Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁷ and when he saw him, Ahab shouted, “There you are, the biggest troublemaker in Israel!”

¹⁸ Elijah answered:

You're the troublemaker—not me! You and your family have disobeyed the Lord's commands by worshiping Baal.

¹⁹ Call together everyone from Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. Be sure to bring along the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel's table.

³⁰ Elijah told everyone to gather around him while he repaired the Lord's altar. ^31-32 (A) Then he used twelve stones to build an altar in honor of the Lord. Each stone stood for one of the tribes of Israel, which was the name the Lord had given to their ancestor Jacob. Elijah dug a ditch around the altar, large enough to hold about 14 liters. ³³ He placed the wood on the altar, then they cut the bull into pieces and laid the meat on the wood.

He told the people, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it over the meat and the wood.” After they did this, ³⁴ he told them to do it two more times. They did exactly as he said ³⁵ until finally, the water ran down the altar and filled the ditch.

³⁶ When it was time for the evening sacrifice, Elijah prayed:

Our Lord, you are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Now, prove that you are the God of this nation,^[a] and that I, your servant, have done this at your command. ³⁷ Please answer me, so these people will know that you are the Lord God, and that you will turn their hearts back to you.^[b]

³⁸ The Lord immediately sent fire, and it burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones. It scorched the ground everywhere around the altar and dried up every drop of water in the ditch. ³⁹ When the crowd saw what had happened, they all bowed down and shouted, “The Lord is God! The Lord is God!”

⁴⁰ Just then, Elijah said, “Grab the prophets of Baal! Don't let any of them get away.”

So the people captured the prophets and took them to Kishon River, where Elijah killed every one of them.

Apollos in Ephesus

²⁴ A Jewish man named Apollos came to Ephesus. Apollos had been born in the city of Alexandria. He was a very good speaker and knew a lot about the Scriptures. ²⁵ He also knew much about the Lord's Way,^[a] and he spoke about it with great excitement. What he taught about Jesus was right, but all he knew was John's message about baptism.

²⁶ Apollos started speaking bravely in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him to their home and helped him understand God's Way even better.

²⁷ Apollos decided to travel through Achaia. So the Lord's followers wrote letters, encouraging the followers there to welcome him. After Apollos arrived in Achaia, he was a great help to everyone who had put their faith in the Lord Jesus because of God's gift of undeserved grace. ²⁸ He got into fierce arguments with the Jewish people, and in public he used the Scriptures to prove that Jesus is the Messiah.