1 Reis 18

BLIVRE · Chapter 18/22

¹Passados muitos dias, veio a palavra do SENHOR a Elias no terceiro ano, dizendo: Vai, mostra-te a Acabe, e eu darei chuva sobre a face da terra.

²Foi, pois, Elias a mostrar-se a Acabe. Havia naquele tempo grande fome em Samaria.

³E Acabe chamou a Obadias seu mordomo, o qual Obadias era em grande maneira temeroso do SENHOR;

⁴Porque quando Jezabel destruía aos profetas do SENHOR, Obadias tomou cem profetas, os quais escondeu de cinquenta em cinquenta por covas, e sustentou-os a pão e água.

⁵E disse Acabe a Obadias: Vai pela terra a todas as fontes de águas, e a todos os ribeiros; que acaso acharemos grama com que conservemos a vida aos cavalos e às mulas, para que não nos fiquemos sem animais.

⁶E repartiram entre si a terra para percorrerem-na; Acabe foi por si só por um caminho, e Obadias foi separadamente por outro.

⁷E indo Obadias pelo caminho, encontrou-se com Elias; e como lhe conheceu, prostrou-se sobre seu rosto, e disse: Não és tu meu senhor Elias?

⁸E ele respondeu: Eu sou; vai, dize a teu amo: Eis que Elias.

⁹Porém ele disse: Em que ei pecado, para que tu entregues teu servo em mão de Acabe para que me mate?

¹⁰Vive o SENHOR teu Deus, que não houve nação nem reino de onde meu senhor não haja enviado a buscar-te; e respondendo eles: Não está aqui, ele conjurou a reinos e nações se não te acharam.

¹¹E agora tu dizes: Vai, dize a teu amo: Aqui está Elias?

¹²E acontecerá que, logo que eu me haja partido de ti, o espírito do SENHOR te levará de onde eu não saiba; e vindo eu, e dando as novas a Acabe, e se ele não te achar, me matará; e teu servo teme ao SENHOR desde sua juventude.

¹³Não foi dito a meu senhor o que fiz, quando Jezabel matava aos profetas do SENHOR: que escondi cem homens dos profetas do SENHOR de cinquenta em cinquenta em covas, e os mantive a pão e água?

¹⁴E agora dizes tu: Vai, dize a teu amo: Aqui está Elias: para que ele me mate?

¹⁵E disse-lhe Elias: Vive o SENHOR dos exércitos, diante do qual estou, que hoje me mostrarei a ele.

¹⁶Então Obadias foi a encontrar-se com Acabe, e deu-lhe o aviso; e Acabe veio a encontrar-se com Elias.

¹⁷E quando Acabe viu a Elias, disse-lhe Acabe: És tu o que perturbas a Israel?

¹⁸E ele respondeu: Eu não perturbei a Israel, mas sim tu e a casa de teu pai, deixando os mandamentos do SENHOR, e seguindo aos baalins.

¹⁹Envia, pois, agora e juntai-me a todo Israel no monte de Carmelo, e os quatrocentos e cinquenta profetas de Baal, e os quatrocentos profetas dos bosques, que comem da mesa de Jezabel.

²⁰Então Acabe enviou a todos os filhos de Israel, e juntou os profetas no monte de Carmelo.

²¹E aproximando-se Elias a todo o povo, disse: Até quando hesitareis vós entre dois pensamentos? Se o SENHOR é Deus, segui-lhe; e se Baal, ide depois dele. E o povo não respondeu palavra.

²²E Elias converteu a dizer ao povo: Só eu restei profeta do SENHOR; mas dos profetas de Baal há quatrocentos e cinquenta homens.

²³Deem-se a nós, pois, dois bois, e escolham-se eles o um, e cortem-no em pedaços, e ponham-no sobre lenha, mas não ponham fogo debaixo; e eu prepararei o outro boi, e o porei sobre lenha, e nenhum fogo porei debaixo.

