| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1Quite some time later—three years later!—this message from the LORD came to Elijah: "Go visit Ahab, and I'll send some rain to the surface of the ground." | 1Some time later, in the third year of the famine, the LORD told Elijah, "Go, make an appearance before Ahab, so I may send rain on the surface of the ground." |
| 2So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab, right when the famine in Samaria was most severe. | 2So Elijah went to make an appearance before Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. |
| 3Ahab called for Obadiah, his household supervisor. This man, who feared the LORD very much, | 3So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who supervised the palace. (Now Obadiah was a very loyal follower of the LORD. |
| 4had taken 100 prophets and had hidden them by fifties in a cave, providing them with food and water when Jezebel was trying to destroy the LORD's prophets. | 4When Jezebel was killing the LORD's prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them in two caves in two groups of fifty. He also brought them food and water.) |
| 5Ahab had instructed Obadiah, "Go throughout the land to all of the water springs and to all of the valleys. Maybe we'll find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive. Also, maybe we won't have to kill some of our cattle." | 5Ahab told Obadiah, "Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grazing areas so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to kill some of the animals." |
| 6So they divided the land between them so they could conduct their survey. Ahab went off by himself in one direction and Obadiah went off by himself in the other. | 6They divided up the land between them; Ahab went one way and Obadiah went the other. |
| 7While Obadiah was on the road, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him and bowed down with his face to the ground. "It's you, isn't it, my master Elijah?" | 7As Obadiah was traveling along, Elijah met him. When he recognized him, he fell facedown to the ground and said, "Is it really you, my master, Elijah?" |
| 8"I am," he replied. "Go tell your master, 'Look! Elijah!'" | 8He replied, "Yes, go and say to your master, 'Elijah is back.'" |
| 9But Obadiah replied, "What did I do wrong, that you would put me in a position where Ahab would execute me? | 9Obadiah said, "What sin have I committed that you are ready to hand your servant over to Ahab for execution? |
| 10As surely as the LORD your God lives, there isn't a nation or kingdom where my master hasn't tried to find you. Whenever they would say 'He isn't here,' he forced that kingdom or nation to swear that they hadn't seen you. | 10As certainly as the LORD your God lives, my master has sent to every nation and kingdom in an effort to find you. When they say, 'He's not here,' he makes them swear an oath that they could not find you. |
| 11But now you're saying 'Go tell your master, "Elijah is here!"' | 11Now you say, 'Go and say to your master, "Elijah is back."' |
| 12As soon as I've left you, the Spirit of the LORD will carry you off to I don't know where! Then when I go tell Ahab and he can't find you, he'll kill me, even though I have been your servant and have feared the LORD since I was young! | 12But when I leave you, the LORD's spirit will carry you away so I can't find you. If I go tell Ahab I've seen you, he won't be able to find you and he will kill me. That would not be fair, because your servant has been a loyal follower of the LORD from my youth. |
| 13Hasn't anyone told you, my master, what I did when Jezebel was killing the LORD's prophets? I hid 100 of the LORD's prophets by fifties in a cave and provided food and water for them. | 13Certainly my master is aware of what I did when Jezebel was killing the LORD's prophets. I hid one hundred of the LORD's prophets in two caves in two groups of fifty and I brought them food and water. |
| 14Now you're saying, 'Go tell your master, "Elijah's here!"' He's sure to kill me!" | 14Now you say, 'Go and say to your master, "Elijah is back,"' but he will kill me." |
| 15But Elijah promised him, "As the LORD of the Heavenly Armies lives, in whose presence I stand, I will appear to Ahab today." | 15But Elijah said, "As certainly as the LORD who rules over all lives (whom I serve), I will make an appearance before him today." |
| 16So Obadiah went out to meet Ahab and reported to him. Then Ahab went to meet Elijah. | 16When Obadiah went and informed Ahab, the king went to meet Elijah. |
| 17When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab asked him, "Is it really you, you destroyer of Israel?" | 17When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is it really you, the one who brings disaster on Israel?" |
| 18But Elijah replied, "I'm no destroyer of Israel. But you and your ancestor's household have been doing that, because you have abandoned the LORD's commandments and have followed the Baals. | 18Elijah replied, "I have not brought disaster on Israel. But you and your father's dynasty have, by abandoning the LORD's commandments and following the Baals. |
| 19So go gather all of Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. Bring along 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah who are funded at Jezebel's expense." | 19Now send out messengers and assemble all Israel before me at Mount Carmel, as well as the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah whom Jezebel supports. |
| 20Ahab sent for the Israelis and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel, | 20Ahab sent messengers to all the Israelites and had the prophets assemble at Mount Carmel. |
| 21where Elijah approached all the people and asked them, "How long will you keep hesitating between both sides? If the LORD is God, go after him. If Baal, go after him." But the people didn't say a word. | 21Elijah approached all the people and said, "How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? If the LORD is the true God, then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!" But the people did not say a word. |
| 22So Elijah told the people, "I'm the only one left over as a prophet of the LORD, am I? But Baal's prophets number 450 men? | 22Elijah said to them: "I am the only prophet of the LORD who is left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal. |
| 23So let them provide two oxen. They can choose one ox for themselves. Cut it up, lay it on top of some wood, but don't set fire to it. I will prepare the other ox and lay it on top of some wood, and I won't set fire to it. | 23Let them bring us two bulls. Let them choose one of the bulls for themselves, cut it up into pieces, and place it on the wood. But they must not set it on fire. I will do the same to the other bull and place it on the wood. But I will not set it on fire. |
