⁵ “See, I will send the prophet Elijah^(A) to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.^{(B) 6} He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children,^(C) and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike^(D) the land with total destruction.”^(E)

¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.^{(A) 15} Whoever has ears, let them hear.^(B)

¹⁰ The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

Ahab Becomes King of Israel

²⁹ In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. ³⁰ Ahab son of Omri did more^(A) evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. ³¹ He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married^(B) Jezebel daughter^(C) of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal^(D) and worship him. ³² He set up an altar^(E) for Baal in the temple^(F) of Baal that he built in Samaria. ³³ Ahab also made an Asherah pole^(G) and did more^(H) to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

³⁴ In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun.^(I)

Elijah Announces a Great Drought

17 Now Elijah^(J) the Tishbite, from Tishbe^[a] in Gilead,^(K) said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain^(L) in the next few years except at my word.”

Elijah Fed by Ravens

² Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: ³ “Leave here, turn eastward and hide^(M) in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. ⁴ You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens^(N) to supply you with food there.”

⁵ So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. ⁶ The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning^(O) and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath

⁷ Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. ⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him: ⁹ “Go at once to Zarephath^(P) in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow^(Q) there to supply you with food.” ¹⁰ So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?”^{(R) 11} As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

¹² “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil^(S) in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

¹³ Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain^(T) on the land.’”

¹⁵ She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. ¹⁶ For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

¹⁷ Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. ¹⁸ She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin^(U) and kill my son?”

¹⁹ “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. ²⁰ Then he cried^(V) out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” ²¹ Then he stretched^(W) himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

²² The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. ²³ Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother^(X) and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know^(Y) that you are a man of God^(Z) and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”^(AA)

²⁰ So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.^{(A) 21} Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver^(B) between two opinions? If the Lord^(C) is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.

²² Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left,^(D) but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.^{(E) 23} Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. ²⁴ Then you call^(F) on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord.^(G) The god who answers by fire^(H)—he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

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^(I) on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response;^(J) 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.”^{(K) 28} So they shouted louder and slashed^(L) 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.^(M) But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.^(N)

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

³⁸ Then the fire^(X) 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^(Y) and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”^(Z)

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^(AA) and slaughtered^(AB) 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.^(AC)

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^(AD) the servant reported, “A cloud^(AE) 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^(AF) started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.^(AG)

² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven^(A) has come near.”