(30) And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that {were} before him.

(31) And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.

(32) And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria

(33) And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

 1. Now Ahab, the king of Israel, dwelt in Smaria, and held the government for twenty-two years; and made no alteration in the conduct of the kings that were his predecessors, but only in such things as were of his own invention for the worse, and in his most gross wickedness. e imitated them in their wicked courses, and in their injurious behavior towards God; and more especially he imitated the transgression of Jeroboam; for he worshipped the heifers that he had made; and he contrived other absurd objects of worship beside those heifers; he also took to wife the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Tyrians and Sidonians, whose name was Jezebel, of whom he learned to worship her own gods.

This woman was active and bold, and fell into so great a degree of impurity and wickedness, that she built a temple to the god of the Tyrians, which they called Belus, and planted a grove of all sorts of trees; she also appointed priests and false prophets to this god.

(2) And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,

(3) Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that {is} before Jordan.

(4) And it shall be, {that} thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

(5) So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that {is} before Jordan.

(6) And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

(7) And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

(8) And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,

(9) Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which {belongeth} to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

(10) So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman {was} there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

(11) And as she was going to fetch {it}, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

(12) And she said, {As} the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I {am} gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

(13) And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go {and} do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring {it} unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

(14) For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day {that} the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.

(15) And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat {many} days.

And when he had confirmed this by an oath, he departed into the southern parts, and made his abode by a brook, out of which he had water to drink; for as for his food, ravens brought it to him every day; but when that river was dried up for want of rain, he came to Zarephath, a city not far from Sidon, and Tyre, for it lay between them, and this at the command of God, for (God told him) that he should there find a woman, who was a widow, that should give him sustenance: so when he was not far off the city, he saw a woman that laboured with her own hands, gathering of sticks: so God informed him that this was the woman who was to give him sustenance: so he came and saluted her, and desired her to bring him some water to drink; but as she was going so to do, he called to her, and would have her to bring him a loaf of bread also; whereupon she affirmed upon oath, that she had at home nothing more than one handful of meal and a little oil, and that she was going to gather some sticks, that she might knead it, and make bread for herself and her son; after which, she said, they must perish, and be consumed by the famine, for they had nothing for themselves any longer.

Whereupon he said, "Go on with good courage, and hope for better things; and first of all make me a little cake, and bring it to me, for I foretell to thee that this vessel of meal and this cruse of oil shall not fail until God sent rain." 

When the prophet had said this, she came to him, and made him the before-named cake: of which she had part for herself, and gave the rest to her son, and to the prophet also; nor did anything of this fail until the drought ceased.

Now Menander mentions this drought in his account of the acts of Ethbaal, king of the Tyreans; where he says thus: "Under him, there was a want of rain from the month Hyperberetaeus till the month Hyperberetaeus of the year following; but when he made supplications, there came great thunders.

This Ethbaal built the city Botrys, in Phoenicia, and the city Auza, in Libya." 

(18) And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?

(19) And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.

(20) And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?

(21) And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.

(22) And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

(23) And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.

But he bid her be of good cheer, and deliver her son again to her alive.

So when she had delivered her son up to him, he carried him into an upper room, where he himself lodged, and laid him down on the bed, and cried unto God, and said, that God had not done well in rewarding the woman who had entertained him and sustained him, by taking away her son; and he prayed that he would send again the soul of the child into him, and bring him to life again.

Accordingly God took pity on the mother, and was willing to gratify the prophet, that he might not seem to have come to do her a mischief; and the child, beyond all expectation, came to life again.

So the mother returned the prophet thanks, and said she was then clearly satisfied that God did converse with him.

(2) And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And {there was} a sore famine in Samaria.

(3) And Ahab called Obadiah, which {was} the governor of {his} house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly:

(4) For it was {so}, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)

(5) And Ahab said unto Obadiah, 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.

(6) So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

(7) And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, {Art} thou that my lord Elijah?

(8) And he answered him, I {am}: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah {is here}. (9) And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me?

(10) {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.

(11) And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah {is here}.

(12) 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 Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth.

(13) Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel 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?

(14) And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah {is here}: and he shall slay me.

(15) And Elijah said, {As} the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day.

Now, the famine had seized upon the whole country, and there was a great want of what was necessary for sustenance, insomuch that it was not only men that wanted it, but the earth itself also, which did not produce enough for the horses and the other beasts, of what was useful for them to feed on, by reason of the drought.

So the king called for Ovadiah, who was steward over his cattle, and said to him, that he would have him go to the fountains of water and to the brooks, that if any herbs could be found for them, they might mow it down, and reserve it for the beasts.

And when he had sent persons over all the habitable earth, to discover the prophet Elijah, and they could not find him, he bade Ovadiah accompany him: so it was resolved they should make a progress, and dived the ways between them; and Obadiah took one road, and the king another.

Now it happened, that the same time when queen Jezebel slew the prophets, this Obadiah had hidden a hundred prophets, and had fed them with nothing but bread and water.

