The First Book of Kings, starting at chapter 16
{16:1} The word of Yahweh came to Jehu the son of Hanani against
Baasha, saying, {16:2} Because I exalted you out of the dust, and made
you prince over my people Israel, and you have walked in the way of
Jeroboam, and have made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to
anger with their sins; {16:3} behold, I will utterly sweep away Baasha
and his house; and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam
the son of Nebat. {16:4} Him who dies of Baasha in the city shall the
dogs eat; and him who dies of his in the field shall the birds of the
sky eat. {16:5} Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did,
and his might, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of
the kings of Israel? {16:6} Baasha slept with his fathers, and was
buried in Tirzah; and Elah his son reigned in his place. {16:7}
Moreover by the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of Yahweh
against Baasha, and against his house, both because of all the evil
that he did in the sight of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger with the
work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he
struck him. {16:8} In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah began
Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, [and reigned]
two years. {16:9} His servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots,
conspired against him. Now he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in
the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah: {16:10} and
Zimri went in and struck him, and killed him, in the twenty-seventh
year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place. {16:11} It
happened, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne,
that he struck all the house of Baasha: he didn't leave him a single
boy, neither of his relatives, nor of his friends. {16:12} Thus did
Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of
Yahweh, which he spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, {16:13} for
all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, which they
sinned, and with which they made Israel to sin, to provoke Yahweh, the
God of Israel, to anger with their vanities. {16:14} Now the rest of
the acts of Elah, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book
of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? {16:15} In the
twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in
Tirzah. Now the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged
to the Philistines. {16:16} The people who were encamped heard say,
Zimri has conspired, and has also struck the king: therefore all
Israel made Omri, the captain of the army, king over Israel that day
in the camp. {16:17} Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with
him, and they besieged Tirzah. {16:18} It happened, when Zimri saw
that the city was taken, that he went into the castle of the king's
house, and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died,
{16:19} for his sins which he sinned in doing that which was evil in
the sight of Yahweh, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin
which he did, to make Israel to sin. {16:20} Now the rest of the acts
of Zimri, and his treason that he did, aren't they written in the book
of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? {16:21} Then were the people
of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni
the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri. {16:22}
But the people who followed Omri prevailed against the people who
followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned.
{16:23} In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to
reign over Israel, [and reigned] twelve years: six years reigned he in
Tirzah. {16:24} He bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents
of silver; and he built on the hill, and called the name of the city
which he built, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill,
Samaria. {16:25} Omri did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh,
and dealt wickedly above all who were before him. {16:26} For he
walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sins
with which he made Israel to sin, to provoke Yahweh, the God of
Israel, to anger with their vanities. {16:27} Now the rest of the acts
of Omri which he did, and his might that he shown, aren't they written
in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? {16:28} So Omri
slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria; and Ahab his son
reigned in his place. {16:29} In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of
Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the
son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. {16:30}
Ahab the son of Omri did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh
above all that were before him. {16:31} It happened, as if it had been
a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of
Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of
the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. {16:32} He
reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built
in Samaria. {16:33} Ahab made the Asherah; and Ahab did yet more to
provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of
Israel who were before him. {16:34} In his days did Hiel the Bethelite
build Jericho: he laid the foundation of it with the loss of Abiram
his firstborn, and set up the gates of it with the loss of his
youngest son Segub, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by
Joshua the son of Nun.
{17:1} Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the foreigners of Gilead,
said to Ahab, As Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I
stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to
my word. {17:2} The word of Yahweh came to him, saying, {17:3} Get you
hence, and turn you eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith,
that is before the Jordan. {17:4} It shall be, that you shall drink of
the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. {17:5}
So he went and did according to the word of Yahweh; for he went and
lived by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan. {17:6} The
ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh
in the evening; and he drank of the brook. {17:7} It happened after a
while, that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
{17:8} The word of Yahweh came to him, saying, {17:9} Arise, get you
to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there: behold, I have
commanded a widow there to sustain you. {17:10} 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 he called to her, and said,
Please get me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. {17:11} As
she was going to get it, he called to her, and said, Please bring me a
morsel of bread in your hand. {17:12} She said, As Yahweh your God
lives, I don't have a cake, but a handful of meal in the jar, and a
little oil in the jar: and behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I
may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
{17:13} Elijah said to her, Don't be afraid; go and do as you have
said; but make me of it a little cake first, and bring it forth to me,
and afterward make for you and for your son. {17:14} For thus says
Yahweh, the God of Israel, The jar of meal shall not empty, neither
shall the jar of oil fail, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the
earth. {17:15} She went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and
she, and he, and her house, ate [many] days. {17:16} The jar of meal
didn't empty, neither did the jar of oil fail, according to the word
of Yahweh, which he spoke by Elijah. {17:17} It happened after these
things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell
sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in
him. {17:18} She said to Elijah, What have I to do with you, you man
of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to memory, and to kill my
son! {17:19} He said to her, Give me your son. He took him out of her
bosom, and carried him up into the chamber, where he abode, and laid
him on his own bed. {17:20} He cried to Yahweh, and said, Yahweh my
God, have you also brought evil on the widow with whom I sojourn, by
killing her son? {17:21} He stretched himself on the child three
times, and cried to Yahweh, and said, Yahweh my God, please let this
child's soul come into him again. {17:22} Yahweh listened to the voice
of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he
revived. {17:23} Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of
the chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and
Elijah said, Behold, your son lives. {17:24} The woman said to Elijah,
Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of Yahweh in
your mouth is truth.
