Elijah Confronts Ahab

¹dAfter many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.” ²So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. ³And Ahab called Obadiah, who was eover the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, ⁴and fwhen Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.) ⁵And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.” ⁶So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.

⁷And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” ⁸And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” ⁹And he said, “How have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? ¹⁰gAs the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. ¹¹And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’ ¹²And as soon as I have gone from you, hthe Spirit of the Lord will carry you I know not where. And 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. ¹³Has it not been told my lord what I did iwhen Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water? ¹⁴And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here”’; and he will kill me.” ¹⁵And Elijah said, g“As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” ¹⁶So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.

¹⁷When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, j“Is it you, you ktroubler of Israel?” ¹⁸And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father's house, because you have labandoned the commandments of the Lord and mfollowed the Baals. ¹⁹Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount nCarmel, and the o450 prophets of Baal and pthe 400 prophets of Asherah, qwho eat at Jezebel's table.”

The Prophets of Baal Defeated

²⁰So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. ²¹And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long rwill you go limping between two different opinions? sIf the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. ²²Then Elijah said to the people, t“I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are u450 men. ²³Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. ²⁴And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who vanswers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” ²⁵Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” ²⁶And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. ²⁷And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” ²⁸And they cried aloud and wcut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. ²⁹And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of xthe offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

³⁰Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been ythrown down. ³¹Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, z“Israel shall be your name,” ³²and 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 seahs1 of seed. ³³aAnd he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and bpour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” ³⁴And 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. ³⁵And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.

³⁶And at the time of cthe offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, dGod of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that eyou are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that fI have done all these things at your word. ³⁷Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” ³⁸gThen 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. ³⁹And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, h“The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” ⁴⁰And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to ithe brook Kishon and jslaughtered them there.

The Lord Sends Rain

⁴¹And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” ⁴²So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. kAnd he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. ⁴³And he 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. ⁴⁴And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, la little cloud like a man's hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’” ⁴⁵And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to mJezreel. ⁴⁶nAnd the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, oand he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of pJezreel.

Greeting

¹Paul, aSilvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the bThessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

cGrace to you and peace.

The Thessalonians' Faith and Example

²dWe give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly1 ementioning you in our prayers, ³remembering before four God and Father gyour work of faith and labor of hlove and isteadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴For we know, jbrothers2 loved by God, kthat he has chosen you, ⁵because lour gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and min the Holy Spirit and with full nconviction. You know owhat kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. ⁶And pyou became imitators of us qand of the Lord, for ryou received the word in much affliction, swith the tjoy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸For not only has the word of the Lord usounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth veverywhere, so that we need not say anything. ⁹For they themselves report concerning us the kind of wreception we had among you, and how xyou turned to God yfrom idols to serve the living and ztrue God, ¹⁰and ato wait for his Son bfrom heaven, cwhom he raised from the dead, Jesus dwho delivers us from ethe wrath to come.

¹“These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern extreme, beside kthe way of Hethlon lto Lebo-hamath, as far as mHazar-enan (which is on the northern border of nDamascus over against Hamath), and extending1 from the east side to the west,2 oDan, one portion. ²Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, oAsher, one portion. ³Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, oNaphtali, one portion. ⁴Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion. ⁵Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion. ⁶Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion. ⁷Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion.

⁸“Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be pthe portion which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits3 in breadth, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with qthe sanctuary in the midst of it. ⁹The portion that you shall set apart for the Lord shall be 25,000 cubits in length, and 20,0004 in breadth. ¹⁰rThese shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring 25,000 cubits on the northern side, 10,000 cubits in breadth on the western side, 10,000 in breadth on the eastern side, and 25,000 in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the Lord in the midst of it. ¹¹This shall be for sthe consecrated priests, tthe sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, uas the Levites did. ¹²And it shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites. ¹³vAnd alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the breadth 20,000.5 ¹⁴They wshall not sell or exchange any of it. They shall not alienate xthis choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.