²⁴Invocai logo vós no nome de vossos deuses, e eu invocarei no nome do SENHOR: e o Deus que responder por fogo, esse seja Deus. E todo o povo respondeu, dizendo: Bem dito.

²⁵Então Elias disse aos profetas de Baal: Escolhei-vos o um boi, e fazei primeiro, pois que vós sois os mais: e invocai no nome de vossos deuses, mas não ponhais fogo debaixo.

²⁶E eles tomaram o boi que lhes foi dado, e prepararam-no, e invocaram no nome de Baal desde a manhã até o meio dia, dizendo: Baal, responde-nos! Mas não havia voz, nem quem respondesse; entretanto, eles andavam saltando próximo do altar que haviam feito.

²⁷E aconteceu ao meio dia, que Elias se ridicularizava deles, dizendo: Gritai em alta voz, que deus é: talvez esteja conversando, ou tem alguma ocupação, ou está caminhando; acaso dorme, e despertará.

²⁸E eles clamavam a grandes vozes, e cortavam-se com espadas e com lancetas conforme a seu costume, até jorrar o sangue sobre eles.

²⁹E quando passou o meio dia, e eles profetizaram até o tempo do sacrifício da oferta, e não havia voz, nem quem respondesse nem escutasse;

³⁰Elias disse então a todo o povo: Aproximai-vos a mim. E todo o povo se chegou a ele: e ele reparou o altar do SENHOR que estava arruinado.

³¹E tomando Elias doze pedras, conforme ao número das tribos dos filhos de Jacó, ao qual havia sido palavra do SENHOR, dizendo: Israel será teu nome;

³²Edificou com as pedras um altar no nome do SENHOR: depois fez uma sulco ao redor do altar, quanto cabiam duas medidas de semente.

³³Pôs logo a lenha, e cortou o boi em pedaços, e o pôs sobre a lenha.

³⁴E disse: Enchei quatro cântaros de água, e derramai-a sobre o holocausto e sobre a lenha. E disse: Fazei-o outra vez; e outra vez o fizeram. Disse ainda: Fazei-o a terceira vez; e fizeram-no a terceira vez.

³⁵De maneira que as águas corriam ao redor do altar; e havia também enchido de água o sulco.

³⁶E quando chegou a hora de oferecer-se o holocausto, chegou-se o profeta Elias, e disse: SENHOR Deus de Abraão, de Isaque, e de Israel, seja hoje manifesto que tu és Deus em Israel, e que eu sou teu servo, e que por mandado teu fiz todas estas coisas.

³⁷Responde-me, SENHOR, responde-me; para que conheça este povo que tu, ó SENHOR, és o Deus, e que tu voltaste atrás o coração deles.

³⁸Então caiu fogo do SENHOR, o qual consumiu o holocausto, e a lenha, e as pedras, e o pó, e ainda sugou as águas que estavam no sulco.

³⁹E vendo-o todo o povo, caíram sobre seus rostos, e disseram: o SENHOR é o Deus! o SENHOR é o Deus!

⁴⁰E disse-lhes Elias: Prendei aos profetas de Baal, que não escape ninguém. E eles os prenderam; e levou-os Elias ao ribeiro de Quisom, e ali os degolou.

⁴¹E então Elias disse a Acabe: Sobe, come e bebe; porque uma grande chuva faz ruído.

⁴²E Acabe subiu a comer e a beber. E Elias subiu ao cume do Carmelo; e prostrando-se em terra, pôs seu rosto entre os joelhos.

⁴³E disse a seu criado: Sobe agora, e olha até o mar. E ele subiu, e olhou, e disse: Não há nada. E ele lhe voltou a dizer: Volta sete vezes.

⁴⁴E à sétima vez disse: Eu vejo uma pequena nuvem como a palma da mão de um homem, que sobe do mar. E ele disse: Vai, e dize a Acabe: Unge e desce, porque a chuva não te interrompa.

⁴⁵E aconteceu, estando em isto, que os céus se escureceram com nuvens e vento; e houve uma grande chuva. E subindo Acabe, veio a Jezreel.

