13. Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid one hundred men of the Lord’s prophets in groups of fifty in caves and sustained them with bread and water?
14. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold Elijah; and he shall slay me.
15. And Elijah said unto him, As the Lord of the hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him today.
16. Then Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab came to meet Elijah.
17. And it came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubles Israel?
18. And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.
19. Now therefore send and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of the groves, who eat at Jezebel’s table.
20. Then Ahab sent unto all the sons of Israel and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel.
21. And Elijah came near unto all the people and said, How long shall ye halt between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word.
22. Then Elijah spoke again unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
23. Give us, therefore, two bullocks, and let them choose one bullock for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on wood and put no fire under it; and I will dress the other bullock and lay it on wood and put no fire under it.
24. And invoke ye in the name of your gods, and I will invoke in the name of the Lord; and it shall be that the God that answers by fire is God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
25. So Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves and dress it first, for ye are many, and invoke in the name of your gods, but put no fire under it.
26. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it and invoked in the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, answer us. But there was no voice nor anyone that answered. And they jumped up and down near the altar which they had made.
27. And it came to pass at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, Cry aloud, for he is a god; peradventure he is talking or he had to go to the latrine, or he is on a journey, or he sleeps and will awake.
28. And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets until the blood gushed out upon them.