Side by side
1 Kings 18
Our retelling next to the Bible text it comes from. Each row lines up one scene with the verses it retells.
Between scenesVerses 1 to 16
This part isn't retold as its own scene.
1After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.” 2So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria, 3and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD, 4for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.) 5Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock.” 6So they divided the land to explore. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself. 7Now as Obadiah went on his way, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” 8“It is I,” he answered. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here!’” 9But Obadiah replied, “How have I sinned, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death? 10As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you. 11And now you say, ‘Go tell your master that Elijah is here!’ 12I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth. 13Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water. 14And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord that Elijah is here!’ He will kill me!” 15Then Elijah said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to Ahab today.” 16So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah.
Scene 1: Troubler of IsraelVerses 17 to 19
King Ahab went out to meet a man he had searched for in every nation. It was Elijah.
Ahab said, "Is that you, O troubler of Israel?" (18:17). One likely reason: Ahab blamed Elijah for the drought.
Elijah did not back down. He said Ahab was the one who had troubled Israel. Ahab and his family had left God's commands. They followed the Baals instead.
Then Elijah gave the king an order. Call all Israel to Mount Carmel. Bring the 450 prophets of Baal. Bring the 400 prophets of Asherah, the goddess worshiped with Baal. These prophets all ate at Jezebel's table.
17When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” 18“I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals. 19Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
Scene 2: Two OpinionsVerses 20 to 24
Ahab sent for everyone. A great crowd gathered on the mountain.
Elijah came close to the people. He asked, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him" (18:21). To waver means to go back and forth and never decide.
The people did not say a word.
Elijah said he was the only prophet of the LORD left. Baal had 450.
So Elijah set up a test. Bring two bulls. Baal's prophets would cut up one bull and lay it on wood. Elijah would do the same with the other. Nobody would light a fire.
Then each side would pray. "The God who answers by fire, He is God" (18:24).
The people finally spoke. They said this was a good plan.
20So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word. 22Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23Get two bulls for us. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull for themselves, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. And I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire. 24Then you may call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people answered, “What you say is good.”
Scene 3: No AnswerVerses 25 to 29
Elijah told Baal's prophets to go first, because there were so many of them. They got their bull ready. From morning until noon they shouted, "O Baal, answer us!" (18:26). They leaped around their altar.
Nothing happened. No sound. No answer.
At noon, Elijah began to mock them. To mock means to make fun of someone. He told them to shout louder. Maybe Baal was deep in thought, or busy. Maybe he was on a trip. Maybe he was asleep and needed to be woken up.
Elijah did not believe any of this. He was pointing out that Baal could not answer.
The prophets shouted louder. As their custom was, they cut themselves with knives and spears until they bled.
They kept shouting wildly all afternoon, until the time of the evening sacrifice. Still no one answered.
25Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made. 27At noon Elijah began to taunt them, saying, “Shout louder, for he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or occupied, or on a journey. Perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened!” 28So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them. 29Midday passed, and they kept on raving until the time of the evening sacrifice. But there was no response; no one answered, no one paid attention.
Scene 4: Water on the AltarVerses 30 to 35
Late in the day, Elijah called, "Come near to me." The people came close.
The LORD's old altar on the mountain had been torn down. Elijah repaired it.
He took twelve stones, one for each tribe of Israel. The tribes came from the twelve sons of Jacob, whom God had renamed Israel.
Elijah built the altar with the stones. He dug a ditch around it. He set the wood in place and laid the bull on it.
Then he told the people to fill four big jars with water. "Pour it on the offering and the wood," he said.
They did. "Do it again," Elijah said. They did. "Do it a third time." They did.
Water ran down the altar and filled the ditch. One likely reason for the water: now nobody could say the fire was a trick.
30Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people approached him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down. 31And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.” 32And with the stones, Elijah built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood, 34and said, “Fill four waterpots and pour the water on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it a second time,” he said, and they did it a second time. “Do it a third time,” he said, and they did it a third time. 35So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
Scene 5: Fire From the LORDVerses 36 to 39
It was time for the evening sacrifice. Elijah went up to the altar. He prayed to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. He asked the LORD to show that he is God in Israel. He asked the LORD to show that Elijah was his servant. Elijah had done all this because God told him to.
"Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again" (18:37).
Then the fire of the LORD fell.
It burned up the bull. It burned the wood. It burned the stones and the dirt. It even burned up all the water in the ditch.
The people fell facedown. They cried out, "The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!" (18:39).
36At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command. 37Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again.” 38Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench. 39When all the people saw this, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
Scene 6: At the Kishon ValleyVerse 40
Then Elijah gave an order. "Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape" (18:40).
The people grabbed them. Elijah took them down to the Kishon Valley, below the mountain. He killed them there.
This is a hard part of the story. Christians have struggled with this passage for a long time. There is more about it below, under "Wait, what?"
40Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
Scene 7: RainVerses 41 to 46
Elijah told Ahab to go eat and drink. He said there was the sound of heavy rain.
Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel. He bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
He sent his servant to look out toward the sea. The servant came back. "There is nothing there."
Seven times Elijah said, "Go back."
The seventh time, the servant saw a cloud "as small as a man's hand" (18:44). This is a comparison. It means a very small cloud.
Elijah sent word to Ahab. Get your chariot ready and go down now, before the rain stops you.
The sky grew dark. The wind rose. Heavy rain began to fall. The drought was over.
Ahab rode toward the city of Jezreel. "And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah" (18:46). These words mean God gave Elijah strength. Elijah tucked his long coat into his belt. He ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
41And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” 42So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the summit of Carmel, bent down on the ground, and put his face between his knees. 43“Go and look toward the sea,” he said to his servant. So the servant went and looked, and he said, “There is nothing there.” Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.” 44On the seventh time the servant reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.” And Elijah replied, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’” 45Meanwhile, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain began to fall. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
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