Ahab

²⁸ And Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab reigned in his place.

²⁹ In the thirty-eighth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twenty-two years.

³⁰ However, Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.

Then he set up an Asherah pole. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.

Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”

¹ After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.”

² So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria,

³ and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD,

⁴ for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)

⁵ Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock.”

⁶ So they divided the land to explore. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.

But Obadiah replied, “How have I sinned, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death?

I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.

¹⁶ So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah.

¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”

So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.

⁴¹ And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”

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

⁴³ “Go and look toward the sea,” he said to his servant. So the servant went and looked, and he said, “There is nothing there.” Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

⁴⁴ On the seventh time the servant reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.” And Elijah replied, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”

⁴⁵ Meanwhile, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain began to fall. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.

⁴⁶ And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.