1 Kings 16; 1 Kings 17; 1 Kings 18; Luke 22:47-71

1 Jehu son of Hanani spoke the word of the Lord against King Baasha.

2 The Lord said, "You were nothing, but I took you and made you a leader over my people Israel. But you have followed the ways of Jeroboam and have led my people Israel to sin. Their sins have made me angry,

3 so, Baasha, I will soon destroy you and your family. I will do to you what I did to the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat.

4 Anyone from your family who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone from your family who dies in the fields will be eaten by birds."

5 Everything else Baasha did and all his victories are written down in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.

6 So Baasha died and was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah became king in his place.

7 The Lord spoke his word against Baasha and his family through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani. Baasha had done many things the Lord said were wrong, which made the Lord very angry. He did the same evil deeds that Jeroboam's family had done before him. The Lord also spoke against Baasha because he killed all of Jeroboam's family.

8 Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel during Asa's twenty-sixth year as king of Judah, and Elah ruled in Tirzah for two years.

9 Zimri, one of Elah's officers, commanded half of Elah's chariots. Zimri made plans against Elah while the king was in Tirzah, getting drunk at Arza's home. (Arza was in charge of the palace at Tirzah.)

10 Zimri went into Arza's house and killed Elah during Asa's twenty-seventh year as king of Judah. Then Zimri became king of Israel in Elah's place.

11 As soon as Zimri became king, he killed all of Baasha's family, not allowing any of Baasha's family or friends to live.

12 So Zimri destroyed all of Baasha's family just as the Lord had said it would happen through the prophet Jehu.

13 Baasha and his son Elah sinned and led the people of Israel to sin, and they made the Lord, the God of Israel, angry because of their worthless idols.

14 Everything else Elah did is written in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.

15 So during Asa's twenty-seventh year as king of Judah, Zimri became king of Israel and ruled in Tirzah seven days. The army of Israel was camped near Gibbethon, a Philistine town.

16 The men in the camp heard that Zimri had made secret plans against King Elah and had killed him. So that day in the camp they made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel.

17 So Omri and all the Israelite army left Gibbethon and attacked Tirzah.

18 When Zimri saw that the city had been captured, he went into the palace and set it on fire, burning the palace and himself with it.

19 So Zimri died because he had sinned by doing what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam had led the people of Israel to sin, and Zimri sinned in the same way as Jeroboam.

20 Everything else Zimri did and the story of how he turned against King Elah are written down in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.

21 The people of Israel were divided into two groups. Half of the people wanted Tibni son of Ginath to be king, while the other half wanted Omri.

22 Omri's followers were stronger than the followers of Tibni son of Ginath, so Tibni died, and Omri became king.

23 Omri became king of Israel during the thirty-first year Asa was king of Judah. Omri ruled Israel for twelve years, six of those years in the city of Tirzah.

24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for about one hundred fifty pounds of silver. Omri built a city on that hill and called it Samaria after the name of its earlier owner, Shemer.

25 But Omri did what the Lord said was wrong; he did more evil than all the kings who came before him.

26 Jeroboam son of Nebat had led the people of Israel to sin, and Omri sinned in the same way as Jeroboam. The Israelites made the Lord, the God of Israel, very angry because they worshiped worthless idols.

27 Everything else Omri did and all his successes are written in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.

28 So Omri died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab became king in his place.

29 Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel during Asa's thirty-eighth year as king of Judah, and Ahab ruled Israel in the city of Samaria for twenty-two years.

30 More than any king before him, Ahab son of Omri did many things the Lord said were wrong.

31 He sinned in the same ways as Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he did even worse things. He married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Sidon. Then Ahab began to serve Baal and worship him.

32 He built a temple in Samaria for worshiping Baal and put an altar there for Baal.

33 Ahab also made an idol for worshiping Asherah. He did more things to make the Lord, the God of Israel, angry than all the other kings before him.

34 During the time of Ahab, Hiel from Bethel rebuilt the city of Jericho. It cost Hiel the life of Abiram, his oldest son, to begin work on the city, and it cost the life of Segub, his youngest son, to build the city gates. This happened just as the Lord, speaking through Joshua son of Nun, said it would happen.

1 Now Elijah the Tishbite was a prophet from the settlers in Gilead. "I serve the Lord, the God of Israel," Elijah said to Ahab. "As surely as the Lord lives, no rain or dew will fall during the next few years unless I command it."

