¹⁹ Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on ^(A)Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, ^(B)and the four hundred prophets of ^[a]Asherah, who ^[b]eat at Jezebel’s table.”

Elijah’s Mount Carmel Victory

²⁰ So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and ^(C)gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. ²¹ And Elijah came to all the people, and said, ^(D)“How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, ^(E)follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. ²² Then Elijah said to the people, ^(F)“I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; ^(G)but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. ²³ Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. ²⁴ Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who ^(H)answers by fire, He is God.”

So all the people answered and said, ^[c]“It is well spoken.”

²⁵ Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”

²⁶ So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, ^[d]hear us!” But there was ^(I)no voice; no one answered. Then they ^[e]leaped about the altar which they had made.

²⁷ And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry ^[f]aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” ²⁸ So they cried aloud, and ^(J)cut themselves, as was their custom, with ^[g]knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. ²⁹ And when midday was past, ^(K)they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was ^(L)no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. ^(M)And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. ³¹ And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, ^(N)“Israel shall be your name.” ³² Then with the stones he built an altar ^(O)in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. ³³ And he ^(P)put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and ^(Q)pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” ³⁴ Then 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 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled ^(R)the trench with water.

³⁶ And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord ^(S)God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, ^(T)let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that ^(U)I have done all these things at Your word.

⁴ Then Abijah stood on Mount ^(A)Zemaraim, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, and said, “Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel: ⁵ Should you not know that the Lord God of Israel ^(B)gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, ^(C)by a covenant of salt? ⁶ Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and ^(D)rebelled against his lord. ⁷ Then ^(E)worthless rogues gathered to him, and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was ^(F)young and inexperienced and could not withstand them. ⁸ And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and with you are the gold calves which Jeroboam ^(G)made for you as gods. ^9 (H)Have you not cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests, like the peoples of other lands, ^(I)so that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of ^(J)things that are not gods? ¹⁰ But as for us, the Lord is our ^(K)God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the priests who minister to the Lord are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties. ^11 (L)And they burn to the Lord every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense; they also set the ^(M)showbread in order on the pure gold table, and the lampstand of gold with its lamps ^(N)to burn every evening; for we keep the command of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken Him. ¹² Now look, God Himself is with us as our ^(O)head, ^(P)and His priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper!”