1 Kings 18:17-39
King James Version
17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.
19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.
20 So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:
24 And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
25 And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.
26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.
28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.
29 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
30 And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. 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, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy 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 measures of seed.
33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also 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 God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, 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 they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.
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1 Kings 18:17-39
Lexham English Bible
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is this you who throws Israel into confusion?” 18 He said, “I did not throw Israel into confusion; rather you and the house of your father have by forsaking the commands of Yahweh when you went after the Baals! 19 So then, send word and assemble all of Israel to me on Mount Carmel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at the table of Jezebel.”
20 So Ahab sent word among the Israelites,[a] and he assembled the prophets to Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah approached to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping over two opinions? If Yahweh is God, go after him; but if Baal, go after him.” But the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of Yahweh, but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men. 23 Let them give us two bulls, and let them choose for themselves one bull, cut him in pieces, and put it on the wood, but don’t let them start a fire on it. I will prepare the other bull and set it on the wood, but I will put no fire on it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh, and it shall be that the god who answers by fire, he is God.”[b] Then all the people answered and said, “The word is good!”
25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are the majority, and call on the name of your god, but don’t set fire under it.” 26 So they took the bull that he allowed to them, prepared it, and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice and there was no answer, so they limped[c] about the altar which they had made. 27 It happened at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god! Perhaps he is meditating, or is using the bathroom,[d] or is on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep and must wake up!” 28 So they called out with a loud voice, and they cut themselves with swords and with spears as was their custom, until the blood poured out over them. 29 It happened as noon passed, they raged until the time of the evening offering, but there was no voice, there was no answer, and no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me,” so all the people came closer to him. He repaired the altar of Yahweh that had been destroyed. 31 Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of God came, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32 With them, he built an altar in the name of Yahweh, and he made a trench which would have held[e] about two seahs of seed, all around the altar. 33 And he arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces, and placed it on the wood.[f] Then he said, “Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34 He said, “Do it again!” They did it again. He said, “Do it a third time!” So they did it a third time. 35 The water went all around the altar, and the trench also was filled with water.
36 It happened at the offering of the evening oblation, Elijah the prophet went near, and he said, “O Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and that I have done all of these things by your words. 37 Answer me, O Yahweh, answer me; that this people may know that you, O Yahweh, are God and that you have turned their hearts back again.” 38 Then the fire of Yahweh fell, and it consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust; and the water which was in the trench it licked up! 39 When all the people saw, they fell on their faces and said, “Yahweh, he is God! Yahweh, he is God!”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 18:20 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- 1 Kings 18:24 Baal is known in Canaanite texts as being the god in control of lightning and fire
- 1 Kings 18:26 That is, moved about the altar in a cultic dance step
- 1 Kings 18:27 Literally “has backed off for himself”
- 1 Kings 18:32 Literally “as the house of”
- 1 Kings 18:33 in the Hebrew Bible, 1 Kings 18:34 begins here
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