1 Kings 18:20-40
World English Bible
20 So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together to Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you waver between the two sides? If Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”
The people didn’t say a word.
22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left as a prophet of Yahweh; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred fifty men. 23 Let them therefore give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under; and I will dress the other bull, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under it. 24 You call on the name of your god, and I will call on Yahweh’s name. The God who answers by fire, let him be God.”
All the people answered, “What you say is good.”
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves, and dress it first; for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”
26 They took the bull which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, “Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice, and nobody answered. They leaped about the altar which was made. 27 At noon, Elijah mocked them, and said, “Cry aloud; for he is a god. Either he is deep in thought, or he has gone somewhere, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he sleeps and must be awakened.”
28 They cried aloud, and cut themselves in their way with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29 When midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the evening offering; but there was no voice, no answer, and nobody paid attention.
30 Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me!”; and all the people came near to him. He repaired Yahweh’s altar that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom Yahweh’s word came, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in Yahweh’s name. He made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two seahs[a] of seed. 33 He put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood.” 34 He said, “Do it a second time;” and they did it the second time. He said, “Do it a third time;” and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
36 At the time of the evening offering, Elijah the prophet came near, and said, “Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Hear me, Yahweh, hear me, that this people may know that you, Yahweh, are God, and that you have turned their heart back again.”
38 Then Yahweh’s fire fell, and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces. They said, “Yahweh, he is God! Yahweh, he is God!”
40 Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let one of them escape!”
They seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 18:32 1 seah is about 7 liters or 1.9 gallons or 0.8 pecks
1 Kings 18:20-40
International Standard Version
Elijah Defeats the Prophets of Baal
20 Ahab sent for the Israelis and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel, 21 where Elijah approached all the people and asked them, “How long will you keep hesitating[a] between both sides? If the Lord is God, go after him. If Baal, go after him.”
But the people didn’t say a word.
22 So Elijah told the people, “I’m the only one left over as a prophet of the Lord, am I? But Baal’s prophets number 450 men? 23 So let them provide two oxen. They can choose one ox for themselves. Cut it up, lay it on top of some wood, but don’t set fire to it. I will prepare the other ox and lay it on top of some wood, and I won’t set fire to it. 24 Then you can call on the name of your god, and I’ll call on the name of the Lord. Let the God who answers by fire be our God!”
“That’s a good idea!” all the people shouted.
25 So Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose an ox for yourselves and you prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but don’t set fire to the offering.”
26 So they took the ox that was given to them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from early morning until noon. “Baal! Answer us!” they cried. But there was no response. Nobody answered. So they kept on dancing[b] around the altar that they had made.
27 Starting about noon, Elijah began to tease them:
“Shout louder!
“He’s a god, so maybe he’s busy.
“Maybe he’s relieving himself.
“Maybe he’s busy someplace.
“Maybe he’s taking a nap and somebody needs to wake him up.”
28 So the prophets of Baal[c] cried even louder and slashed themselves with swords and lances until their blood gushed out all over them, as was their custom. 29 They kept on raving right through midday and until it was time to offer the evening sacrifice, but there was still no response. Nobody answered, and nobody paid attention.
30 Eventually, Elijah told everybody, “Come here!” So everybody approached him, and he repaired the Lord’s altar that had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes of Jacob’s descendants, to whom the message from the Lord had come that “Israel is to be your name.” 32 So Elijah used the stones to build an altar to the name of the Lord. But then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two measures[d] of seed. 33 Then he laid the wood in order, cut the bull into pieces, and laid them on top of the wood.
“Fill four pitchers with water,” he ordered. “Then pour them out on the burnt offering and the wood.”
34 “Do it a second time,” he ordered. So they did it a second time.
“Do it a third time,” he said. So they did it a third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and completely filled the trench.[e]
Elijah’s Prayer and God’s Answer by Fire
36 As the time for the evening offering arrived, Elijah the prophet approached and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I, your servant, have done all of this in obedience to your word. 37 Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people may know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning back their hearts again.”
38 Right then the Lord’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, the dust, and even the water that was in the trench! 39 When all the people saw what had happened, they fell flat on their faces and cried out “The Lord is God! The Lord is God!”
40 But Elijah said, “Arrest the prophets of Baal. Don’t let even one of them get away.” So the people[f] seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi[g] Kishon and executed them there.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 18:21 Lit. dancing; or limping
- 1 Kings 18:26 Or limping
- 1 Kings 18:28 Lit. So they
- 1 Kings 18:32 Lit. seahs; or hold four gallons; i.e. a trench encircling the altar and wide enough that a container holding about four gallons could be laid inside it
- 1 Kings 18:35 Lit. trench with water
- 1 Kings 18:40 Lit. So they
- 1 Kings 18:40 I.e. a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times
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