Beginning
Elijah Confronts the Prophets of Baal and Asherah
18 After a long time, the word of the Lord came to Elijah. (It was during the third year.) He said, “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain to water the surface of the ground.” 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.
Now the drought was severe in Samaria. 3 Ahab had summoned his servant Obadiah, the palace administrator. Obadiah was devoted to serving[a] the Lord. 4 When Jezebel was exterminating the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and kept them hidden in two caves, fifty in each cave, and he provided food and water for them.
5 Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and all the streams. Maybe we will find enough grass so that we can keep the horses and mules alive, and we will not have to slaughter the cattle.” 6 In order to cover the whole land, they divided it between the two of them. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
7 While Obadiah was on the way, Elijah suddenly met him. Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is that you, my lord Elijah?”
8 Elijah answered him, “Yes, it is. Go and tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”
9 But Obadiah said, “How have I sinned that you would hand your servant over to Ahab for him to kill me? 10 As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is no country or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ then he made that kingdom and nation swear that they could not find you. 11 But now you are telling me, ‘Go, tell your master that Elijah is here.’ 12 As soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to some place I do not know. When I go to tell Ahab and he then does not find you, he will kill me, even though your servant has been devoted to the Lord since my youth.
13 “Has my lord not been told what I did when Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord? I kept one hundred of the prophets of the Lord hidden in two caves, fifty in each, and I provided food and water for them. 14 But now you are saying, ‘Go and tell your master that Elijah is here.’”
15 But Elijah said to him, “As surely as the Lord of Armies lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to him today.” 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and he informed him. Then Ahab came to meet Elijah.
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, the one who brings trouble on Israel?”
18 Elijah said, “It is not I who have brought trouble on Israel, but rather you and your father’s house, because you abandoned the Lord’s commandments and followed the Baals. 19 But now gather all Israel before me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” 20 So Ahab sent word to all the people of Israel, and he assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.
21 Then Elijah said to all the people, “How long will you stagger around on two crutches? If the Lord is God, follow him. If Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a single word.
22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only one left of the Lord’s prophets, but the prophets of Baal total four hundred fifty men. 23 Provide two bulls for us. Let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it up and place it on the firewood, but they are not to light the fire. I will prepare the other bull and place it on the firewood, but I will not light the fire. 24 Then you will call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers with fire, he is God.”
All the people said, “This proposal is good.”
25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull, and you go first because 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 which had been given to them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, “Baal! Answer us!” But there was not a sound. No one answered. So they staggered[b] around the altar which they had made.
27 When noon came, Elijah mocked them: “Shout louder! He is a god, isn’t he? He may be deep in thought or busy or on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep and will wake up!” 28 So they cried out with a loud voice, and according to their practice they cut themselves with daggers and spears until their blood flowed. 29 After noon, they kept up a prophetic frenzy until the time of the evening sacrifice, but there was no sound. No one answered. There was no response.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” So they came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come and had proclaimed, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 He built the stones into an altar in the name of the Lord. Around it he made a trench big enough to hold about twenty-five pounds[c] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood.
Then he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the sacrifice and on the wood.” 34 Then he said, “Do it again.” So they did it again. Then he said, “Do it a third time.” So they did it a third time. 35 The water flowed all around the altar. It even filled the trench.
36 When the time of the evening sacrifice had arrived, Elijah the prophet stood up and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and that I have done all these things by your word. 37 Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you are turning their hearts back to you.”
38 Fire from the Lord fell on the sacrifice and on the wood, the stones, and the dirt. It even licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they fell on their knees and said, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!”
40 Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one of them escape!” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon River and slaughtered them there.
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for I hear the sound of a heavy rainstorm.” 42 So Ahab went to eat and drink, but Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. He bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. 43 He said to his servant, “Go up and look toward the sea.”
So his servant went up and looked, and he said, “There is nothing.”
But seven times Elijah told him, “Go again.”
44 On the seventh time the servant said, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.”
Then Elijah said to him, “Go up and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down so that the rain does not stop you.’”
45 Meanwhile, the skies got dark with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab got into his chariot and went to Jezre’el. 46 But the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he hiked up his garments around his waist and ran ahead of Ahab until he came to Jezre’el.
Elijah Flees to the Wilderness
19 Then Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, including the fact that he had killed all their prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to say to Elijah, “May the gods punish me severely and even double it, if by this time tomorrow I have not made your life like one of theirs.”
3 Elijah was afraid,[d] and he ran for his life. He went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and he left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. There he sat down under a broom tree, where he prayed that he would die. He said, “I’ve had enough, Lord. Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 5 Then he lay down and went to sleep under the broom tree.
Suddenly an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”
6 Then he looked around, and near his head there was a loaf of bread baking on coals and a jar of water, so he ate and drank, and then he lay down again.
7 Then the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, because the journey is too much for you.”
8 So he got up and ate and drank. Then, with the strength gained from that food, he walked for forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 He came to a cave and spent the night there.
Then the word of the Lord suddenly came to him, saying, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
10 He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of Armies, but the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking to take my life.”
11 Then the Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is passing by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains and shattered rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.
After the wind came an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
12 After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a soft, whispering voice.
13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak, and he went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. Then a voice came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
14 He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of Armies, but the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking to take my life.”
15 Then the Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came and go to the Wilderness of Damascus. When you get there, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16 You will also anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah as prophet in your place. 17 Whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill, and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. 18 But I have preserved in Israel seven thousand whose knees have not bent to Baal and whose lips have not kissed him.”
Elijah Calls Elisha
19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. Elisha was doing the plowing with twelve teams of oxen in front of him, and he himself was driving the twelfth team. Elijah crossed over to him and threw his cloak over him. 20 Then Elisha left the oxen and ran after Elijah. He said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother good-bye! Then I will follow you.”
