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New American Standard Bible |   | |
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| | 1Ki 18:1 | Now it happened after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth."
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| | 1Ki 18:2 | So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria.
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| | 1Ki 18:3 | Ahab called Obadiah who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly;
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| | 1Ki 18:4 | for when Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water.)
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| | 1Ki 18:5 | 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 have to kill some of the cattle."
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| | 1Ki 18:6 | So they divided the land between them to survey it; Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way by himself.
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| | 1Ki 18:7 | Now as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him, and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, "Is this you, Elijah my master?"
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| | 1Ki 18:8 | He said to him, "It is I. Go, say to your master, 'Behold, Elijah is here."'
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| | 1Ki 18:9 | He said, "What sin have I committed, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab to put me to death?
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| | 1Ki 18:10 | "As 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.
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| | 1Ki 18:11 | "And now you are saying, 'Go, say to your master, "Behold, Elijah is here."'
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| | 1Ki 18:12 | "It will come about when I leave you that 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 feared the Lord from my youth.
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| | 1Ki 18:13 | "Has it not been told to my master what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, that I hid a hundred prophets of the Lord by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water?
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| | 1Ki 18:14 | "And now you are saying, 'Go, say to your master, "Behold, Elijah is here"'; he will then kill me."
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| | 1Ki 18:15 | Elijah said, "As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today."
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| | 1Ki 18:16 | So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
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| | 1Ki 18:17 | When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, "Is this you, you troubler of Israel?"
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| | 1Ki 18:18 | He said, "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have followed the Baals.
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| | 1Ki 18:19 | "Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."
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| | 1Ki 18:20 | So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel.
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| | 1Ki 18:21 | Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word.
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| | 1Ki 18:22 | Then Elijah said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men.
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| | 1Ki 18:23 | "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.
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| | 1Ki 18:24 | "Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, He is God." And all the people said, "That is a good idea."
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| | 1Ki 18:25 | 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."
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| | 1Ki 18:26 | Then they took the ox which was 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 no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made.
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| | 1Ki 18:27 | 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."
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| | 1Ki 18:28 | So they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them.
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| | 1Ki 18:29 | When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.
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| | 1Ki 18:30 | Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down.
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| | 1Ki 18:31 | 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, "Israel shall be your name."
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| | 1Ki 18:32 | So with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two measures of seed.
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| | 1Ki 18:33 | Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood.
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| | 1Ki 18:34 | 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.
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| | 1Ki 18:35 | The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.
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| | 1Ki 18:36 | At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word.
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| | 1Ki 18:37 | "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."
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| | 1Ki 18:38 | Then the fire 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.
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| | 1Ki 18:39 | When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God."
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| | 1Ki 18:40 | 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 the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
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| | 1Ki 18:41 | Now Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower."
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| | 1Ki 18:42 | So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he crouched down on the earth and put his face between his knees.
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| | 1Ki 18:43 | 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.
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| | 1Ki 18:44 | It came about at the seventh time, that he said, "Behold, a cloud as small as a man's hand is coming up from the sea." And he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.' "
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| | 1Ki 18:45 | In a little while the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.
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| | 1Ki 18:46 | Then the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel.
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| Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. |
