| International Standard Version | New International Version |
| 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." | 1After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land." |
| 2So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab, right when the famine in Samaria was most severe. | 2So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria, |
| 3Ahab called for Obadiah, his household supervisor. This man, who feared the LORD very much, | 3and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in 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. | 4While Jezebel was killing off the LORD's prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with 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 had said to Obadiah, "Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our 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. | 6So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another. |
| 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 walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, "Is it really you, my lord Elijah?" |
| 8"I am," he replied. "Go tell your master, 'Look! Elijah!'" | 8"Yes," he replied. "Go tell your master, 'Elijah is here.'" |
| 9But Obadiah replied, "What did I do wrong, that you would put me in a position where Ahab would execute me? | 9"What have I done wrong," asked Obadiah, "that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? |
| 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 surely as the LORD your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. |
| 11But now you're saying 'Go tell your master, "Elijah is here!"' | 11But now you tell me to go to my master and say, 'Elijah is here.' |
| 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! | 12I don't know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn't find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the LORD since 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. | 13Haven't you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred of the LORD's prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. |
| 14Now you're saying, 'Go tell your master, "Elijah's here!"' He's sure to kill me!" | 14And now you tell me to go to my master and say, 'Elijah is here.' 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." | 15Elijah said, "As the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today." |
| 16So Obadiah went out to meet Ahab and reported to him. Then Ahab went to meet Elijah. | 16So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. |
| 17When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab asked him, "Is it really you, you destroyer of Israel?" | 17When he saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of 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. | 18"I have not made trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "But you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the LORD's commands and have followed 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 summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table." |
| 20Ahab sent for the Israelis and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel, | 20So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on 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 went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing. |
| 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? | 22Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only one of the LORD's prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. |
| 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. | 23Get two bulls for us. Let Baal's prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. |
| 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 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." Then all the people said, "What you say is good." |
| 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 said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the 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 the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around 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 began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must 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 shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. |
| 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. | 29Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention. |
| 30Eventually, Elijah told everybody, "Come here!" So everybody approached him, and he repaired the LORD's altar that had been torn down. | 30Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which 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." | 31Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Your name shall be Israel." |
| 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 built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold 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 the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and 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. | 34"Do it again," he said, and they did it again. "Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time. |
| 35The water ran down around the altar and completely filled the trench. | 35The water ran down around the altar and even 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. | 36At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known 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, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." |
| 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 the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also 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 fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD--he is God! The LORD--he is 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. | 40Then Elijah commanded them, "Seize the prophets of Baal. Don't let anyone get away!" They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there. |
| 41After this, Elijah told Ahab, "Get up and have something to eat and drink, because there's the sound of a coming rainstorm." | 41And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain." |
| 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 off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to 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. | 43"Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked. "There is nothing there," he said. Seven times Elijah said, "Go back." |
| 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 reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea." So Elijah said, "Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops 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 grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to 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. | 46The power of the LORD came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel. |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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