Beginning

Elijah’s Word to Ahab

18 After many days, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go show yourself to Ahab. And I will send rain upon the earth.” ² So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the time without food was very hard in Samaria. ³ And Ahab called Obadiah who was the boss over his house. (Now Obadiah had much fear of the Lord. ⁴ For when Jezebel destroyed the men who spoke for the Lord, Obadiah took 100 of these men and hid them by fifties in a cave. And he fed them with bread and water.) ⁵ Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the wells of water and to all the valleys. It may be that we will find grass and keep the horses and donkeys alive, and not lose some of the animals. ⁶ So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went one way by himself. And Obadiah went another way by himself.

⁷ As Obadiah was on the way, Elijah met him. Obadiah knew who he was, and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” ⁸ He answered, “It is I. Go and tell your owner, ‘See, Elijah is here.’” ⁹ Obadiah said, “What sin have I done? Why are you giving your servant into the hand of Ahab to be killed? ¹⁰ As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation where the king has not sent men to look for you. And when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made the nation prove that they could not find you. ¹¹ Now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your owner, “See, Elijah is here.” ‘ ¹² And after I have left you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you where I do not know. So I will go and tell Ahab, and he will not be able to find you. Then he will kill me. But I your servant have honored the Lord since I was young. ¹³ Have you not been told what I did when Jezebel killed the men who spoke for the Lord? I hid 100 men of the Lord by fifties in a cave. And I gave them bread and water. ¹⁴ Now you are saying, ‘Go and tell your owner, “See, Elijah is here.”’ He will kill me.” ¹⁵ Elijah said, “As the Lord of All lives, before Whom I stand, I will show myself to Ahab today.”

¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah. ¹⁷ When he saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, the one who brings trouble to Israel?” ¹⁸ Elijah said, “I have not brought trouble to Israel. But you and your father’s house have. Because you have turned away from the laws of the Lord, and have followed the false gods of Baal. ¹⁹ So now call together all Israel to me at Mount Carmel. And gather together 450 men who speak for Baal and 400 men who speak for the false goddess Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

Elijah on Mount Carmel

²⁰ So Ahab sent news among all the people of Israel. And he brought the men who speak for the false gods together at Mount Carmel. ²¹ Elijah came near all the people and said, “How long will you be divided between two ways of thinking? If the Lord is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, then follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word. ²² Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only man left who speaks for God. But here are 450 men who speak for Baal. ²³ Bring two bulls to us. Let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it up and put it on the wood. But put no fire under it. I will make the other bull ready and lay it on the wood. And I will put no fire under it. ²⁴ Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The God Who answers by fire, He is God.” All the people answered and said, “That is a good idea.”

²⁵ So Elijah said to the men who spoke for Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and make it ready first. For there are many of you. Then call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” ²⁶ So they took the bull which was given to them and made it ready. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was no voice. No one answered. They jumped and danced around the altar they had made. ²⁷ At noon Elijah made fun of them. He said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god. It might be that he is in deep thought or has turned away. He could be away traveling. Or it may be that he is asleep and needs to have someone wake him.” ²⁸ So they cried with a loud voice. They cut themselves as they had done in the past, with swords and spears until blood poured out on them. ²⁹ When noon passed, they cried out until the time for giving the evening gift. But there was no voice. No one answered. No one listened.

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he built again the altar of the Lord which had been torn down. ³¹ Then Elijah took twelve stones, by the number of the families of Jacob’s sons. The word of the Lord had come to Jacob’s sons, saying, “Israel will be your name.” ³² With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a ditch around the altar, big enough to hold twenty-two jars of seed. ³³ Then he set the wood in place. He 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 gift and on the wood.” ³⁴ Then he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. He said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. ³⁵ The water flowed around the altar, and filled the ditch also. ³⁶ Then the time came for giving the evening gift. Elijah the man who spoke for God came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that You are God in Israel. Let it be known that I am Your servant, and have done all these things at Your word. ³⁷ Answer me, O Lord. Answer me so these people may know that You, O Lord, are God. Turn their hearts to You again.” ³⁸ Then the fire of the Lord fell. It burned up the burnt gift, the wood, the stones and the dust. And it picked up the water that was in the ditch. ³⁹ All the people fell on their faces when they saw it. They said, “The Lord, He is God. The Lord, He is God.” ⁴⁰ Then Elijah said to them, “Take hold of the men who speak for Baal. Do not let one of them get away.” So they took hold of them. And Elijah brought them down to the river Kishon, and killed them there.

