1 Kings 18:1

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

Elijah Meets the King’s Servant Some time later, in the third year of the famine, the LORD’S message came to Elijah,“Go, make an appearance before Ahab, so I may send rain on the surface of the ground.”

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Luke 4:25 : 25 But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, when the sky was shut up three and a half years, and there was a great famine over all the land.
  • Jas 5:17 : 17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!
  • 1 Kgs 17:1 : 1 Elijah Visits a Widow in Sidonian Territory Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab,“As certainly as the LORD God of Israel lives(whom I serve), there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command.”
  • Deut 28:12 : 12 The LORD will open for you his good treasure house, the heavens, to give you rain for the land in its season and to bless all you do; you will lend to many nations but you will not borrow from any.
  • Lev 26:4 : 4 I will give you your rains in their time so that the land will give its yield and the trees of the field will produce their fruit.
  • Rev 11:6 : 6 These two have the power to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the time they are prophesying. They have power to turn the waters to blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague whenever they want.
  • 1 Kgs 17:7 : 7 After a while, the stream dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
  • 1 Kgs 17:15 : 15 She went and did as Elijah told her; there was always enough food for Elijah and for her and her family.
  • 1 Kgs 18:2 : 2 So Elijah went to make an appearance before Ahab.Now the famine was severe in Samaria.
  • 1 Kgs 18:15-40 : 15 But Elijah said,“As certainly as the LORD of Heaven’s Armies lives(whom I serve), I will make an appearance before him today.” 16 Elijah Confronts Baal’s Prophets When Obadiah went and informed Ahab, the king went to meet Elijah. 17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him,“Is it really you, the one who brings disaster on Israel?” 18 Elijah replied,“I have not brought disaster on Israel. But you and your father’s dynasty have, by abandoning the LORD’s commandments and following the Baals. 19 Now send out messengers and assemble all Israel before me at Mount Carmel, as well as the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah whom Jezebel supports.” 20 Ahab sent messengers to all the Israelites and had the prophets assemble at Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah approached all the people and said,“How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? If the LORD is the true God, then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!” But the people did not say a word. 22 Elijah said to them:“I am the only prophet of the LORD who is left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal. 23 Let them bring us two bulls. Let them choose one of the bulls for themselves, cut it up into pieces, and place it on the wood. But they must not set it on fire. I will do the same to the other bull and place it on the wood. But I will not set it on fire. 24 Then you will invoke the name of your god, and I will invoke the name of the LORD. The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God.” All the people responded,“This will be a fair test.” 25 Elijah told the prophets of Baal,“Choose one of the bulls for yourselves and go first, for you are the majority. Invoke the name of your god, but do not light a fire.” 26 So they took a bull, as he had suggested, and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying,“Baal, answer us.” But there was no sound and no answer. They jumped around on the altar they had made. 27 At noon Elijah mocked them,“Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.” 28 So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual, mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood. 29 Throughout the afternoon they were in an ecstatic frenzy, but there was no sound, no answer, and no response. 30 Elijah then told all the people,“Approach me.” So all the people approached him. He repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down. 31 Then Elijah took twelve stones, corresponding to the number of tribes that descended from Jacob, to whom the LORD’s message had come,“Israel will be your name.” 32 With the stones he constructed an altar for the LORD. Around the altar he made a trench large enough to contain two seahs of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood. Then he said,“Fill four water jars and pour the water on the offering and the wood.” 34 When they had done so, he said,“Do it again.” So they did it again. Then he said,“Do it a third time.” So they did it a third time. 35 The water flowed down all sides of the altar and filled the trench. 36 When it was time for the evening offering, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and prayed:“O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove 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, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are the true God and that you are winning back their allegiance.” 38 Then fire from the LORD fell from the sky. It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said,“The LORD is the true God! The LORD is the true God!” 40 Elijah told them,“Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let even one of them escape!” So they seized them, and Elijah led them down to the Kishon Valley and executed them there.
  • Ps 65:9-9 : 9 You visit the earth and give it rain; you make it rich and fertile. God’s streams are full of water; you provide grain for them, for you have prepared the earth in this way. 10 You saturate its furrows, and soak its plowed ground. With rain showers you soften its soil, and make its crops grow. 11 You crown the year with your good blessings, and you leave abundance in your wake. 12 The pastures in the wilderness glisten with moisture, and the hills are clothed with joy. 13 The meadows are clothed with sheep, and the valleys are covered with grain. They shout joyfully, yes, they sing.
  • Isa 5:6 : 6 I will make it a wasteland; no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, and thorns and briers will grow there. I will order the clouds not to drop any rain on it.
  • Jer 10:13 : 13 When his voice thunders, the heavenly ocean roars. He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons. He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain. He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it.
  • Jer 14:22 : 22 Do any of the worthless idols of the nations cause rain to fall? Do the skies themselves send showers? Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this? So we put our hopes in you because you alone do all this.”
  • Joel 2:23 : 23 Citizens of Zion, rejoice! Be glad because of what the LORD your God has done! For he has given to you the early rains as vindication. He has sent to you the rains– both the early and the late rains as formerly.
  • Amos 4:7 : 7 “I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. I gave rain to one city, but not to another. One field would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.
  • Rev 11:2 : 2 But do not measure the outer courtyard of the temple; leave it out, because it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will trample on the holy city for forty-two months.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • 1 Kgs 18:2-3
    2 verses
    85%

