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 (A)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 (B)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 (C)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, (D)“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 (E)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 (F)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 (G)the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, (H)God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that (I)you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that (J)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 (K)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, (L)“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 (M)the brook Kishon and (N)slaughtered them there.

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Footnotes

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

25 Elijah 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.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

Then they called(A) on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response;(B) no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

27 At 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.”(C) 28 So they shouted louder and slashed(D) themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice.(E) But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.(F)

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar(G) 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.”(H) 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name(I) of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs[a] of seed. 33 He arranged(J) 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(K) of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham,(L) Isaac and Israel, let it be known(M) today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.(N) 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know(O) that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

38 Then the fire(P) 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(Q) and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”(R)

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(S) and slaughtered(T) there.

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Footnotes

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