18:1 Eliyyah versus Baal’s prophets
18 In the third year of drought, Yahweh told Eliyyah to go and show himself to King Ahav and tell him that it would soon rain, 2 so he went to present himself to Ahav.
Meanwhile in Shomron (Samaria), the food shortage was terrible 3 and King Ahav had summoned his palace manager Ovadyah. (Ovadyah was a sincere follower of Yahweh. 4 When Queen Izevel had tried to kill Yahweh’s prophets, Ovadyah had hidden a hundred prophets—fifty in each of two caves and kept them supplied with food and water.) 5 King Ahav told Ovadyah, “We’ll go across the country to all the springs and all the valleys that water sometimes flows in. Perhaps we’ll find some grass so we can keep a horse or a mule or two alive and not lose our breeding stock.” 6 So they divided the country into two, and they each went off in a different direction.
7 While Ovadyah was on a path, Eliyyah came to meet him. Ovadyah recognised him and fell to his knees with his face to the ground, and asked, “Is it really you, my master Eliyyah?”
8 “Yes, it’s me,” he replied. “Now go and tell your master that I’m here.”
9 “How have I sinned,” Ovadyah responded, “that you’re giving your servant a death sentence? 10 As your God Yahweh lives, my master sent people to every kingdom to try to find you, and if they said you weren’t there, then he made them promise under oath that it was true. 11 So now you tell me to tell my master that you’re here, 12 but as soon as I leave you, Yahweh’s spirit will take you to goodness knows where. Meanwhile I’ll go and tell Ahav, and he’ll come here and not find you, so then he’ll kill me, even though I’ve been trying to obey Yahweh since I was young. 13 Haven’t you heard, my master, what I did when Izevel was killing Yahweh’s prophets and I hid a hundred of them in two caves and kept them supplied with food and water? 14 Yet now you’re trying to get me killed by telling my master that he’ll find you here.”
15 “As army commander Yahweh lives—the one I serve,” Eliyyah replied, “I’ll definitely be here to see him today.”
16 So Ovadyah went and informed Ahav who then came to meet Eliyyah. 17 When he saw Eliyyah, Ahav asked him, “Is that you—the one who causes trouble for Israel?”
18 “It’s not me who brings trouble onto Israel,” Eliyyah replied. “But rather it’s you and your father’s families who decided to ignore Yahweh’s commands and serve the Baals instead. 19 So now, get all Israel to go to Mt. Karmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who Queen Izevel feeds at her table.”
20 So Ahav summoned all the Israelis and the prophets to go to Mt. Karmel, 21 and Eliyyah addressed the people, “How much longer are you all going to remain unsure who to follow? If Yahweh is God, follow him, but if it’s Baal, follow him.” But the people just stayed silent. 22 Then he said, “I’m Yahweh’s only remaining prophet, but Baal has 450 prophets. 23 Let them get us two bulls and they can choose one for themselves. Then they can cut it into pieces and lay them a pile of wood that they’ve set for a fire, but they can’t light the fire. I’ll do the same with the other bull, but also won’t light the fire. 24 Then they must call to their god and I’ll call to Yahweh, and the god who answers by setting the wood on fire must be the true God.”
“It sounds good to us,” the people answered.
25 So Eliyyah told Baal’s prophets, “Ok, there’s a lot more of you guys, so you choose your bull and go first and call out to your god, but don’t set fire to the pile.”
26 So they took the bull he gave them and prepared it all, and then they called out to Baal from morning until midday, shouting, “Baal, answer us!” But they didn’t hear any voice and got no answer. Then they hopped around the altar they’d made.
27 Finally at noon, Eliyyah began mocking them, saying, “Call out louder because he’s a god. Maybe he’s thinking about something else, or busy with something, or travelling somewhere. Pehaps he’s asleep and needs waking up.” 28 So they shouted even louder and did their usual cutting of their bodies with knives and swords until a lot of blood flowed. 29 Midday passed and they continued raving all afternoon, but they didn’t hear any voice, and they got no answer or even any suggestion that their god was listening.
30 Then Eliyyah told the people, “Ok, now come over here by me.” So all the people came over by him, and he repaired the altar of Yahweh that had been torn down. 31 He took twelve stones (the number of the sons of Yakob (Jacob) who Yahweh told would be called Israel)[ref] 32 and used them to rebuild Yahweh’s altar. Then around the altar he made a trench large enough to hold the water to water in two drums of seed.[fn] 33 He arranged the firewood, and cut the bull into pieces and placed them on top, 34 and then ordered, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and the firewood.” Then he said “Now do it a second time,” and they did it a second time, and again he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 The water ran around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 When it was time to offer the evening sacrifices, the prophet Eliyyah approached the altar and prayed, “Yahweh, God of Abraham, Yitsak, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and I’m your servant, and I’ve done all these things following your instructions. 37 Answer me, Yahweh! Answer me, so that this country will understand that you, Yahweh, are God, and that you can turn their hearts back again.”
38 Then Yahweh sent fire down from the sky that consumed the pieces of meat, the firewood, the stones, and the dirt around the altar, including all the water that had been in the trench. 39 When all the people saw what had happened, they fell onto their knees and bowed their faces to the ground, saying, “Yahweh is God! Yahweh is God!”
40 Then Eliyyah ordered them, “Grab hold of Baal’s prophets. Don’t let any of them sneak away.” So they seized them, and Eliyyah brought them down to the Kishon valley and he slaughtered them there.