    2So Elijah went to make an appearance before Ahab.Now the famine was severe in Samaria.

    3So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who supervised the palace.(Now Obadiah was a very loyal follower of the LORD.

  • 1 Kgs 17:1-3
    3 verses
    83%

    1Elijah Visits a Widow in Sidonian Territory Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab,“As certainly as the LORD God of Israel lives(whom I serve), there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command.”

    2The LORD’s message came to him:

    3“Leave here and travel eastward. Hide out in the Kerith Valley near the Jordan.

  • 1 Kgs 18:41-46
    6 verses
    81%

    41Then Elijah told Ahab,“Go on up and eat and drink, for the sound of a heavy rainstorm can be heard.”

    42So Ahab went on up to eat and drink, while Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel. He bent down toward the ground and put his face between his knees.

    43He told his servant,“Go on up and look in the direction of the sea.” So he went on up, looked, and reported,“There is nothing.” Seven times Elijah sent him to look.

    44The seventh time the servant said,“Look, a small cloud, the size of the palm of a man’s hand, is rising up from the sea.” Elijah then said,“Go and tell Ahab,‘Hitch up the chariots and go down, so that the rain won’t overtake you.’”

    45Meanwhile the sky was covered with dark clouds, the wind blew, and there was a heavy rainstorm. Ahab rode toward Jezreel.

    46Now the LORD energized Elijah with power; he tucked his robe into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

  • 1 Kgs 21:28
    80%

    28The LORD’s message came to Elijah the Tishbite,

  • 1 Kgs 17:7-8
    2 verses
    78%

    7After a while, the stream dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

    8The LORD’s message came to him,

  • 1 Kgs 18:11-17
    7 verses
    77%

    11Now you say,‘Go and say to your master,“Elijah is back.”’

    12But when I leave you, the LORD’s Spirit will carry you away so I can’t find you. If I go tell Ahab I’ve seen you, he won’t be able to find you and he will kill me. That would not be fair, because your servant has been a loyal follower of the LORD from my youth.

    13Certainly my master is aware of what I did when Jezebel was killing the LORD’s prophets. I hid one hundred of the LORD’s prophets in two caves in two groups of fifty and I brought them food and water.

    14Now you say,‘Go and say to your master,“Elijah is back,”’ but he will kill me.”

    15But Elijah said,“As certainly as the LORD of Heaven’s Armies lives(whom I serve), I will make an appearance before him today.”

    16Elijah Confronts Baal’s Prophets When Obadiah went and informed Ahab, the king went to meet Elijah.

    17When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him,“Is it really you, the one who brings disaster on Israel?”