Then Elijah said, “Go back! For what have I done to you?”
21 So Elisha turned back from following him. Then he took the team of oxen and slaughtered them. Using the equipment from the oxen as fuel, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he got up, followed Elijah, and served him.
Ben Hadad Lays Siege to Samaria
20 Then Ben Hadad king of Aram, along with thirty-two kings, mobilized his whole army with their horses and chariots. He went up and laid siege to Samaria and fought against it. 2 He sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel in the city, 3 who said to him, “This is what Ben Hadad says. Your silver and your gold are mine. The best of your wives and your children are mine.”
4 The king of Israel answered, “Just as you have said, my lord the king, I and all that I own are yours.”
5 The messengers came a second time and said, “This is what Ben Hadad says. I did indeed send word to you, saying, ‘You must give me your silver and your gold and your wives and your children.’ 6 So at this time tomorrow, I will send my servants to you, and they will search your palace and the houses of your officials, and they will gather up everything that you value and take it away.”
7 The king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land. “See how this man is looking for trouble. When he sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, I did not refuse him.”
8 All the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen and do not agree to this!”
9 So he told Ben Hadad’s messengers, “Say this to your lord the king. Everything which you demanded of your servant the first time, I will do, but this thing I cannot do.” So the messengers brought his message back to the king.
10 Then Ben Hadad sent word to him: “May the gods punish me severely and even double it, if the dust left from Samaria will be enough to give a handful to each of those who follow me.”
11 The king of Israel answered, “Tell him that someone who is putting his armor on should not boast like someone who is taking it off.”
12 When he heard this message, Ben Hadad and his kings were in their tents drinking. He said to his servants, “Get ready!” and they took up positions against the city.
13 But then, at that time, a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says. Do you see all of this huge horde?[e] Look, I am giving it into your hands today. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
14 Then Ahab said, “Through whom will this happen?”
The prophet answered, “This is what the Lord says. It will be through the young officers from the provinces.”
He said, “Who will start the battle?”
He said, “You will.”
15 So Ahab inspected the young officers from the provinces and found that there were two hundred thirty-two. After inspecting them he inspected the whole army. The Israelites numbered seven thousand men. 16 They marched out at noon while Ben Hadad was getting drunk in his tent, along with the thirty-two kings who were supporting him. 17 So the young officers from the provinces marched out first. Ben Hadad sent out scouts, who told him, “Men are marching out of Samaria!”
18 Ben Hadad said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive! Even if they have come out for war, take them alive!” 19 But when the young officers from the provinces and the army that was with them marched out, 20 each of them killed his opponent. Then the Arameans fled, and Israel pursued them. Ben Hadad king of Aram fled on a horse with his charioteers.[f]
21 The king of Israel marched out and attacked the horses and chariots. He inflicted a great defeat on Aram.
Ben Hadad Attacks Aphek
22 Afterward the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, “Strengthen your position and consider carefully what you should do, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you.”
23 The king of Aram’s officials said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they defeated us. But if we fight them on the plain, we will certainly defeat them. 24 Now do this. Remove the kings from their positions as field commanders, and replace them with military officers. 25 Then raise an army like the army you lost—horse for horse and chariot for chariot. Then if we fight them on the plain, we will certainly defeat them.” The king listened to them and did what they recommended.
26 When spring came, Ben Hadad mobilized the army of Aram and went up to Aphek to wage war against Israel. 27 The Israelites also were mobilized and given provisions, and they went out to confront the Arameans. The Israelites camped across from them, like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans filled the land.
28 Then the man of God approached and said to the king of Israel, “This is what the Lord says. Because the Arameans said, ‘The Lord is a god of the hills, but not a god of the valleys,’ I will give all of this huge horde into your hands. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
29 So they camped opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day the battle was joined by both armies. The Israelites struck down the Arameans—one hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day. 30 The survivors fled to the city of Aphek, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the survivors. Ben Hadad also fled and went into the city, to an inner room.
Ahab Spares Ben Hadad
31 Then his officials said to him, “Look, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. So let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Maybe he will spare your life.”
32 So they wrapped sackcloth around their waists and put ropes on their heads, and they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant, Ben Hadad, says, ‘Please spare my life.’”
Ahab said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”[g]
33 The men took this as a good omen, so they quickly latched on to what he said and responded, “Ben Hadad is your brother.”
Then Ahab said, “Go get him.” So Ben Hadad came out to him, and Ahab brought him up into his chariot.
34 Ben Hadad said to him, “I will return the cities that my father took from your father, and you may put your own trading centers in Damascus, just as my father put them in Samaria.”
Then Ahab said, “Under these terms, I release you.” So he made a treaty[h] with Ben Hadad and let him go.
God’s Judgment on Ahab
35 Then by the word of the Lord one of the sons of the prophets[i] said to his neighbor, “Strike me, please.” But the man refused to strike him. 36 So he said to him, “Because you did not listen to the voice of the Lord, when you leave me, a lion will kill you.” When he left him, a lion found him and killed him.
37 Then he found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” The man struck him and wounded him. 38 The prophet went and stood before the king at the road and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.
39 When the king was passing by, the prophet shouted to the king, “Your servant went out in the middle of the battle. Then someone brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man. If you can’t account for him, then it will be your life for his life, or you will have to pay a talent of silver.’ 40 But while your servant was busy doing this and that, all of a sudden the man was gone!”
Then the king of Israel said to him, “That is your sentence. You have pronounced it on yourself.”
41 Then he quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets.
42 He said to the king, “This is what the Lord says. Because you set a man free, whom I had devoted to destruction, it will be your life for his life and your people for his people.” 43 The king of Israel headed for his palace sullen and angry, and he arrived in Samaria.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.