2 Then the Lord spoke his word to Elijah:

3 "Leave this place and go east and hide near Kerith Ravine east of the Jordan River.

4 You may drink from the stream, and I have commanded ravens to bring you food there."

5 So Elijah did what the Lord said; he went to Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and lived there.

6 The birds brought Elijah bread and meat every morning and evening, and he drank water from the stream.

7 After a while the stream dried up because there was no rain.

8 Then the Lord spoke his word to Elijah,

9 "Go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I have commanded a widow there to take care of you."

10 So Elijah went to Zarephath. When he reached the town gate, he saw a widow gathering wood for a fire. Elijah asked her, "Would you bring me a little water in a cup so I may have a drink."

11 As she was going to get his water, Elijah said, "Please bring me a piece of bread, too."

12 The woman answered, "As surely as the Lord your God lives, I have no bread. I have only a handful of flour in a jar and only a little olive oil in a jug. I came here to gather some wood so I could go home and cook our last meal. My son and I will eat it and then die from hunger."

13 "Don't worry," Elijah said to her. "Go home and cook your food as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread from the flour you have, and bring it to me. Then cook something for yourself and your son.

14 The Lord, the God of Israel, says, 'That jar of flour will never be empty, and the jug will always have oil in it, until the day the Lord sends rain to the land.'"

15 So the woman went home and did what Elijah told her to do. And the woman and her son and Elijah had enough food every day.

16 The jar of flour and the jug of oil were never empty, just as the Lord, through Elijah, had promised.

17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. He grew worse and worse and finally stopped breathing.

18 The woman said to Elijah, "Man of God, what have you done to me? Did you come here to remind me of my sin and to kill my son?"

19 Elijah said to her, "Give me your son." Elijah took the boy from her, carried him upstairs, and laid him on the bed in the room where he was staying.

20 Then he prayed to the Lord: "Lord my God, this widow is letting me stay in her house. Why have you done this terrible thing to her and caused her son to die?"

21 Then Elijah lay on top of the boy three times. He prayed to the Lord, "Lord my God, let this boy live again!"

22 The Lord answered Elijah's prayer; the boy began breathing again and was alive.

23 Elijah carried the boy downstairs and gave him to his mother and said, "See! Your son is alive!"

24 "Now I know you really are a man from God," the woman said to Elijah. "I know that the Lord truly speaks through you!"

1 During the third year without rain, the Lord spoke his word to Elijah: "Go and meet King Ahab, and I will soon send rain."

2 So Elijah went to meet Ahab. By this time there was no food in Samaria.

3 King Ahab sent for Obadiah, who was in charge of the king's palace. (Obadiah was a true follower of the Lord.

4 When Jezebel was killing all the Lord's prophets, Obadiah hid a hundred of them in two caves, fifty in one cave and fifty in another. He also brought them food and water.)

5 Ahab said to Obadiah, "Let's check every spring and valley in the land. Maybe we can find enough grass to keep our horses and mules alive and not have to kill our animals."

6 So each one chose a part of the country to search; Ahab went in one direction and Obadiah in another.

7 While Obadiah was on his way, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized Elijah, so he bowed down to the ground and said, "Elijah? Is it really you, master?"

8 "Yes," Elijah answered. "Go tell your master that I am here."

9 Then Obadiah said, "What wrong have I done for you to hand me over to Ahab like this? He will put me to death.

10 As surely as the Lord your God lives, the king has sent people to every country to search for you. If the ruler said you were not there, Ahab forced the ruler to swear you could not be found in his country.

11 Now you want me to go to my master and tell him, 'Elijah is here'?

12 The Spirit of the Lord may carry you to some other place after I leave. If I go tell King Ahab you are here, and he comes and doesn't find you, he will kill me! I have followed the Lord since I was a boy.

13 Haven't you been told what I did? When Jezebel was killing the Lord's prophets, I hid a hundred of them, fifty in one cave and fifty in another. I brought them food and water.