  • 1 Kgs 21:17-18
    2 verses
    76%

    17The LORD’S message came to Elijah the Tishbite:

    18“Get up, go down and meet King Ahab of Israel who lives in Samaria. He is at the vineyard of Naboth; he has gone down there to take possession of it.

  • Jas 5:17-18
    2 verses
    75%

    17Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!

    18Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest.

  • 1 Kgs 18:35-36
    2 verses
    74%

    35The water flowed down all sides of the altar and filled the trench.

    36When it was time for the evening offering, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and prayed:“O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.

  • 1 Kgs 19:8-9
    2 verses
    73%

    8So he got up and ate and drank. That meal gave him the strength to travel forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

    9He went into a cave there and spent the night. All of a sudden the LORD’s message came to him,“Why are you here, Elijah?”

  • 2 Kgs 1:15
    72%

    15The LORD’s angel said to Elijah,“Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down with him to the king.

  • 1 Kgs 22:2
    71%

    2In the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah came down to visit the king of Israel.

  • 1 Kgs 17:14-15
    2 verses
    71%

    14For this is what the LORD God of Israel has said,‘The jar of flour will not be empty and the jug of oil will not run out until the day the LORD makes it rain on the surface of the ground.’”

    15She went and did as Elijah told her; there was always enough food for Elijah and for her and her family.

  • Deut 11:14
    71%

    14then he promises,“I will send rain for your land in its season, the autumn and the spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine, and olive oil.

  • 2 Kgs 1:3
    71%

    3But the LORD’s angel told Elijah the Tishbite,“Get up, go to meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Say this to them:‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are on your way to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub the god of Ekron.

  • 1 Kgs 19:13
    71%

    13When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. All of a sudden a voice asked him,“Why are you here, Elijah?”

  • 1 Kgs 20:13
    71%

    13The Lord Delivers Israel Now a prophet visited King Ahab of Israel and said,“This is what the LORD has said,‘Do you see this huge army? Look, I am going to hand it over to you this very day. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

  • 1 Kgs 18:20
    71%

    20Ahab sent messengers to all the Israelites and had the prophets assemble at Mount Carmel.

  • 2 Kgs 1:13
    71%

    13The king sent a third captain and his fifty soldiers. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. He begged for mercy,“Prophet, please have respect for my life and for the lives of these fifty servants of yours.

  • Zech 10:1
    71%

    1The Restoration of the True People Ask the LORD for rain in the season of the late spring rains– the LORD who causes thunderstorms– and he will give everyone showers of rain and green growth in the field.

  • 2 Kgs 1:9
    71%

    9The king sent a captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. The captain went up to him, while he was sitting on the top of a hill. He told him,“Prophet, the king says,‘Come down!’”

  • 2 Kgs 8:1
    71%

    1Elisha Again Helps the Shunammite Woman Now Elisha advised the woman whose son he had brought back to life,“You and your family should go and live somewhere else for a while, for the LORD has decreed that a famine will overtake the land for seven years.”

  • 1 Kgs 18:7-8
    2 verses
    70%

    7As Obadiah was traveling along, Elijah met him. When he recognized him, he fell facedown to the ground and said,“Is it really you, my master, Elijah?”

    8He replied,“Yes, go and say to your master,‘Elijah is back.’”

  • 2 Kgs 2:1
    70%

    1Elijah Makes a Swift Departure Just before the LORD took Elijah up to heaven in a windstorm, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal.

  • Ezek 31:1
    70%

    1A Cedar in Lebanon In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the LORD’s message came to me:

  • Luke 4:25
    70%

    25But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, when the sky was shut up three and a half years, and there was a great famine over all the land.

  • Amos 4:7
    70%

    7“I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. I gave rain to one city, but not to another. One field would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.

  • 2 Kgs 3:12
    70%

    12Jehoshaphat said,“Yes, he receives the LORD’s messages.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to visit him.

  • 1 Kgs 17:24
    69%

    24The woman said to Elijah,“Now I know that you are a prophet and that the LORD’s message really does come through you.”