1 Kings 18:4-29

⁴And it happened, when Izebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that 'Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them fifty each in one cave, and provided them with bread and water;)

⁵And Achab said unto 'Obadiah, Go through the land, unto all the springs of water, and unto all the brooks, peradventure we may find grass and keep alive horse and mule, that we lose not all the cattle.

⁶So they divided between them the land to pass through it: Achab went one way by himself alone, and 'Obadiah went another way by himself alone.

⁷And as 'Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah came toward him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou here indeed, my Lord Elijah?

⁸And he said unto him, I am: go, say unto thy Lord, Behold, Elijah is here.

⁹And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldst deliver thy servant into the hand of Achab, to slay me?

¹⁰As the Lord thy God liveth, there is not a nation or kingdom whither my Lord hath not sent to seek thee; and when they said, He is not here: he caused that kingdom and nation to take an oath, that no one could find thee.

¹¹And now thou sayest, Go, say unto thy Lord, Behold, here is Elijah.

¹²And it may come to pass, that, when I go from thee, the spirit of the Lord may carry thee whither I know not; and when I come to inform Achab, and he cannot find thee, he will slay me; but I thy servant have feared the Lord from my youth.

¹³Hath it not been told unto my Lord what I did when Izebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the prophets of the Lord, fifty each in one cave, and provided them with bread and water?

¹⁴And now thou sayest, Go say to thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he will slay me.

¹⁵Then said Elijah, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I have stood, surely today will I show myself unto him.

¹⁶So 'Ohadiah went to meet Achab, and he told it to him; and Achab went to meet Elijah.

¹⁷And it came to pass, when Achab saw Elijah, that Achab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?

¹⁸And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, through your forsaking the commandments of the Lord, and because thou hast followed the Be'alim.

¹⁹And now send, assemble unto me all Israel at Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Ba'al four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the grove four hundred, who eat at the table of Izebel.

²⁰And Achab sent round among all the children of Israel, and he assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel.

²¹And Elijah approached unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between the two opinions? if the Lord be the God, follow him; and if Ba'al—follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

²²And Elijah said unto the people, I have been left a prophet of the Lord by myself alone; but the prophets of Ba'al are four hundred and fifty men.

²³Therefore let there be given unto us two bullocks; and let them choose for themselves the one bullock, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire to it: and I will prepare the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire to it.

²⁴And do ye call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and it shall be that the God who answereth by fire, he shall be the true God. And all the people answered and said, The proposal is good.

²⁵And Elijah said unto the prophets of Ba'al, Choose you for yourselves the one bullock, and prepare it first; for ye are the many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it.

²⁶And they took the bullock which he had given to them, and they prepared it; and they called on the name of Ba'al from morning even until noon, saying, O Ba'al, answer us; but there was no voice, nor any answer: and they danced about the altar which had been made.

²⁷And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked at them, and said, Call with a loud voice; for he is a god; either he is holding council, or he is busy in some pursuit, or he is on a journey; or peradventure he sleepeth, and may thus awaken.

²⁸And they called with a loud voice and cut themselves after their custom with knives and spears, till the blood gushed out over them.

²⁹And it came to pass, when midday was past, that they practised their follies until near the time of the offering of the evening-sacrifice; but there was neither voice, nor any answer, nor any perceptible sound.