Elijah Confronts Ahab

18 ^(A)After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.” ² So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. ³ And Ahab called Obadiah, who was ^(B)over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, ⁴ and ^(C)when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.) ⁵ And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.” ⁶ So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.

⁷ And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” ⁸ And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” ⁹ And he said, “How have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? ^10 (D)As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. ¹¹ And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’ ¹² And as soon as I have gone from you, ^(E)the Spirit of the Lord will carry you I know not where. And so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth. ¹³ Has it not been told my lord what I did ^(F)when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water? ¹⁴ And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here”’; and he will kill me.” ¹⁵ And Elijah said, ^(G)“As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” ¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.

Paul's Joy

^2 (A)Make room in your hearts^[a] for us. ^(B)We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. ³ I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that ^(C)you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. ⁴ I am acting with ^(D)great boldness toward you; ^(E)I have great pride in you; ^(F)I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.

⁵ For even ^(G)when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—^(H)fighting without and fear within. ⁶ But ^(I)God, who comforts the downcast, ^(J)comforted us by the coming of Titus, ⁷ and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. ⁸ For ^(K)even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though ^(L)I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. ⁹ As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but ^(M)because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

¹⁰ For ^(N)godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas ^(O)worldly grief produces death. ¹¹ For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, ^(P)what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. ¹² So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one ^(Q)who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. ¹³ Therefore ^(R)we are comforted.

And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit ^(S)has been refreshed by you all. ¹⁴ For ^(T)whatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you ^(U)was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. ¹⁵ And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers ^(V)the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. ¹⁶ I rejoice, because I have complete ^(W)confidence in you.

¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, ^(A)“Is it you, you ^(B)troubler of Israel?” ¹⁸ And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father's house, because you have ^(C)abandoned the commandments of the Lord and ^(D)followed the Baals. ¹⁹ Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount ^(E)Carmel, and the ^(F)450 prophets of Baal and ^(G)the 400 prophets of Asherah, ^(H)who eat at Jezebel's table.”

The Prophets of Baal Defeated

²⁰ So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. ²¹ And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long ^(I)will you go limping between two different opinions? ^(J)If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. ²² Then Elijah said to the people, ^(K)“I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are ^(L)450 men. ²³ Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. ²⁴ And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who ^(M)answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” ²⁵ Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” ²⁶ And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. ²⁷ And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” ²⁸ And they cried aloud and ^(N)cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. ²⁹ And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of ^(O)the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been ^(P)thrown down. ³¹ Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, ^(Q)“Israel shall be your name,” ³² and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs^[a] of seed. ^33 (R)And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and ^(S)pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” ³⁴ And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. ³⁵ And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.

³⁶ And at the time of ^(T)the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, ^(U)God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that ^(V)you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that ^(W)I have done all these things at your word. ³⁷ Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” ^38 (X)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 trench. ³⁹ And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, ^(Y)“The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” ⁴⁰ And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to ^(Z)the brook Kishon and ^(AA)slaughtered them there.

The Lord Sends Rain

⁴¹ And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” ⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. ^(AB)And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. ⁴³ And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. ⁴⁴ And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, ^(AC)a little cloud like a man's hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’” ⁴⁵ And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to ^(AD)Jezreel. ^46 (AE)And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, ^(AF)and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of ^(AG)Jezreel.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

22 ^(A)Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called ^(B)the Passover. ² And the chief priests and the scribes ^(C)were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.

Judas to Betray Jesus

^3 (D)Then ^(E)Satan entered into ^(F)Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. ⁴ He went away and conferred with the chief priests and ^(G)officers how he might betray him to them. ⁵ And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. ⁶ So he consented and sought an opportunity to ^(H)betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.

The Passover with the Disciples

^7 (I)Then came ^(J)the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. ⁸ So Jesus^[a] sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” ⁹ They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” ¹⁰ He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters ¹¹ and tell the master of the house, ^(K)‘The Teacher says to you, Where is ^(L)the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹² And he will show you ^(M)a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” ¹³ And they went and found it ^(N)just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

Institution of the Lord's Supper

^14 (O)And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ For I tell you I will not eat it^{[b] (P)}until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷ And he took a cup, and ^(Q)when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. ^18 (R)For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine ^(S)until the kingdom of God comes.” ^19 (T)And he took bread, and ^(U)when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ^(V)“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ^(W)“This cup that is poured out for you is ^(X)the new ^(Y)covenant in my blood.^{[c] 21 (Z)}But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is ^(AA)with me on the table. ²² For the Son of Man goes ^(AB)as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” ²³ And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.

Who Is the Greatest?

^24 (AC)A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. ^25 (AD)And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles ^(AE)exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. ^26 (AF)But not so with you. Rather, let ^(AG)the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. ²⁷ For who is the greater, ^(AH)one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But ^(AI)I am among you as the one who serves.

²⁸ “You are those who have stayed with me ^(AJ)in my trials, ²⁹ and ^(AK)I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, ^30 (AL)that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and ^(AM)sit on thrones judging ^(AN)the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

³¹ “Simon, Simon, behold, ^(AO)Satan demanded to have you,^{[d] (AP)}that he might sift you like wheat, ³² but ^(AQ)I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, ^(AR)strengthen your brothers.” ³³ Peter^[e] said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both ^(AS)to prison and ^(AT)to death.” ^34 (AU)Jesus^[f] said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

Scripture Must Be Fulfilled in Jesus

³⁵ And he said to them, ^(AV)“When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” ³⁶ He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. ³⁷ For I tell you that ^(AW)this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ^(AX)‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For ^(AY)what is written about me has its fulfillment.” ³⁸ And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two ^(AZ)swords.” And he said to them, ^(BA)“It is enough.”