⁴⁶E a mão do SENHOR foi sobre Elias, o qual cingiu seus lombos, e veio correndo diante de Acabe até chegar a Jezreel.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

After three years of drought, Elijah challenges 450 prophets of Baal to a showdown on Mount Carmel: whichever god sets the sacrifice on fire wins. Baal does not answer despite hours of frantic pleading, but the fire of the Lord instantly consumes Elijah's sacrifice, even though it was soaked with water. The people kill the prophets of Baal, and the rain finally returns.

Explanation

This is one of the most dramatic and well-known confrontations in the entire Bible, a public and unmistakable demonstration that Yahweh, not Baal, is the one true God. Elijah deliberately soaks the altar with water to eliminate any doubt that the fire could have had natural causes. Elijah's words to the people — 'How long halt ye between two opinions?' — directly challenge spiritual indecision, a timeless call to choose clearly whom to serve rather than trying to balance genuine faith with contradictory practices.

Fun facts

The behavior of the prophets of Baal, who 'cut themselves with knives and lancets till the blood gushed out,' reflects real Canaanite cult practices documented by archaeologists, who believed self-mutilation could arouse the god's attention and compassion.
Mount Carmel, the site of the confrontation, carried extra significance because it was also considered sacred by Baal's worshippers — Elijah chooses the rival god's own 'territory' for God's display of power.

