1 Kings 17 - 18
A Widow Sustains Elijah
17Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of 1,athe settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “bAs Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, surely cthere shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2Then the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, 3“Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is 1east of the Jordan. 4“And it will be that you will drink of the brook, and aI have commanded the ravens to sustain you there.” 5So he went and did according to the word of Yahweh, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is 1east of the Jordan. 6And the ravens were bringing him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. 7Now it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
8Then the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, 9“Arise, go to aZarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and remain there; behold, bI have commanded a widow there to sustain you.” 10So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and ahe called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a 1jar, that I may drink.” 11So she went to get it, and he called to her and said, “Please get me a piece of bread in your hand.” 12But she said, “aAs Yahweh your God lives, bI have no 1bread, only a handful of flour in the 2bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering 3a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and cdie.” 13Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from 1it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. 14“For thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘The 1bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil 2be empty, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the face of the earth.’” 15So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16The 1bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil 2become empty, according to the word of Yahweh which He spoke by the hand of Elijah.
Yahweh Returns Life to the Widow’s Son
17Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18So she said to Elijah, “aWhat do I have to do with you, O bman of God? 1You have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death!” 19And he said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her bosom and carried him up to the upper room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed. 20Then he called to Yahweh and said, “O Yahweh my God, have You also brought calamity to the widow with whom I am sojourning, by causing her son to die?” 21aThen he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to Yahweh and said, “O Yahweh my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return 1to him.” 22And Yahweh heard the voice of Elijah, aand the life of the child returned 1to him and he became alive. 23Then Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.” 24Then the woman said to Elijah, “aNow I know this: that you are a man of God and that the word of Yahweh in your mouth is truth.”
Obadiah Meets Elijah
18Now it happened aafter many days that the word of Yahweh came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and bI will send rain on the face of the earth.” 2So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 3And Ahab called Obadiah awho was over the household. (Now Obadiah 1,bfeared Yahweh greatly. 4And it happened that awhen Jezebel was cutting down the prophets of Yahweh, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and bsustained them with bread and water.) 5Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys; perhaps we will find grass and keep the horses and mules alive, and not have to cut down some of the cattle.” 6So they divided the land between them to pass through it; Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way by himself.
7Now it happened that as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah 1met him, aand he recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is this you, Elijah my master?” 8And he said to him, “It is I. Go, say to your master, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” 9And he said, “What 1sin have I committed, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab to put me to death? 10“aAs Yahweh your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to search for you; and if they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you. 11“And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’ 12“And it will be that when I leave you, athe Spirit of Yahweh will carry you where I do not know; and I will come and tell Ahab, and he will not find you, and he will kill me, although I your servant have 1feared Yahweh from my youth. 13“aHas it not been told to my master what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh, that I hid 1one hundred prophets of Yahweh by fifties in a cave, and sustained them with bread and water? 14“So now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here”’; he will then kill me.” 15And Elijah said, “aAs Yahweh of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” 16So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17Now it happened when Ahab saw Elijah, that aAhab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?” 18And he said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because ayou have forsaken the commandments of Yahweh and byou have followed the Baals. 19“So now then send and gather to me all Israel at aMount Carmel, btogether with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of cthe Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
Yahweh or Baal on Mount Carmel
20So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “aHow long will you be limping between two opinions? bIf Yahweh is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word. 22Then Elijah said to the people, “I aalone am left a prophet of Yahweh, but Baal’s prophets are b450 men. 23“Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but place no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and put it on the wood, and I will not place fire under it. 24“Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh, and athe God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people answered and said, “1That is a good word.”
25So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but place no fire under it.” 26Then they took the ox which 1was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was ano voice and no one answered. And they 2limped about the altar which 3they had made. 27Now it happened at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or relieving himself, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” 28So they cried with a loud voice and agashed themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. 29Now it happened when noon had passed, that they prophesied auntil the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no 1one paid attention.
30Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And ahe repaired the altar of Yahweh which had been pulled down. 31Then Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of Yahweh had come, saying, “aIsrael shall be your name.” 32And with the stones he built an altar in athe name of Yahweh, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two 1seahs of seed. 33aThen he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and placed it on the wood. 34And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35And the water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.
Yahweh Answers, He Is God
36aNow it happened at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “bO Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that cYou are God in Israel and that I am Your slave and dI have done all these things at Your word. 37“Answer me, O Yahweh, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Yahweh, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” 38Then the afire of Yahweh fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39And all the people saw it and fell on their faces and said, “aYahweh, He is God; Yahweh, He is God.” 40Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to athe brook Kishon, band slaughtered them there.
Yahweh Sends Rain
41Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the tumult of rain.” 42So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of aCarmel; and he bstretched himself down toward the ground and put his face between his knees. 43And he said to his young man, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go back” seven times. 44Now it happened at the seventh time, that he said, “Behold, aa cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘1Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the rain does not stop you.’” 45Now it happened that in a little while the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. And Ahab rode and went to aJezreel. 46But athe hand of Yahweh was on Elijah, and bhe girded up his loins and 1outran Ahab unto where you enter Jezreel.