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chapter 18
1
After
many days the word of the Lord came to Elias, in the third year, saying: Go and
shew thyself to Achab, that I may give rain upon the face of the earth.
2 And Elias went to shew himself to Achab, and there
was a grievous famine in Samaria.
3 And Achab called Abdias the governor of his house:
now Abdias feared the Lord very much.
4 For when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, he
took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them
with bread and water.
5 And Achab said to Abdias: Go into the land unto all
fountains of waters, and into all valleys, to see if we can find grass, and
save the horses and mules, that the beasts may not utterly perish.
6 And they divided the countries between them, that
they might go round about them: Achab went one way, and Abdias another way by
himself.
7 And as Abdias was in the way, Elias met him: and he
knew him, and fell on his face, and said: Art thou my lord Elias?
8 And he answered: I am. Go, and tell thy master: Elias
is here.
9 And he said: What have I sinned, that thou wouldst
deliver me thy servant into the hand of Achab, that he should kill 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 all answered: He
is not here: he took an oath of every kingdom and nation, because thou wast not
found.
11 And now thou sayest to me: Go, and tell thy master:
Elias is here.
12 And when I am gone from thee, the spirit of the Lord
will carry thee into a place that I know not: and I shall go in and tell Achab,
and he not finding thee, will kill me: but thy servant feareth the Lord from
his infancy.
13 Hath it not been told thee, my lord, what I did when
Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the
prophets of the Lord, by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and
water?
14 And now thou sayest: Go, and tell thy master: Elias
is here: that he may kill me.
15 And Elias said: As the Lord of hosts liveth, before
whose face I stand, this day I will shew myself unto him.
16 Abdias therefore went to meet Achab, and told him:
and Achab came to meet Elias.
17 And when he had seen him, he said: Art thou he that
troublest Israel?
18 And he said: I have not troubled Israel, but thou
and thy father's house, who have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and
have followed Baalim.
19 Nevertheless send now, and gather unto me all
Israel, unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and
the prophets of the groves four hundred, who eat at Jezabel's table.
20 Achab sent to all the children of Israel, and
gathered together the prophets unto mount Carmel.
21 And Elias coming to all the people, said: How long
do you halt between two sides? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal,
then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word.
22 And Elias said again to the people: I only remain a
prophet of the Lord: but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men.
23 Let two bullocks be given us, and let them choose
one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces and lay it upon wood, but put
no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put
no fire under it.
24 Call ye on the names of your gods, and I will call
on the name of my Lord: and the God that shall answer by fire, let him be God.
And all the people answering said: A very good proposal.
25 Then Elias said to the prophets of Baal: Choose you
one bullock and dress it first, because you are many: and call on the names of
your gods, but put no fire under.
26 And they took the bullock which he gave them, and
dressed it: and they called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon,
saying: O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered: and
they leaped over the altar that they had made.
27 And when it was now noon, Elias jested at them,
saying: Cry with a louder voice: for he is a God, and perhaps he is talking, or
is in an inn, or on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep, and must be awaked.
28 So they cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves
after their manner with knives and lancets, till they were all covered with
blood.
29 And after midday was past, and while they were
prophesying, the time was come of offering sacrifice, and there was no voice
heard, nor did any one answer, nor regard them as they prayed:
30 Elias said to all the people: Come se unto me. And
the people coming near unto him, he repaired the altar of the Lord, that was
broken down:
31 And he took twelve stones according to the number of
the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying:
Israel shall be thy name.
32 And he built with the stones an altar to the name of
the Lord: and he made a trench for water, of the breadth of two furrows round
about the altar.
33 And he laid the wood in order, and cut the bullock
in pieces, and laid it upon the wood.
34 And he said: Fill four buckets with water, and pour
it upon the burnt offering, and upon the wood. And again he said: Do the same
the second time. And when they had done it the second time, he said: Do the
same also the third time. And they did so the third time.
35 And the water run round about the altar, and the
trench was filled with water.
36 And when it was now time to offer the holocaust,
Elias the prophet came near and said: O Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and
Israel, shew this day that thou art the God of Israel, and I thy servant, and
that according to thy commandment I have done all these things.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me: that this people may
learn, that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the
holocaust, 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 this, they fell on their
faces, and they said: The Lord he is God, the Lord he is God.
40 And Elias said to them: Take the prophets of Baal,
and let not one of them escape. And when they had taken them, Elias brought
them down to the torrent Cison, and killed them there.
41 And Elias said to Achab: Go up, eat, and drink: for
there is a sound of abundance of rain.
42 Achab went up to eat and drink: and Elias went up to
the top of Carmel, and casting himself down upon the earth put his face between
his knees,
43 And he said to his servant: Go up, and look toward
the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said: There is nothing. And again he
said to him: Return seven times.
44 And at the seventh time, behold, a little cloud
arose out of the sea like a man's foot. And he said: Go up and say to Achab:
Prepare thy chariot and go down, lest the rain prevent thee.
45 And while he turned himself this way and that way,
behold the heavens grew dark, with clouds, and wind, and there fell a great
rain. And Achab getting up went away to Jezrahel:
46 And the hand of the Lord was upon Elias, and he
girded up his loins and ran before Achab, till he came to Jezrahel.
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