The Rains Come

⁴¹ Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink. For there is the sound of much rain.” ⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel. He got down on the ground and put his face between his knees. ⁴³ And he said to his servant, “Go up now and look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” Seven times Elijah said, “Go again.” ⁴⁴ The seventh time, he said, “I see a cloud as small as a man’s hand coming up from the sea.” Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Make your war-wagon ready and go down, so that the rain does not stop you.’” ⁴⁵ Soon the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was much rain. And Ahab went to Jezreel. ⁴⁶ Then the hand of the Lord was on Elijah. He pulled his clothing up under his belt and ran before Ahab to Jezreel.

Elijah Gets Away from Jezebel

19 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done. He told her how Elijah had killed with the sword all the men who spoke for Baal. ² Then Jezebel sent news to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” ³ Elijah was afraid. He got up and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba of Judah, he left his servant there. ⁴ But he himself traveled for a day into the desert. He came and sat down under a juniper tree. There he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough now, O Lord. Take my life. For I am not better than my fathers.” ⁵ When he lay down and slept under the juniper tree, an angel touched him. The angel said to him, “Get up and eat.” ⁶ Then Elijah looked and saw by his head a loaf of bread made ready on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. ⁷ The angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him, and said, “Get up and eat. Because this traveling is too hard for you.” ⁸ So he got up and ate and drank. And he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

⁹ He came to a cave, and stayed there. The word of the Lord came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ Elijah said, “I have been very careful to serve the Lord, the God of All. For the people of Israel have turned away from Your agreement. They have torn down Your altars and have killed with the sword the men who speak for You. Only I am left, and they want to kill me.”

God Speaks to Elijah

¹¹ So the angel said, “Go and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And the Lord passed by. A strong wind tore through the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind the earth shook. But the Lord was not in the shaking of the earth. ¹² After the earth shook, a fire came. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a sound of gentle blowing. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he put his coat over his face, and went out and stood at the opening of the hole. Then a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁴ He said, “I have been very careful to serve the Lord, the God of All. For the people of Israel have turned away from Your agreement. They have torn down Your altars. And they have killed with the sword the men who speak for You. Only I am left, and they want to kill me.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the desert of Damascus. When you get there, set apart Hazael to be the king of Syria. ¹⁶ Set apart Nimshi’s son Jehu to be the king of Israel. And set apart Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah to speak for God in your place. ¹⁷ Jehu will kill the one who gets away from the sword of Hazael. Elisha will kill the one who gets away from the sword of Jehu. ¹⁸ But I will leave 7,000 in Israel whose knees have not bowed down in front of Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

God Calls Elisha

¹⁹ So Elijah left there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat. Elisha was plowing with twenty-four bulls, and was with the last two. Elijah passed by him and threw his coat on him. ²⁰ And he left the bulls and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and mother. Then I will follow you.” And Elijah said to him, “Return. For what have I done to you?” ²¹ So Elisha returned from following him. He took his two bulls and killed them. Then he boiled their flesh over a fire, burning the wood cross-pieces the bulls used to pull the load. And he gave the meat to the people, and they ate. Then Elisha got up and followed Elijah and served him.

Syria Fights Samaria

20 Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his army together. Thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and war-wagons. And he went up against Samaria in battle. ² Then he sent men with news to the city of Ahab king of Israel, saying, “This is what Ben-hadad says. ³ ’Your silver and gold are mine. Your most beautiful wives and children are mine also.’” ⁴ The king of Israel answered, “It is as you say, my lord, O king. I am yours, and all that I have.” ⁵ Then the men returned and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says. ‘I sent word to you saying, “You must give me your silver and gold and your wives and children.” ⁶ But I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time. They will look through your house and the houses of your servants. And they will take away all that is of worth to you.’”