But when Obadiah was alone, and absent from the king, the prophet Elijah met him; and Obadiah asked him who he was; and when he had learned it from him, he worshipped him.

Elijah then bid him go to the king, and tell him that I am here ready to wait on him.

But Obadiah here replied, "What evil have I done to thee, that thou sendest me to one who seeketh to kill thee and hath sought over all the earth for thee? Or was he so ignorant as not to know that the king had left no place untouched unto which he had not sent persons to bring him back, in order, of they could take him, to have him put to death?" For he told him he was afraid lest God should appear to him again, and he should go away into another place; and that when the king should send for Elijah, and he should miss of him, and not be able to find him anywhere upon earth, he should be put to death.

He desired him therefore to take care of his preservation; and told him how diligently he had provided for those of his own profession, and had saved a hundred prophets, when Jezebel slew the rest of them, and had kept them concealed, and that they had been sustained by him.

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

(18) And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.

(19) Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.

(20) So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.

(21) And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, {then} follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

(22) Then said Elijah unto the people, I, {even} I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

(23) Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:

(24) And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on 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 well spoken.

(25) And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire {under}.

(26) And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed {it}, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But {there was} no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.

(27) And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah 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.

(28) And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.

(29) 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.

(30) And Elijah 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.

(31) And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:

(32) 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.

(33) And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid {him} on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour {it} on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.

(34) 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.

(35) And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.

(36) And it came to pass at {the time of} the offering of the {evening} sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou {art} God in Israel, and {that} I {am} thy servant, and {that} I have done all these things at thy word.

(37) 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.

(38) 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.

(39) And when all the people saw {it}, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he {is} the God; the Lord, he {is} the God.

(40) And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

(41) And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for {there is} a sound of abundance of rain.

(42) So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,

(43) 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.

(44) 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 Ahab, Prepare {thy chariot}, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not.

(45) 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 Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.

However, he bade him go his way, and gather together all the people to him, to mount Carmel, with his own prophets, and those of his wife, telling him how many there were of them, as also the prophets of the groves, about four hundred in number.

And as all the men whom Ahab sent for, ran away to the forenamed mountain, the prophet Elijah stood in the midst of them, and said, "How long will you live thus in uncertainly of mind and opinion?" He also exhorted them, that in case they esteemed their own country God to be the true and only God, they would follow him and his commandments; but in case they esteemed him to be nothing, but had an opinion of the strange gods, and that they ought to worship them, his counsel was, that should follow them.

And when the multitude made no answer to what he said, Elijah desired, that, for a trial of the power of the strange gods and of their own God, he, who was his only prophet, while they had four hundred, might take a heifer and kill it as a sacrifice, and lay it upon pieces of wood, and not kindle any fire, and call upon their own gods to set the wood on fire, for if that were done, they would thence learn the nature of the true God.

This proposal pleased the people.

So Elijah bade the prophets to choose out a heifer first, and kill it, and to call on their gods; but when there appeared no effect of the prayer or invocation, of the prophets upon their sacrifice, Elijah derided them, and bade them call upon their gods with a loud voice, for they might either be on a journey or asleep; and when these prophets had done so from morning till noon, and cut themselves with swords and lances,* according to the customs of their country, and he was about to offer his sacrifice, he bid (the prophets) go away; but bade (the people) come near and observe what he did, lest he should privately hide fire among the pieces of wood.

So, upon the approach of the multitude he took twelve stones, one of each tribe of the people of the Hebrews, and built an altar with them, and dug a very deep trench; and when he had laid the pieces of wood upon the altar, and upon them had laid the pieces of the sacrifices, he ordered them to fill four barrels, with water of the fountain, and to pour it upon the altar, till it ran over it, and till the trench was filled with the water poured into it.

When he had cone this, he began to pray to God, and to invocate him to make manifest his power to a people that had already been in an error a long time; upon which words a fire came on a sudden from heaven, in the sight of the multitude, and fell upon the alter, and consumed the sacrifice, till the very water was set on fire, and the place was become dry.

6. Now when the Israelites saw this, they fell down upon the ground, and worshipped one God, and called him The great and the only true God; but they called the others mere names, framed by the evil and wild opinions of men.

So they caught their  prophets, and, at the command of Elijah, slew them.

Elijah also said to the king, that he should go to dinner without any further concern, for that in a little time he would see God send them rain.

 Accordingly, Ahab went his way; but Elijah went up to the highest top of mount Carmel, and sat down upon the ground, and leaned his head upon his knees, and bade his servant go up to a certain elevated place, and look towards the sea, and when he should see a cloud rising anywhere, he should give notice or it, for till that time the air had been clear.

When the servant had gone up, and had said many times that he saw nothing, at the seventh time of his going up, he said he saw a small black thing in the sky, not larger than a man's foot.

When Elijah heard that, he sent to Ahab, and desired him to go away to the city before the rain came down.