1 Ahab fortalte Jezebel om alt Elia hadde gjort, og hvordan han hadde drept alle profetene med sverd.

Ahab gave Jezebel news of all Elijah had done, and how he had put all the prophets to death with the sword.

2 Da sendte Jezebel en tjener til Elia og sa: Måtte gudene straffe meg om jeg ikke gjør livet ditt likt deres innen i morgen denne tiden.

Then Jezebel sent a servant to Elijah, saying, May the gods' punishment be on me if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.

3 Han reiste seg, redd for sitt liv, og flyktet til Beersheba i Juda, hvor han forlot tjeneren sin.

And he got up, fearing for his life, and went in flight, and came to Beer-sheba in Judah, parting there from his servant;

4 Han selv fortsatte en dagsreise inn i ødemarken, satte seg under en gyvelbusk og ønsket å dø. Han sa: Det er nok nå, Herre, ta mitt liv, for jeg er ikke bedre enn fedrene mine.

While he himself went a day's journey into the waste land, and took a seat under a broom-plant, desiring for himself only death; for he said, It is enough: now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.

5 Han la seg ned og sov under gyvelbusken, men en engel rørte ved ham og sa: Stå opp og spis.

And stretching himself on the earth, he went to sleep under the broom-plant; but an angel, touching him, said to him, Get up and have some food.

6 Han så opp og så ved sitt hode en brødkake bakt på varme steiner og en krukke med vann. Han spiste og drakk og la seg igjen.

And looking up, he saw by his head a cake cooked on the stones and a bottle of water. So he took food and drink and went to sleep again.

7 Herrens engel kom igjen, rørte ved ham og sa: Stå opp og spis, ellers blir veien for lang for deg.

And the angel of the Lord came again a second time, and touching him said, Get up and have some food, or the journey will be overmuch for your strength.

8 Så sto han opp, spiste og drakk, og med den styrken fra maten gikk han førti dager og netter til Horeb, Guds berg.

So he got up and took food and drink, and in the strength of that food he went on for forty days and nights, to Horeb, the mountain of God.

9 Der gikk han inn i en hule for natten; da kom Herrens ord til ham og sa: Hva gjør du her, Elia?

And there he went into a hole in the rock for the night; then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, What are you doing here, Elijah?

10 Han svarte: Jeg har brent av iver for Herren, hærskarenes Gud, for israelittene har brutt din pakt, de har revet ned dine altere, og de har drept dine profeter med sverd. Jeg er den eneste som er igjen, og nå prøver de å ta livet mitt.

And he said, I have been burning for the honour of the Lord, the God of armies; for the children of Israel have not kept your agreement; they have made destruction of your altars, and have put your prophets to death with the sword: till I, even I, am the only one living; and now they are attempting to take away my life.

11 Så sa han: Gå ut og still deg på fjellet for Herrens åsyn. Da gikk Herren forbi, og et stort og sterkt vind rev opp fjellet og knuste klippene for Herrens åsyn, men Herren var ikke i vinden. Etter vinden var det et jordskjelv, men Herren var ikke i jordskjelvet.

Then he said, Go out and take your place on the mountain before the Lord. Then the Lord went by, and mountains were parted by the force of a great wind, and rocks were broken before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind there was an earth-shock, but the Lord was not in the earth-shock.

12 Etter jordskjelvet kom en ild, men Herren var ikke i ilden. Etter ilden kom lyden av en stille, spak stemme.

And after the earth-shock a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sound of a soft breath.

13 Når Elia hørte det, skjulte han ansiktet med kappen, gikk ut og sto ved huleinngangen. En stemme kom til ham og sa: Hva gjør du her, Elia?

And Elijah, hearing it, went out, covering his face with his robe, and took his place in the opening of the hole. And there a voice came to him saying, What are you doing here, Elijah?

14 Han svarte: Jeg har brent av iver for Herren, hærskarenes Gud, for israelittene har brutt din pakt, de har revet ned dine altere, og de har drept dine profeter med sverd. Jeg er den eneste som er igjen, og nå prøver de å ta livet mitt.

And he said, I have been burning for the honour of the Lord, the God of armies; for the children of Israel have not kept your agreement; they have had your altars broken down, and have put your prophets to death with the sword: till I, even I, am the only one living; and now they are attempting to take away my life.

15 Herren sa til ham: Gå tilbake den veien du kom, gjennom ørkenen til Damaskus; når du kommer dit, skal du salve Hazael til konge over Aram.

And the Lord said to him, Go back on your way through the waste land to Damascus; and when you come there, put the holy oil on Hazael to make him king over Aram;

16 Du skal også salve Jehu, sønn av Nimshi, til konge over Israel, og Elisha, sønn av Shafat fra Abel-Mehola, til profet i ditt sted.

And on Jehu, son of Nimshi, making him king over Israel; and on Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, to be prophet in your place.

17 Den som slipper unna Hazels sverd skal Jehu drepe, og den som slipper unna Jehus sverd skal Elisha drepe.

And it will come about that the man who gets away safe from the sword of Hazael, Jehu will put to death; and whoever gets away safe from the sword of Jehu, Elisha will put to death.

18 Men jeg vil spare sju tusen i Israel, alle de som ikke har bøyd kne for Baal eller kysset ham.

But I will keep safe seven thousand in Israel, all those whose knees have not been bent to Baal, and whose mouths have given him no kisses.

19 Så dro han derfra og fant Elisha, sønn av Shafat, som pløyde med tolv par okser, og selv var med det tolvte. Elia kom bort til ham og kastet kappen sin over ham.

So he went away from there and came across Elisha, the son of Shaphat, ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen, he himself walking with the twelfth; and Elijah went up to him and put his robe on him.

20 Han lot oksene stå og sprang etter Elia og sa: La meg bare kysse far og mor farvel, så skal jeg følge deg. Elia sa til ham: Gå tilbake, for hva har jeg egentlig gjort med deg?

And letting the oxen be where they were, he came running after Elijah, and said, Only let me give a kiss to my father and mother, and then I will come after you. But he said to him, Go back again; for what have I done to you?

21 Elisha gikk tilbake, tok oksene og slaktet dem, kokte kjøttet på redskapene og ga folket å spise. Så reiste han seg og fulgte Elia og ble hans tjener.

And he went back, and took the oxen and put them to death, and cooking their flesh with the yokes of the oxen, he gave the people a feast. Then he got up and went after Elijah and became his servant.