Chapter 16

Prophecy against Baasha

1 Now the word of the Lord came to aJehu the son of bHanani against Baasha, saying,

2 “Inasmuch as I aexalted you from the dust and made you leader over My people Israel, and byou have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made My people Israel sin, provoking Me to anger with their sins,

3 behold, aI will consume bBaasha and his house, and cI will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

4 “aAnyone of Baasha who dies in the city the dogs will eat, and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of the heavens will eat.”

5 aNow the rest of the acts of Baasha and what he did and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

The Israelite Kings

6 And Baasha slept with his fathers and was buried in aTirzah, and Elah his son became king in his place.

7 Moreover, the word of the Lord through athe prophet Jehu the son of Hanani also came against Baasha and his household, both because of all the evil which he did in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger with bthe work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because che struck 1it.

8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha became king over Israel at Tirzah, and reigned two years.

9 His servant aZimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now he was at Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, bwho was over the household at Tirzah.

10 Then Zimri went in and struck him and put him to death in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and became king in his place.

11 It came about when he became king, as soon as he sat on his throne, that ahe 1killed all the household of Baasha; he did not leave 2a single male, neither of his 3relatives nor of his friends.

12 Thus Zimri destroyed all the household of Baasha, aaccording to the word of the Lord, which He spoke against Baasha through bJehu the prophet,

13 for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned and which they made Israel sin, aprovoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their 1idols.

14 aNow the rest of the acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days at Tirzah. Now the people were camped against aGibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.

16 The people who were camped heard 1it said, “Zimri has conspired and has also struck down the king.” Therefore all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp.

17 Then Omri and all Israel with him went up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah.

18 When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house over him with fire, and adied,

19 because of his sins which he sinned, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, awalking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, making Israel sin.

20 aNow the rest of the acts of Zimri and his conspiracy which he 1carried out, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

21 Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; the other half followed Omri.

22 But the people who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. And Tibni died and Omri became king.

23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel and reigned twelve years; he reigned six years at aTirzah.

24 He bought the hill 1Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and named the city which he built 1aSamaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.

25 aOmri did evil in the sight of the Lord, and bacted more wickedly than all who were before him.

26 For he awalked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and in his sins which he made Israel sin, provoking the Lord God of Israel with their 1idols.

27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did and his might which he 1showed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

28 So Omri slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria; and Ahab his son became king in his place.

29 Now Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.

30 Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord amore than all who were before him.

31 It came about, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that ahe married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the bSidonians, and went to serve Baal and worshiped him.

32 So he erected an altar for Baal in athe house of Baal which he built in Samaria.

33 Ahab also made athe 1Asherah. Thus bAhab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

34 aIn his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.

Chapter 17

Elijah Predicts Drought

1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of 1athe settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “bAs the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely cthere shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”

2 The word of the Lord came to him, saying,

3 “Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is 1east of the Jordan.

4 “It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and aI have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.”

5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is 1east of the Jordan.

6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook.

7 It happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying,

9 “Arise, go to aZarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, bI have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and ahe called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a 1jar, that I may drink.”

11 As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”

12 But she said, “aAs the Lord your God lives, bI have no 1bread, only a handful of flour in the 2bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering 3a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and cdie.”

13 Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from 1it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son.

14 “For thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘The 1bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil 2be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.’ ”

15 So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days.

16 The 1bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil 2become empty, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah.

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son

17 Now it came about after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.

18 So she said to Elijah, “aWhat do I have to do with you, O bman of God? 1You have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death!”

19 He said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her bosom and carried him up to the upper room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed.

20 He called to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought calamity to the widow with whom I am 1staying, by causing her son to die?”

21 aThen he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return 1to him.”

22 The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, aand the life of the child returned 1to him and he revived.

23 Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.”

24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “aNow I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

Chapter 18

Obadiah Meets Elijah

1 Now it happened aafter many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and bI will send rain on the face of the earth.”

2 So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria.

3 Ahab called Obadiah awho was over the household. (Now Obadiah 1bfeared the Lord greatly;

4 for awhen Jezebel 1destroyed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and bprovided them with bread and water.)

5 Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys; perhaps we will find grass and keep the horses and mules alive, and not 1have to kill some of the cattle.”

6 So they divided the land between them to 1survey it; Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way by himself.

7 Now as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah 1met him, aand he recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is this you, Elijah my master?”

8 He said to him, “It is I. Go, say to your master, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’ ”

9 He said, “What 1sin have I committed, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab to put me to death?

10 “aAs the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to search for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you.

11 “And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here.” ’

12 “It will come about when I leave you athat the Spirit of the Lord will carry you where I do not know; so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have 1feared the Lord from my youth.

13 “aHas it not been told to my master what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, that I hid 1a hundred prophets of the Lord by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water?

14 “And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here” ’; he will then kill me.”

15 Elijah said, “aAs the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.”

16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

17 When Ahab saw Elijah, aAhab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?”

18 He said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because ayou have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and byou have followed the Baals.

19 “Now then send and gather to me all Israel at aMount Carmel, btogether with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of cthe Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

God or Baal on Mount Carmel

20 So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel.

21 Elijah came near to all the people and said, “aHow long will you 1hesitate between two opinions? bIf the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.

22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I aalone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are b450 men.

23 “Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it.

24 “Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and athe God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people said, “1That is a good idea.”

25 So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”

26 Then they took the ox which 1was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was ano voice and no one answered. And they 2leaped about the altar which 3they made.

27 It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.”

28 So they cried with a loud voice and acut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them.

29 When midday was past, they 1raved auntil the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no 2one paid attention.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And ahe repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down.

31 Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “aIsrael shall be your name.”

32 So with the stones he built an altar in athe name of the Lord, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two 1measures of seed.

33 aThen he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood.

34 And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And 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.

35 The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.

Elijah’s Prayer

36 aAt the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “bO Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that cYou are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and dI have done all these things at Your word.

37 “Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.”

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

39 When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “aThe Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.”

40 Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to athe brook Kishon, band slew them there.

41 Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.”

42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of aCarmel; and he bcrouched down on the earth and put his face between his knees.

43 He said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go back” seven times.

44 It came about at the seventh time, that he said, “Behold, aa cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘1Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.’ ”

45 In a little while the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to aJezreel.

46 Then athe hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and bhe girded up his loins and 1outran Ahab 2to Jezreel.

Chapter 19

Elijah Flees from Jezebel

1 Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and 1ahow he had killed all the prophets with the sword.

2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “aSo may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your 1life as the 1life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”

3 And he 1was afraid and arose and ran for his 2life and came to aBeersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a 1juniper tree; and ahe requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my 2life, for I am not better than my fathers.”

5 He lay down and slept under a 1juniper tree; and behold, there was aan angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat.”

6 Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again.

7 The angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.”

8 So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food aforty days and forty nights to bHoreb, the mountain of God.

Elijah at Horeb

9 Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, athe word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10 He said, “aI have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, btorn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And cI alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

11 So He said, “aGo forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And ba great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

12 After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire aa sound of a gentle blowing.

13 When Elijah heard it, ahe wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, ba voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

14 Then he said, “aI have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

15 The Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, ayou shall anoint Hazael king over Aram;

16 and aJehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and bElisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.

17 “It shall come about, the aone who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu bshall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death.

18 “aYet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not bkissed him.”

19 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw ahis mantle on him.

20 He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please alet me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?”

21 So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them and aboiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him.