{18:1} It happened after many days, that the word of Yahweh came to
Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I
will send rain on the earth. {18:2} Elijah went to show himself to
Ahab. The famine was sore in Samaria. {18:3} Ahab called Obadiah, who
was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared Yahweh greatly: {18:4} for
it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of Yahweh, that Obadiah
took one hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed
them with bread and water.) {18:5} Ahab said to Obadiah, Go through
the land, to all the springs of water, and to all the brooks:
peradventure we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive,
that we not lose all the animals. {18:6} So they divided the land
between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and
Obadiah went another way by himself. {18:7} As Obadiah was in the way,
behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and
said, Is it you, my lord Elijah? {18:8} He answered him, It is I: go,
tell your lord, Behold, Elijah [is here]. {18:9} He said, Wherein have
I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab,
to kill me? {18:10} As Yahweh your God lives, there is no nation or
kingdom, where my lord has not sent to seek you: and when they said,
He is not here, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they
didn't find you. {18:11} Now you say, Go, tell your lord, Behold,
Elijah [is here]. {18:12} It will happen, as soon as I am gone from
you, that the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you I don't know where; and
so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can't find you, he will kill me:
but I your servant fear Yahweh from my youth. {18:13} Wasn't it told
my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh, how I
hid one hundred men of Yahweh's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed
them with bread and water? {18:14} Now you say, Go, tell your lord,
Behold, Elijah [is here]; and he will kill me. {18:15} Elijah said, As
Yahweh of Armies lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself
to him today. {18:16} So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and
Ahab went to meet Elijah. {18:17} It happened, when Ahab saw Elijah,
that Ahab said to him, Is it you, you troubler of Israel? {18:18} He
answered, I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father's
house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of Yahweh, and you
have followed the Baals. {18:19} Now therefore send, and gather to me
all Israel to Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred
fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, who eat at
Jezebel's table. {18:20} So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel,
and gathered the prophets together to Mount Carmel. {18:21} Elijah
came near to all the people, and said, "How long will you waver
between the two sides? If Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal, then
follow him." The people answered him not a word. {18:22} Then Elijah
said to the people, "I, even I only, am left a prophet of Yahweh; but
Baal's prophets are four hundred fifty men. {18:23} Let them therefore
give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and
cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under; and I
will dress the other bull, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire
under. {18:24} You call on the name of your god, and I will call on
the name of Yahweh; and the God who answers by fire, let him be God."
All the people answered, "It is well said." {18:25} Elijah said to
the prophets of Baal, "Choose one bull for yourselves, and dress it
first; for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no
fire under it."
{18:26} They took the bull which was given them, and they dressed
it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon,
saying, Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any who answered.
They leaped about the altar which was made. {18:27} It happened at
noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud; for he is a god:
either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is on a journey, or
peradventure he sleeps and must be awakened. {18:28} They cried aloud,
and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lances, until
the blood gushed out on them. {18:29} It was so, when midday was past,
that they prophesied until the time of the offering of the [evening]
offering; but there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any who
regarded. {18:30} Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me; and
all the people came near to him. He repaired the altar of Yahweh that
was thrown down. {18:31} Elijah took twelve stones, according to the
number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of Yahweh
came, saying, Israel shall be your name. {18:32} With the stones he
built an altar in the name of Yahweh; and he made a trench about the
altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. {18:33} He put
the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the
wood. He said, Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt
offering, and on the wood. {18:34} He said, Do it the second time; and
they did it the second time. He said, Do it the third time; and they
did it the third time. {18:35} The water ran round about the altar;
and he filled the trench also with water. {18:36} It happened at the
time of the offering of the [evening] offering, that Elijah the
prophet came near, and said, Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and
of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and
that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your
word. {18:37} Hear me, Yahweh, hear me, that this people may know that
you, Yahweh, are God, and [that] you have turned their heart back
again. {18:38} Then the fire of Yahweh 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. {18:39} When all the people saw it,
they fell on their faces: and they said, Yahweh, he is God; Yahweh, he
is God. {18:40} and Elijah said to them, Take the prophets of Baal;
don't let one of them escape. They took them; and Elijah brought them
down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there. {18:41} Elijah said
to Ahab, Get you up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of
abundance of rain. {18:42} So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah
went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down on the earth,
and put his face between his knees. {18:43} He said to his servant, Go
up now, look toward the sea. He went up, and looked, and said, There
is nothing. He said, Go again seven times. {18:44} It happened at the
seventh time, that he said, "Behold, a small cloud, like a man's hand,
is rising out of the sea." He said, Go up, tell Ahab, Make ready [your
chariot], and get you down, that the rain not stop you. {18:45} It
happened in a little while, that the sky grew black with clouds and
wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel:
{18:46} and the hand of Yahweh was on Elijah; and he girded up his
waist, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
___
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