13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to
a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the
towns.14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had
compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is
a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they
can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They
do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said.19 And he directed the people to sit down on the
grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he
gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the
disciples gave them to the people.20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the
disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.21 The number of those
who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
At that time Herod the
tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus,2 and he said to his
attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why
miraculous powers are at work in him.”
3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison
because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,4 for John
had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.”5 Herod wanted to kill John,
but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.
6 On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests
and pleased Herod so much7 that he promised with an
oath to give her whatever she asked.8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on
a platter the head of John the Baptist.”9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths
and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted10 and had John beheaded in
the prison.11 His
head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her
mother.12 John’s
disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
After a long time, in the third year,
the word of the Lord came to Elijah:
“Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” 2 So
Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.
Now
the famine was severe in Samaria, 3 and Ahab had summoned
Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord. 4 While Jezebel
was killing off the Lord’s
prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves,
fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) 5 Ahab
had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe
we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have
to kill any of our animals.” 6 So they divided the land they
were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.
7 As
Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down
to the ground, and said, “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?”
8 “Yes,”
he replied. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”
9 “What
have I done wrong,” asked Obadiah, “that you are handing your servant over to Ahab
to be put to death? 10 As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where
my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or
kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you.
11 But now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is
here.’ 12 I don’t know where the Spirit of the Lord may carry you when I leave you. If
I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant
have worshiped the Lord since my
youth. 13 Haven’t you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel
was killing the prophets of the Lord?
I hid a hundred of the Lord’s
prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. 14 And
now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ He will kill me!”
15 Elijah
said, “As the Lord Almighty lives,
whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today.”
16 So
Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When
he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
18 “I
have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s
family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s
commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people
from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and
fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at
Jezebel’s table.”
20 So
Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount
Carmel. 21 Elijah went before 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 said nothing.
22 Then
Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s
prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get
two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them
cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will
prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then
you 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.”
Then
all the people said, “What you say is good.”
25 Elijah
said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first,
since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light
the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then
they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they
shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the
altar they had made.
27 At
noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god!
Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and
must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed
themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood
flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic
prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no
response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Then
Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he
repaired the altar of the Lord,
which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for
each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall
be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of
the Lord, and he dug a trench
around it large enough to hold two seahs[a] of seed. 33 He
arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he
said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and
on the wood.”
34 “Do
it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do
it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The
water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At
the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your
servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer
me, Lord, answer me, so these
people will know that you, Lord,
are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38 Then
the fire of the Lord fell and
burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up
the water in the trench.
39 When
all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
40 Then
Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!”
They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and
slaughtered there.
41 And
Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy
rain.” 42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed
to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his
knees.
43 “Go
and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
“There
is nothing there,” he said.
Seven
times Elijah said, “Go back.”
44 The
seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising
from the sea.”
So
Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the
rain stops you.’”
45 Meanwhile,
the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and
Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his
cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
