1 Kings
1 Kings 18
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1 Kings 18 — Scripture text (King James Version)
And it came to pass after many days, that of the LORD came to in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto ; and I will send rain upon the earth. And went to shew himself unto . And there was a sore famine in . And called , which was the governor of his house. (Now feared the LORD greatly: For it was so, when cut off the prophets of the LORD, that took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) And said unto , Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: went one way by himself, and went another way by himself. And as was in the way, behold, met him: and he knew him, and fell his face, and said, Art thou that my lord ? And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, is here. And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of , to slay me? As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell , and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth. Was it not told my lord what I did when slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD’S prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, is here: and he shall slay me. And said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day. So went to meet , and told him: and went to meet . And it came to pass, when saw , that said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth ? And he answered, I have not troubled ; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed . Now therefore send, and gather to me all unto , and the prophets of four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at ’s table. So sent unto all the children of , and gathered the prophets together unto . And came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if , then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but ’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it wood, and no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it wood, and no fire under: And call ye the name of your gods, and I will call the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is spoken. And said unto the prophets of , Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call the name of your gods, but no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called the name of from morning even until noon, saying, O , hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. And said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. And took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of , unto whom of the LORD came, saying, shall be thy name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it the burnt sacrifice, and the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of , , and of , let it be known this day that thou art God in , and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. And said unto them, Take the prophets of ; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and brought them down to the brook , and slew them there. And said unto , Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So went up to eat and to drink. And went up to the top of ; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto , Prepare thy , and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And rode, and went to . And the hand of the LORD was ; and he girded up his loins, and ran before to the entrance of .