1And later, in the third year of the drought, this word of the LORD came to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.” 2And so Elijah went before Ahab. And by now there was a severe famine in Samaria. 3And Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Now Obadiah was a devout believer in the LORD: 4For once when Jezebel was killing the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifties in two caves, and fed them with food and water.) 5And Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land, to all the springs and brooks; perhaps we may find enough grass to keep the horses and mules alive, and not lose all the animals.” 6So they divided the land between them to traverse it; Ahab going one way by himself, and Obadiah going another way by himself.

7And as Obadiah was walking along the road, Elijah met him; and he recognized him, bowed, and said, “Is that you, my lord, Elijah?” 8And he answered him, “I am. Go and tell your king, ‘Elijah is here.’” 9And Obadiah said, “What have I done to you, that you would cause Ahab to kill me? 10As the LORD, your God, lives, there is no nation or kingdom, where Ahab has not searched for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he took an oath from them, to swear that they could not find you. 11And now you say, ‘Go, tell Ahab, “Look, Elijah is here”’. 12And then, as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the LORD shall carry you to where I cannot find you; and then when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have worshipped the LORD from my youth. 13Have you not been told what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid a hundred men of the LORD's prophets by fifties in two caves, and gave them food and water? 14And now you tell me, ‘Go, tell your king, “Look, Elijah is here.”’ He will surely kill me.” 15And Elijah said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before Whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today.”

16So Obadiah went to find Ahab, and told him; and Ahab came to meet Elijah. 17And when Ahab saw Elijah, he said, “Is that you, who troubles Israel?” 18And Elijah answered, “I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father's family, have. You have forsaken the commands of the LORD, to follow Baalim instead. 19Now, summon and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel; and bring the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal, and those four hundred prophets of Asherah that eat at Jezebel's table.”

20So Ahab sent word through all Israel, and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21And Elijah stood before all the people, and said, “How long will you halt (hesitate) between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 22Then Elijah told them, “I am the only prophet of the LORD that remains; but Baal's prophets are four hundred fifty men. 23Now bring us two bullocks (bulls); and let them (Baal's prophets) choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, but do not set fire to the wood under it; and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and not set fire to the wood under it. 24And then let them (Baal's prophets) call on the name of your gods, and I will call upon the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, let him be the true God.” And all the people agreed, and said, “It is well spoken.” 25And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for you are many. And then call on the name of your gods, but do not set fire under it.” 26And so they took the bullock they had chosen, and prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, “O Baal, hear us.” But there was no response, nor any answer. And they leaped upon the altar. 27And at noon, Elijah began to taunt them, and said, “Shout louder; for he is a god. Maybe he is talking, in deep thought, or perhaps he is traveling, or sleeping, and must be awakened.” 28And they shouted all the louder, and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, till the blood gushed out upon them. 29And as midday passed, they continued their frantic prophesying until the time of the evening sacrifice, but there was still no answer - neither voice, nor any kind of sign - no response to their frantic actions.

30And then Elijah told all the people, “Come over here to me.” And all the people crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been broken down. 31And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes that were descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32And with those twelve stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; and he dug a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed. 33And he set the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood. Then he said, “Fill four barrels (large jars) with water, and pour it on the offering, and on the wood.” 34Then he said, “Do it again.” And they did it a second time. And then he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. 35And then the water ran all around the altar; and it also filled the trench with water. 36And at the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah, stepped forward, and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel, and that I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your command. 37Hear me, O LORD, hear and answer me, so that these people will know that You are the LORD God, and that You are turning their hearts back again to You.” 38Then the fire of the LORD fell, and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil, and licked up all the water that was in the trench. 39And when the people saw it, they fell face down; and shouted, “The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God.” 40Then Elijah ordered them: “Seize those prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them all there.

41And Elijah told Ahab, “Get up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of heavy rain.” 42So Ahab went off to eat and to drink. And Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel; and bowed himself to the ground, and put his face between his knees, 43And he told his servant, “Go, look toward the sea.” And he went and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.” 44And the seventh time, his servant said, “Look, a little cloud rises out of the sea, like a man's hand.” And Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot, and get down from here before that rain stops you.’” 45And in the meantime, the sky turned black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. And Ahab rode his chariot off toward Jezreel. 46And the power of the LORD came mightily upon Elijah; and he tucked his cloak into his belt, and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.