¹⁵y“The remainder, 5,000 cubits in breadth and 25,000 in length, shall be zfor common use for the city, for dwellings and for aopen country. In the midst of it shall be the city, ¹⁶and these shall be its measurements: bthe north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500, the east side 4,500, and the west side 4,500. ¹⁷And the city shall have open land: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250, on the east 250, and on the west 250. ¹⁸The remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be 10,000 cubits to the east, and 10,000 to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. cIts produce shall be food for the workers of the city. ¹⁹And the workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall till it. ²⁰The whole portion that dyou shall set apart shall be 25,000 cubits square, that is, the holy portion together with the property of the city.

²¹e“What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the 25,000 cubits of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. fThe holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple shall be in its midst. ²²It shall be separate from the property of the Levites and the property of the city, which are in the midst of that which belongs to the prince. The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin.

²³“As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion. ²⁴Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon, one portion. ²⁵Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar, one portion. ²⁶Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun, one portion. ²⁷Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad, one portion. ²⁸And adjoining the territory of Gad to the south, the boundary shall run gfrom Tamar to the waters of gMeribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt6 to hthe Great Sea.7 ²⁹This is the land that iyou shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the Lord God.

The Gates of the City

³⁰“These shall be jthe exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be k4,500 cubits by measure, ³¹lthree gates, the gate of mReuben, the gate of mJudah, and the gate of mLevi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel. ³²On the east side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. ³³On the south side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun. ³⁴On the west side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates,8 the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali. ³⁵The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And nthe name of the city from that time on shall be, oThe Lord Is There.”

O Lord My God, You Are Very Great

¹lBless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, you are mvery great!

nYou are clothed with splendor and majesty,

²covering yourself with light as with a garment,

ostretching out the heavens plike a tent.

³He qlays the beams of his rchambers on the waters;

he makes sthe clouds his chariot;

he rides on tthe wings of the wind;

⁴he umakes his messengers winds,

his vministers wa flaming fire.

⁵He xset the earth on its foundations,

so that it should never be moved.

⁶You ycovered it with the deep as with a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains.

⁷At zyour rebuke they fled;

at athe sound of your thunder they btook to flight.

⁸The mountains rose, the valleys sank down

to the place that you cappointed for them.

⁹You set da boundary that they may not pass,

so that they emight not again cover the earth.

¹⁰You make springs gush forth in the valleys;

they flow between the hills;

¹¹they fgive drink to every beast of the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

¹²Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;

they sing among the branches.

¹³gFrom your lofty abode you hwater the mountains;

the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

¹⁴You cause ithe grass to grow for the livestock

and jplants for man to cultivate,

that he may bring forth kfood from the earth

¹⁵and lwine to gladden the heart of man,

moil to make his face shine

and bread to nstrengthen man's heart.

¹⁶The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,

othe cedars of Lebanon pthat he planted.

¹⁷In them the birds build their nests;

the stork has her home in the fir trees.

¹⁸The high mountains are for qthe wild goats;

the rocks are a refuge for rthe rock badgers.

¹⁹He made the moon to mark the sseasons;1

the sun knows its time for setting.

²⁰tYou make darkness, and it is night,

when all the beasts of the forest creep about.

²¹uThe young lions roar for their prey,

seeking their food from God.

²²When the sun rises, they steal away

and lie down in their vdens.

²³wMan goes out to his work

and to his labor until the evening.

²⁴O Lord, how manifold are your works!

In xwisdom have you made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

²⁵Here is the sea, great and wide,

ywhich teems with creatures innumerable,

living things both small and great.

²⁶There go the ships,

and zLeviathan, which you formed to aplay in it.2

²⁷These ball look to you,

to cgive them their food in due season.

²⁸When you give it to them, they gather it up;

when you dopen your hand, they are filled with good things.

²⁹When you ehide your face, they are fdismayed;

when you gtake away their breath, they die

and hreturn to their dust.

³⁰When you isend forth your Spirit,3 they are created,

and you jrenew the face of the ground.

³¹May the glory of the Lord kendure forever;

may the Lord lrejoice in his works,

³²who looks on the earth and it mtrembles,

who ntouches the mountains and they smoke!

³³I will sing to the Lord oas long as I live;

I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

³⁴May my pmeditation be pleasing to him,

for I rejoice in the Lord.

³⁵Let qsinners be consumed from the earth,

and let the wicked be no more!

rBless the Lord, O my soul!

sPraise the Lord!