Verse-by-verse explanation

1 Reis 18:1After many days, now in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD tells Elijah to present himself to Ahab, because the rain is finally about to return.
1 Reis 18:2Elijah goes to present himself to Ahab; the famine in Samaria was severe after so long without rain.
1 Reis 18:3Ahab summons Obadiah, the palace administrator — a man who, despite serving this king, deeply feared the LORD.
1 Reis 18:4Jezebel was carrying out a systematic persecution of the LORD’s prophets. Obadiah, a high official in Ahab’s own court, was risking his life hiding and secretly providing for this group, a quiet counterpoint to the king he served.
1 Reis 18:5Ahab sends Obadiah to search every spring and valley for pasture, trying to keep the horses and mules alive before they all die of hunger.
1 Reis 18:6The two of them divide the land between themselves to search separately, each taking a different route.
1 Reis 18:7On the road, Obadiah meets Elijah; recognizing him, he falls to the ground and asks: is it really you, my lord Elijah?
1 Reis 18:8Elijah confirms it is him and asks Obadiah to go tell Ahab that Elijah is here.
1 Reis 18:9Obadiah panics, asking what sin he has committed that Elijah would want to hand him over to Ahab to be killed.
1 Reis 18:10He explains that Ahab has already searched every nation and kingdom for Elijah, even making them swear an oath when they couldn’t find him — it shows just how obsessed the king was with hunting him down.
1 Reis 18:11And now Elijah wants him to go tell Ahab, “Behold, Elijah is here” — a request that could cost Obadiah his life.
1 Reis 18:12Obadiah fears that as soon as he leaves, the Spirit of the LORD will carry Elijah off to some unknown place, and when Ahab can’t find him, he’ll kill Obadiah — even though Obadiah has feared the LORD from his youth.
1 Reis 18:13He reminds Elijah of what he has already done: he hid a hundred of the LORD’s prophets in caves, fifty at a time, feeding them bread and water during Jezebel’s persecution.
1 Reis 18:14He repeats his fear: if he tells Ahab, “Behold, Elijah is here,” and Elijah has vanished, Ahab will kill him.
1 Reis 18:15Elijah swears by the LORD of hosts that he will indeed show himself to Ahab that very day, reassuring Obadiah.
1 Reis 18:16Obadiah goes to find Ahab and tells him; then Ahab goes to meet Elijah.
1 Reis 18:17On seeing Elijah, Ahab asks: is it you, the troubler of Israel?
1 Reis 18:18Elijah turns the accusation around: I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house, by abandoning the LORD’s commandments and following the Baals.
1 Reis 18:19These prophets were supported directly by the queen, which shows that the worship of Baal and Asherah in Israel wasn’t some spontaneous popular movement. It was a state-sponsored project run through Jezebel.
1 Reis 18:20Ahab sends word to all Israel and gathers the prophets on Mount Carmel — the stage set for the great confrontation.
1 Reis 18:21The original expression carries the idea of limping, wavering between two opinions at once. Elijah challenges the people to stop trying to serve both Baal and the LORD and finally choose one of the two paths.
1 Reis 18:22Elijah points out the imbalance: he alone is left as a prophet of the LORD, while there are four hundred fifty prophets of Baal.
1 Reis 18:23He proposes the rules: give them two bulls; let them choose one, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood without lighting the fire, while he does the same with the other.
1 Reis 18:24The god who answers by fire, he is the true God — and the people agree the proposal is fair.
1 Reis 18:25Elijah lets the prophets of Baal go first, since they are many: choose the bull, prepare it, and call on the name of their god without lighting the fire.
1 Reis 18:26They prepare the bull and call on the name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, “O Baal, hear us,” but there was no voice, nor any that answered, and they leap around the altar.
1 Reis 18:27At noon Elijah starts mocking them: shout louder, maybe he’s deep in thought, or busy, or traveling, or perhaps asleep and needs waking up.
1 Reis 18:28Ritual self-harm was part of mourning and supplication practices known in the Canaanite world, meant to catch a god’s attention through pain. The text describes the custom without inventing details, simply recording that it did no good.
1 Reis 18:29Past noon they keep up the frantic ritual until the time of the evening sacrifice, but there was no voice, no answer, and no sign at all.
1 Reis 18:30Elijah calls the people near and repairs the altar of the LORD, which had been torn down.
1 Reis 18:31He takes twelve stones, one for each tribe descended from Jacob, the man to whom God said, “Israel shall be thy name” — a deliberate symbol of the twelve tribes reunited.
1 Reis 18:32With these stones he builds an altar in the name of the LORD, then digs a trench around it, large enough to hold a good amount of water.
1 Reis 18:33He arranges the wood, cuts the bull in pieces, and lays it on top.
1 Reis 18:34He has four large jars filled with water and poured over the offering and the wood — and has it done two more times.
1 Reis 18:35The water runs down around the altar and even fills the trench — making the coming miracle of fire even more striking, since everything was soaked through.
1 Reis 18:36At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah steps forward and prays: LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that You are God in Israel, that I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word.
1 Reis 18:37Answer me, LORD, answer me, so that this people may know that You are God and that You are turning their hearts back.
1 Reis 18:38Fire falls from heaven and consumes the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licks up all the water in the trench — a complete, unmistakable miracle.
1 Reis 18:39On seeing this, the people fall on their faces, crying out, “The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.”
1 Reis 18:40Under the logic of Israel’s covenant, prophets who led the people to other gods were treated as guilty of a capital crime. The mass execution after the Carmel showdown follows that same old legal logic, even though it sounds brutal to us today.
1 Reis 18:41Elijah tells Ahab to go up, eat, and drink, because the sound of a heavy rain can already be heard coming — even though the sky is still clear.
1 Reis 18:42Ahab goes up to eat and drink, but Elijah climbs to the top of Carmel, bends down to the ground, and puts his face between his knees — the posture of intense prayer.
1 Reis 18:43He sends his servant to look toward the sea; the servant looks and says there is nothing, and Elijah sends him back seven times.
1 Reis 18:44On the seventh time the servant reports a small cloud, the size of a hand, rising from the sea; Elijah sends word for Ahab to hitch up his chariot and go down before the rain stops him.
1 Reis 18:45Meanwhile the sky grows black with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain comes; Ahab gets into his chariot and heads to Jezreel.
1 Reis 18:46The power of the LORD comes on Elijah, who ties up his cloak at the waist and runs ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel — a superhuman burst of energy after that entire day.