The afternoon passed, and the prophets continued to act like this until it was time for the evening sacrifice. But no voice was heard; Baal did not answer, and no one paid attention.
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Now come to me.” So they gathered around him, and Elijah rebuilt the altar of the LORD, which had been torn down. He took twelve stones, one stone for each of the twelve tribes, the number of Jacob’s sons. (The LORD changed Jacob’s name to Israel.) Elijah used these stones to rebuild the altar in honor of the LORD. Then he dug a ditch around the altar that was big enough to hold about thirteen quarts of seed. Elijah put the wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood. Then he said, “Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the meat and on the wood.” Then Elijah said, “Do it again,” and they did it again. Then he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it the third time. So the water ran off the altar and filled the ditch.
At the time for the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah went near the altar. “LORD, you are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,” he prayed. “Prove that you are the God of Israel and that I am your servant. Show these people that you commanded me to do all these things. LORD, answer my prayer so these people will know that you, LORD, are God and that you will change their minds.”
Then fire from the LORD came down and burned the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the ground around the altar. It also dried up the water in the ditch. When all the people saw this, they fell down to the ground, crying, “The LORD is God! The LORD is God!”
Then Elijah said, “Capture the prophets of Baal! Don’t let any of them run away!” The people captured all the prophets. Then Elijah led them down to the Kishon Valley, where he killed them.
Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Now, go, eat, and drink, because a heavy rain is coming.” So King Ahab went to eat and drink. At the same time Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, where he bent down to the ground with his head between his knees.
Then Elijah said to his servant, “Go and look toward the sea.”
The servant went and looked. “I see nothing,” he said.
Elijah told him to go and look again. This happened seven times. The seventh time, the servant said, “I see a small cloud, the size of a human fist, coming from the sea.”
Elijah told the servant, “Go to Ahab and tell him to get his chariot ready and go home now. Otherwise, the rain will stop him.”
After a short time the sky was covered with dark clouds. The wind began to blow, and soon a heavy rain began to fall. Ahab got in his chariot and started back to Jezreel. The LORD gave his power to Elijah, who tightened his clothes around him and ran ahead of King Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
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