14 Now you want me to go and tell my master you are here? He will kill me!"

15 Elijah answered, "As surely as the Lord All-Powerful lives, whom I serve, I will be seen by Ahab today."

16 So Obadiah went to Ahab and told him where Elijah was. Then Ahab went to meet Elijah.

17 When he saw Elijah, he asked, "Is it you -- the biggest troublemaker in Israel?"

18 Elijah answered, "I have not made trouble in Israel. You and your father's family have made all this trouble by not obeying the Lord's commands. You have gone after the Baals.

19 Now tell all Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel. Also bring the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."

20 So Ahab called all the Israelites and those prophets to Mount Carmel.

21 Elijah approached the people and said, "How long will you not decide between two choices? If the Lord is the true God, follow him, but if Baal is the true God, follow him!" But the people said nothing.

22 Elijah said, "I am the only prophet of the Lord here, but there are four hundred fifty prophets of Baal.

23 Bring two bulls. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull and kill it and cut it into pieces. Then let them put the meat on the wood, but they are not to set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull, putting the meat on the wood but not setting fire to it.

24 You prophets of Baal, pray to your god, and I will pray to the Lord. The god who answers by setting fire to his wood is the true God." All the people agreed that this was a good idea.

25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "There are many of you, so you go first. Choose a bull and prepare it. Pray to your god, but don't start the fire."

26 So they took the bull that was given to them and prepared it. They prayed to Baal from morning until noon, shouting "Baal, answer us!" But there was no sound, and no one answered. They danced around the altar they had built.

27 At noon Elijah began to make fun of them. "Pray louder!" he said. "If Baal really is a god, maybe he is thinking, or busy, or traveling! Maybe he is sleeping so you will have to wake him!"

28 The prophets prayed louder, cutting themselves with swords and spears until their blood flowed, which was the way they worshiped.

29 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.

30 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.

31 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.)

32 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.

33 Elijah put the wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood.

34 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.

35 So the water ran off the altar and filled the ditch.

36 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.

37 Lord, answer my prayer so these people will know that you, Lord, are God and that you will change their minds."

38 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.

39 When all the people saw this, they fell down to the ground, crying, "The Lord is God! The Lord is God!"

40 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.

41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Now, go, eat, and drink, because a heavy rain is coming."

42 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.

43 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.

44 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."

45 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.

46 The Lord gave his power to Elijah, who tightened his clothes around him and ran ahead of King Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

47 While Jesus was speaking, a crowd came up, and Judas, one of the twelve apostles, was leading them. He came close to Jesus so he could kiss him.

48 But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you using the kiss to give the Son of Man to his enemies?"

49 When those who were standing around him saw what was happening, they said, "Lord, should we strike them with our swords?"

50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

51 Jesus said, "Stop! No more of this." Then he touched the servant's ear and healed him.

52 Those who came to arrest Jesus were the leading priests, the soldiers who guarded the Temple, and the older Jewish leaders. Jesus said to them, "You came out here with swords and clubs as though I were a criminal.

53 I was with you every day in the Temple, and you didn't arrest me there. But this is your time -- the time when darkness rules."

54 They arrested Jesus, and led him away, and brought him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed far behind them.

55 After the soldiers started a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat together, Peter sat with them.

56 A servant girl saw Peter sitting there in the firelight, and looking closely at him, she said, "This man was also with him."

57 But Peter said this was not true; he said, "Woman, I don't know him."

58 A short time later, another person saw Peter and said, "You are also one of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not!"

59 About an hour later, another man insisted, "Certainly this man was with him, because he is from Galilee, too."

60 But Peter said, "Man, I don't know what you are talking about!" At once, while Peter was still speaking, a rooster crowed.

61 Then the Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. And Peter remembered what the Lord had said: "Before the rooster crows this day, you will say three times that you don't know me."

62 Then Peter went outside and cried painfully.

63 The men who were guarding Jesus began making fun of him and beating him.

64 They blindfolded him and said, "Prove that you are a prophet, and tell us who hit you."

65 They said many cruel things to Jesus.

66 When day came, the council of the older leaders of the people, both the leading priests and the teachers of the law, came together and led Jesus to their highest court.

67 They said, "If you are the Christ, tell us." Jesus said to them, "If I tell you, you will not believe me.

68 And if I ask you, you will not answer.

69 But from now on, the Son of Man will sit at the right hand of the powerful God."

70 They all said, "Then are you the Son of God?" Jesus said to them, "You say that I am."

71 They said, "Why do we need witnesses now? We ourselves heard him say this."