Elijah Predicts a Drought

17 ^[a]Now Eli′jah the Tishbite, of Tishbe^[b] in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” ² And the word of the Lord came to him, ³ “Depart from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is east of the Jordan. ⁴ You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” ⁵ So he went and did according to the word of the Lord; he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. ⁶ And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. ⁷ And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

The Widow of Zarephath

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him, ⁹ “Arise, go to Zar′ephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” ¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zar′ephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” ¹¹ And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” ¹² And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a cruse; and now, I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” ¹³ And Eli′jah said to her, “Fear not; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord the God of Israel, ‘The jar of meal shall not be spent, and the cruse of oil shall not fail, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” ¹⁵ And she went and did as Eli′jah said; and she, and he, and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶ The jar of meal was not spent, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by Eli′jah.

Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son

¹⁷ After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; and his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. ¹⁸ And she said to Eli′jah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!” ¹⁹ And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her bosom, and carried him up into the upper chamber, where he lodged, and laid him upon his own bed. ²⁰ And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, hast thou brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?” ²¹ Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s soul come into him again.” ²² And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Eli′jah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. ²³ And Eli′jah took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Eli′jah said, “See, your son lives.” ²⁴ And the woman said to Eli′jah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

Elijah’s Message to Ahab

18 After many days the word of the Lord came to Eli′jah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.” ² So Eli′jah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samar′ia. ³ And Ahab called Obadi′ah, who was over the household. (Now Obadi′ah revered the Lord greatly; ⁴ and when Jez′ebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadi′ah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) ⁵ And Ahab said to Obadi′ah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys; perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.” ⁶ So they divided the land between them to pass through it; Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadi′ah went in another direction by himself.

⁷ And as Obadi′ah was on the way, behold, Eli′jah met him; and Obadi′ah recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is it you, my lord Eli′jah?” ⁸ And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Eli′jah is here.’” ⁹ And he said, “Wherein have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? ¹⁰ As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom whither my lord has not sent to seek you; and when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. ¹¹ And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Eli′jah is here.”’ ¹² And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you whither I know not; and so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have revered the Lord from my youth. ¹³ Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jez′ebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord’s prophets by fifties in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? ¹⁴ And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Eli′jah is here”’; and he will kill me.” ¹⁵ And Eli′jah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” ¹⁶ So Obadi′ah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Eli′jah.

¹⁷ When Ahab saw Eli′jah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” ¹⁸ And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel; but you have, and your father’s house, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and followed the Ba′als. ¹⁹ Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Ba′al^[c] and the four hundred prophets of Ashe′rah, who eat at Jez′ebel’s table.”

Elijah’s Triumph over the Priests of Baal

²⁰ So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel, and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. ²¹ And Eli′jah came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Ba′al, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. ²² Then Eli′jah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord; but Ba′al’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. ²³ Let two bulls be given to us; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; and I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, and put no fire to it. ²⁴ And you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” ²⁵ Then Eli′jah said to the prophets of Ba′al, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” ²⁶ And they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Ba′al from morning until noon, saying, “O Ba′al, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped about the altar which they had made. ²⁷ And at noon Eli′jah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is musing, or he has gone aside, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” ²⁸ And they cried aloud, and 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 the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice; no one answered, no one heeded.

³⁰ Then Eli′jah 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 thrown down; ³¹ Eli′jah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “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 measures of seed. ³³ 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 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 round about the altar, and filled the trench also with water.

³⁶ And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Eli′jah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and 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 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that thou, O Lord, art God, and that thou hast turned their hearts back.” ³⁸ 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 they said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” ⁴⁰ And Eli′jah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Ba′al; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them; and Eli′jah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there.

The Drought Ends

⁴¹ And Eli′jah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” ⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Eli′jah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees. ⁴³ And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again seven times.” ⁴⁴ And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising out of the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’” ⁴⁵ And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezre′el. ⁴⁶ And the hand of the Lord was on Eli′jah; and he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezre′el.