| 24Then you can call on the name of your god, and I'll call on the name of the LORD. Let the God who answers by fire be our God!" "That's a good idea!" all the people shouted. | 24Then you will invoke the name of your god, and I will invoke the name of the LORD. The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God." All the people responded, "This will be a fair test." |
| 25So Elijah told the prophets of Baal, "Choose an ox for yourselves and you prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but don't set fire to the offering." | 25Elijah told the prophets of Baal, "Choose one of the bulls for yourselves and go first, for you are the majority. Invoke the name of your god, but do not light a fire." |
| 26So they took the ox that was given to them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from early morning until noon. "Baal! Answer us!" they cried. But there was no response. Nobody answered. So they kept on dancing around the altar that they had made. | 26So they took a bull, as he had suggested, and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "Baal, answer us." But there was no sound and no answer. They jumped around on the altar they had made. |
| 27Starting about noon, Elijah began to tease them: "Shout louder! "He's a god, so maybe he's busy. "Maybe he's relieving himself. "Maybe he's busy someplace. "Maybe he's taking a nap and somebody needs to wake him up." | 27At noon Elijah mocked them, "Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened." |
| 28So the prophets of Baal cried even louder and slashed themselves with swords and lances until their blood gushed out all over them, as was their custom. | 28So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual, mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood. |
| 29They kept on raving right through midday and until it was time to offer the evening sacrifice, but there was still no response. Nobody answered, and nobody paid attention. | 29Throughout the afternoon they were in an ecstatic frenzy, but there was no sound, no answer, and no response. |
| 30Eventually, Elijah told everybody, "Come here!" So everybody approached him, and he repaired the LORD's altar that had been torn down. | 30Elijah then told all the people, "Approach me." So all the people approached him. He repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down. |
| 31Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes of Jacob's descendants, to whom the message from the LORD had come that "Israel is to be your name." | 31Then Elijah took twelve stones, corresponding to the number of tribes that descended from Jacob, to whom the LORD had said, "Israel will be your new name." |
| 32So Elijah used the stones to build an altar to the name of the LORD. But then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two measures of seed. | 32With the stones he constructed an altar for the LORD. Around the altar he made a trench large enough to contain two seahs of seed. |
| 33Then he laid the wood in order, cut the bull into pieces, and laid them on top of the wood. "Fill four pitchers with water," he ordered. "Then pour them out on the burnt offering and the wood." | 33He arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood. |
| 34"Do it a second time," he ordered. So they did it a second time. "Do it a third time," he said. So they did it a third time. | 34Then he said, "Fill four water jars and pour the water on the offering and the wood." When they had done so, 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. |
| 35The water ran down around the altar and completely filled the trench. | 35The water flowed down all sides of the altar and filled the trench. |
| 36As the time for the evening offering arrived, Elijah the prophet approached and said, "LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I, your servant, have done all of this in obedience to your word. | 36When it was time for the evening offering, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and prayed: "O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. |
| 37Answer me, LORD! Answer me so that this people may know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning back their hearts again." | 37Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are the true God and that you are winning back their allegiance." |
| 38Right then the LORD's fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, the dust, and even the water that was in the trench! | 38Then fire from the LORD fell from the sky. It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench. |
| 39When all the people saw what had happened, they fell flat on their faces and cried out "The LORD is God! The LORD is God!" | 39When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, "The LORD is the true God! The LORD is the true God!" |
| 40But Elijah said, "Arrest the prophets of Baal. Don't let even one of them get away." So the people seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon and executed them there. | 40Elijah told them, "Seize the prophets of Baal! Don't let even one of them escape!" So they seized them, and Elijah led them down to the Kishon Valley and executed them there. |
| 41After this, Elijah told Ahab, "Get up and have something to eat and drink, because there's the sound of a coming rainstorm." | 41Then Elijah told Ahab, "Go on up and eat and drink, for the sound of a heavy rainstorm can be heard." |
| 42So Ahab got up to get something to eat and drink while Elijah went back up to the top of Mount Carmel, where he bowed low to the ground and placed his face between his knees. | 42So Ahab went on up to eat and drink, while Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel. He bent down toward the ground and put his face between his knees. |
| 43Then he told his young servant, "Go and look toward the sea." So he went and looked out to sea. "Nothing there," he said. But Elijah told him to go back seven times. | 43He told his servant, "Go on up and look in the direction of the sea." So he went on up, looked, and reported, "There is nothing." Seven times Elijah sent him to look. |
| 44On the seventh look, he said, "Look! There's a cloud, a small one, about the size of a man's hand. It's coming up out of the sea!" "Get up and find Ahab!" Elijah said. "Tell him, 'Mount your chariot and ride down the mountain so the storm doesn't stop you.'" | 44The seventh time the servant said, "Look, a small cloud, the size of the palm of a man's hand, is rising up from the sea." Elijah then said, "Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up the chariots and go down, so that the rain won't overtake you.'" |
| 45A little while later, the sky turned black with storm clouds and winds, and there was a heavy shower. So Ahab rode off to Jezreel. | 45Meanwhile the sky was covered with dark clouds, the wind blew, and there was a heavy rainstorm. Ahab rode toward Jezreel. |
| 46After Ahab had left, the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his mantle into his belt and outran Ahab in a race to the city gate of Jezreel. | 46Now the LORD energized Elijah with power; he tucked his robe into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel. |
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