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 (A)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, (B)“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 (C)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 (D)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 (E)the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, (F)God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that (G)you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that (H)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 (I)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, (J)“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 (K)the brook Kishon and (L)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. (M)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, (N)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 (O)Jezreel. 46 (P)And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, (Q)and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of (R)Jezreel.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 18:32 A seah was about 7 quarts or 7.3 liters

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar(A) of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah 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.”(B) 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name(C) of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs[a] of seed. 33 He arranged(D) 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. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

36 At the time(E) of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham,(F) Isaac and Israel, let it be known(G) today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.(H) 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know(I) that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

38 Then the fire(J) 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.

39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate(K) and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”(L)

40 Then 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(M) and slaughtered(N) there.

41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” 42 So 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.(O)

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.”

44 The seventh time(P) the servant reported, “A cloud(Q) 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.’”

45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain(R) started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.(S) 46 The power(T) of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt,(U) he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 18:32 That is, probably about 24 pounds or about 11 kilograms