Micaiah Predicts Failure

18 Now Jehosh′aphat had great riches and honor; and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. ² After some years he went down to Ahab in Samar′ia. And Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him, and induced him to go up against Ra′moth-gil′ead. ³ Ahab king of Israel said to Jehosh′aphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ra′moth-gil′ead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.”

⁴ And Jehosh′aphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” ⁵ Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to battle against Ra′moth-gil′ead, or shall I forbear?” And they said, “Go up; for God will give it into the hand of the king.” ⁶ But Jehosh′aphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” ⁷ And the king of Israel said to Jehosh′aphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micai′ah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil.” And Jehosh′aphat said, “Let not the king say so.” ⁸ Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micai′ah the son of Imlah.” ⁹ Now the king of Israel and Jehosh′aphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes; and they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samar′ia; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹⁰ And Zedeki′ah the son of Chena′anah made for himself horns of iron, and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” ¹¹ And all the prophets prophesied so, and said, “Go up to Ra′moth-gil′ead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

¹² And the messenger who went to summon Micai′ah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets^[a] with one accord are favorable to the king; let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” ¹³ But Micai′ah said, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.” ¹⁴ And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micai′ah, shall we go to Ra′moth-gil′ead to battle, or shall I forbear?” And he answered, “Go up and triumph; they will be given into your hand.” ¹⁵ But the king said to him, “How many times shall I adjure you that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” ¹⁶ And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” ¹⁷ And the king of Israel said to Jehosh′aphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” ¹⁸ And Micai′ah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left; ¹⁹ and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ra′moth-gil′ead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. ²⁰ Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ ²¹ And he said, ‘I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go forth and do so.’ ²² Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets; the Lord has spoken evil concerning you.”

²³ Then Zedeki′ah the son of Chena′anah came near and struck Micai′ah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?” ²⁴ And Micai′ah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.” ²⁵ And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micai′ah, and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Jo′ash the king’s son; ²⁶ and say, ‘Thus says the king, Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with scant fare of bread and water, until I return in peace.’” ²⁷ And Micai′ah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!”

Defeat and Death of Ahab

²⁸ So the king of Israel and Jehosh′aphat the king of Judah went up to Ra′moth-gil′ead. ²⁹ And the king of Israel said to Jehosh′aphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went into battle. ³⁰ Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.” ³¹ And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehosh′aphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him; and Jehosh′aphat cried out, and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him, ³² for when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. ³³ But a certain man drew his bow at a venture, and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate; therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn about, and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” ³⁴ And the batle grew hot that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening; then at sunset he died.

19 Jehosh′aphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. ² But Jehu the son of Hana′ni the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehosh′aphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord. ³ Nevertheless some good is found in you, for you destroyed the Ashe′rahs out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.”

The Reforms of Jehoshaphat

⁴ Jehosh′aphat dwelt at Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people, from Beer-sheba to the hill country of E′phraim, and brought them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers. ⁵ He appointed judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, ⁶ and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the Lord; he is with you in giving judgment. ⁷ Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed what you do, for there is no perversion of justice with the Lord our God, or partiality, or taking bribes.”

⁸ Moreover in Jerusalem Jehosh′aphat appointed certain Levites and priests and heads of families of Israel, to give judgment for the Lord and to decide disputed cases. They had their seat at Jerusalem. ⁹ And he charged them: “Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord, in faithfulness, and with your whole heart: ¹⁰ whenever a case comes to you from your brethren who live in their cities, concerning bloodshed, law or commandment, statutes or ordinances, then you shall instruct them, that they may not incur guilt before the Lord and wrath may not come upon you and your brethren. Thus you shall do, and you will not incur guilt. ¹¹ And behold, Amari′ah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the Lord; and Zebadi′ah the son of Ish′mael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all the king’s matters; and the Levites will serve you as officers. Deal courageously, and may the Lord be with the upright!”

Another Dream

Colloquy of Friends and Bride