27. About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!”
28. So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out.
29. They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response.
30. Then Elijah called to the people, “Come over here!” They all crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the lord that had been torn down.
31. He took twelve stones, one to represent each of the tribes of Israel,
32. and he used the stones to rebuild the altar in the name of the lord. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold about three gallons.
33. He piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood.Then he said, “Fill four large jars with water, and pour the water over the offering and the wood.”
34. After they had done this, he said, “Do the same thing again!” And when they were finished, he said, “Now do it a third time!” So they did as he said,
35. and the water ran around the altar and even filled the trench.
36. At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command.
37. O lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”