, that ^(AA)he tore his clothes and put ^[o]on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently. ²⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ²⁹ “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; I will bring the disaster upon his house ^(AB)in his son’s days.”