⁷ Then the king of Israel called all the leaders of the land. He said to them, “Look and see how this man is looking for trouble. He sent to me for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold. And I did not say no to him.” ⁸ Then all the leaders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen or agree.” ⁹ So Ahab said to Benhadad’s men, “Tell my lord the king, ‘I will do all that you first asked of your servant, but this I cannot do.’” The men left and returned again with news for him. ¹⁰ Ben-hadad sent word to him saying, “May the gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be enough to fill the hands of all the people who follow me.” ¹¹ The king of Israel answered and said, “Tell him, ‘Let not him who dresses in battle-clothes talk with pride like him who takes them off.’” ¹² When Ben-hadad heard these words, he was drinking with the kings in the tents. He said to his servants, “Go to your places.” So they went to their place of battle against the city. ¹³ Then a man who spoke for God came to Ahab king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says. ‘Have you seen all these many people? See, I will give them to you today. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” ¹⁴ Ahab said, “By whom?” So he told him, “The Lord says, ‘By the young servants of the leaders of the lands you rule.’” Then Ahab said, “Who will start the battle?” And he answered, “You.” ¹⁵ Then Ahab called together the young servants of the leaders of the nations, 232 men. And he called together all the people of Israel, 7,000 men.

¹⁶ They went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the tents with the thirty-two kings who helped him. ¹⁷ The young servants of the leaders of the lands went out first. Ben-hadad sent men out to get news, and they told him, “Men have come out from Samaria.” ¹⁸ Then he said, “If they have come out for peace or for war, take them alive.”

¹⁹ So the young servants of the leaders of the lands went out from the city, and the army which followed them. ²⁰ Each one killed his man. The Syrians ran away, and Israel went after them. And Ben-hadad king of Syria got away on a horse with horsemen. ²¹ The king of Israel went out and destroyed the horses and war-wagons. He killed many of the Syrians. ²² Then the man who spoke for God came to the king of Israel, and said to him, “Go and make yourself strong. Look and see what you have to do. For the first of next year the king of Syria will come to fight against you.”

The Syrians Lose Again

²³ Now the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Israel’s gods are gods of the mountains. So they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and for sure we will be stronger than they. ²⁴ And do this. Take each of the kings from his place, and put captains in their places. ²⁵ Gather together an army like the army you lost, horse for horse, and war-wagon for war-wagon. Then we will fight against Israel in the plain. For sure we will be stronger than they.” And Ben-hadad listened to them and did so.

²⁶ When the new year came, Benhadad called together the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. ²⁷ The people of Israel were called together and given what they needed, and went to meet them. The people of Israel gathered in front of them like two little flocks of goats. But the Syrians filled the country. ²⁸ Then a man who spoke for God came to the king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says. ‘The Syrians have said, “The Lord is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys.” So I will give all these many people to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” ²⁹ So they stayed beside each other for seven days. On the seventh day the battle was fought. And the people of Israel killed 100,000 Syrian foot soldiers in one day. ³⁰ But the rest ran away into the city of Aphek. And the wall fell on 27,000 men who were left. Ben-hadad ran away and came to a room in the city.

³¹ His servants said to him, “Now see, we have heard that the kings of the family of Israel are kings who show kindness. Let us dress in cloth made from hair and put ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. It might be that he will save your life.” ³² So they dressed in cloth made from hair and put ropes on their heads, and went to the king of Israel. They said to him, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘I beg you, let me live.’” Ahab said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.” ³³ Now the men were watching for something special to happen. They were quick to catch his word, and said, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.” Then Ahab said, “Go and bring him.” So Ben-hadad came out to him, and Ahab took him up into the war-wagon. ³⁴ Ben-hadad said to him, “I will return to you the cities which my father took from your father. And you will make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.” Ahab said, “I will let you go with this agreement.” So he made an agreement with him and let him go.

A Man of God Speaks

³⁵ Now a certain son of the men who spoke for God said to another by the word of the Lord, “Hit me.” But the man would not hit him. ³⁶ Then he said to him, “Because you have not listened to the voice of the Lord, as soon as you have left me, a lion will kill you.” And as soon as he had left him, a lion found him and killed him. ³⁷ Then he found another man and said, “Hit me.” And the man hit him, and hurt him. ³⁸ So the man of God left, and waited for the king by the way. He tied a cloth over his eyes so no one would know him. ³⁹ As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out to the battle. A soldier turned and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Keep this man. If he is missing for any reason, you will pay for his life with your own. Or else you must pay a man’s weight in silver.’ ⁴⁰ But while your servant was doing things here and there, the man got away.” The king of Israel said to him, “So you must be punished. You yourself have decided it.” ⁴¹ In a hurry the man took the cloth away from his eyes. And the king of Israel saw that he was one of the men who speak for God. ⁴² The man said to him, “This is what the Lord says. ‘You have let the man go whom I had given to be destroyed. So you will pay for his life with your own. And your people will pay for his people.’” ⁴³ So the king of Israel went home sad and angry, and came to Samaria.