1And after many days it came to be that the word of יהוה came to Ěliyahu, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Aḥaḇ, and I give rain on the earth.”

2Thereupon Ěliyahu went to present himself to Aḥaḇ. And the scarcity of food in Shomeron was severe.

3And Aḥaḇ had called Oḇaḏyahu, who was over his house. Now Oḇaḏyahu feared יהוה exceedingly.

4And it came to be, while Izeḇel cut down the prophets of יהוה, that Oḇaḏyahu had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.

5And Aḥaḇ had said to Oḇaḏyahu, “Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the wadis, it could be that we find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, and not have any livestock cut off.

6And they divided the land between them to pass over it, Aḥaḇ went one way by himself, and Oḇaḏyahu went another way by himself.

7And as Oḇaḏyahu was on his way, then see, Ěliyahu met him. And he recognised him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is that you, my master Ěliyahu?”

8And he answered him, “It is I. Go, say to your master, ‘Ěliyahu is here.’ ”

9And he said, “What have I sinned, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Aḥaḇ, to kill me?

10“As יהוה your Elohim lives, there is no nation or reign where my master has not sent to look for you. And when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made the reign or nation swear that they could not find you.

11“And now you say, ‘Go, say to your master, “Ěliyahu is here” ’!

12“And it shall be, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of יהוה takes you away to a place I do not know. And I shall come to report to Aḥaḇ, and when he does not find you, he shall kill me. But I your servant have feared יהוה from my youth.

13“Was it not reported to my master what I did when Izeḇel slew the prophets of יהוה, how I hid one hundred men of the prophets of יהוה, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water?

14“And now you say, ‘Go, say to your master, “Ěliyahu is here!” ’ Then he shall slay me.”

15And Ěliyahu said, “As יהוה of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I shall indeed show myself to him today.”

16Oḇaḏyahu then went to meet Aḥaḇ and informed him, and Aḥaḇ went to meet Ěliyahu.

17And it came to be, when Aḥaḇ saw Ěliyahu, that Aḥaḇ said to him, “Is that you, O disturber of Yisra’ĕl?”

18And he answered, “I have not disturbed Yisra’ĕl, but you and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken the commands of יהוה, and you have followed the Ba‛als.

19“And now, send and gather all Yisra’ĕl to me on Mount Karmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Ba‛al, and the four hundred prophets of Ashĕrah, who eat at Izeḇel’s table.”

20Aḥaḇ then sent for all the children of Yisra’ĕl, and gathered the prophets on Mount Karmel.

21And Ěliyahu came to all the people, and said, “How long would you keep hopping between two opinions? If יהוה is Elohim, follow Him; and if Ba‛al, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.

22And Ěliyahu said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of יהוה, but the prophets of Ba‛al are four hundred and fifty men.

23“Now let them give us two bulls. And let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but set no fire. And I, I prepare the other bull, and shall lay it on the wood, but set no fire.

24“And you shall call on the name of your mighty one, and I, I call on the Name of יהוה. And the Elohim who answers by fire, He is Elohim.” So all the people answered and said, “The word is good.”

25And Ěliyahu said to the prophets of Ba‛al, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many. And call on the name of your mighty one, but set no fire.”

26So they took the bull which was given them, and prepared it, and called on the name of Ba‛al from morning even until noon, saying, “O Ba‛al, answer us!” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they had made.

27And it came to be at noon, that Ěliyahu taunted them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a mighty one; he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or it could be that he is asleep and has to be awakened!”

28And they cried aloud, and cut themselves, according to their ruling, with knives and spears, until the blood gushed out on them.

29And it came to be when midday was past, that they prophesied until the time of bringing the evening offering. But there was no voice and no one answered, and no one paying attention.

30Then Ěliyahu said to all the people, “Come closer to me.” And all the people came closer to him. And he repaired the altar of יהוה that was broken down.

31And Ěliyahu took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Ya‛aqoḇ, to whom the word of יהוה had come, saying, “Yisra’ĕl is your name.”

32And with the stones he built an altar in the Name of יהוה. And he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.

33And he arranged the wood, and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.”

34Then 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 filled the trench with water too.

36And it came to be, at the time of bringing the evening offering, that Ěliyahu the prophet came near and said, “יהוה Elohim of Aḇraham, Yitsḥaq, and Yisra’ĕl, let it be known today: You are Elohim in Yisra’ĕl, and I Your servant, have done all these matters by Your word.

37“Answer me, O יהוה, answer me, and let this people know that You are יהוה Elohim, and You shall turn their hearts back to You again.”

38Then the fire of יהוה fell and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.

39And all the people saw, and fell on their faces, and said, “יהוה, He is the Elohim! יהוה, He is the Elohim!”

40And Ěliyahu said to them, “Seize the prophets of Ba‛al! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them, and Ěliyahu brought them down to the wadi Qishon and slaughtered them there.

41And Ěliyahu said to Aḥaḇ, “Go up, eat and drink, because of the sound of the noise of rain.”

42And Aḥaḇ went up to eat and to drink. And Ěliyahu went up to the top of Karmel, and he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,

43and said to his servant, “Go up, please, look closely toward the sea.” So he went up and looked closely, and said, “Not a speck.” And seven times he said, “Go again.”

44And it came to be the seventh time, that he said, “See, a little cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming out of the sea!” And he said, “Go up, say to Aḥaḇ, ‘Hitch up, and go down before the rain stops you.’ ”

45And in the meantime, it came to be that the heavens became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain, while Aḥaḇ rode and went to Yizre‛ĕl.

46And the hand of יהוה was on Ěliyahu. And he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Aḥaḇ to the entrance of Yizre‛ĕl.