Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, because I am the LORD your God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generation.

"Do not worship any other god, because I, the LORD, tolerate no rivals.

"Because of what Phinehas has done, I am no longer angry with the people of Israel. He refused to tolerate the worship of any god but me, and that is why I did not destroy them in my anger.

He and his descendants are permanently established as priests, because he did not tolerate any rivals to me and brought about forgiveness for the people's sin."

My devotion to your Temple burns in me like a fire; the insults which are hurled at you fall on me.

My anger burns in me like a fire, because my enemies disregard your commands.

His disciples remembered that the scripture says, "My devotion to your house, O God, burns in me like a fire."

He answered, " LORD God Almighty, I have always served you---you alone. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed all your prophets. I am the only one left---and they are trying to kill me."

and when Jezebel was killing the LORD's prophets, Obadiah took a hundred of them, hid them in caves in two groups of fifty, and provided them with food and water.)

Then Elijah said to the people, "Come closer to me," and they all gathered around him. He set about repairing the altar of the LORD which had been torn down.

I punished you, but it did no good; you would not let me correct you. Like a raging lion, you have murdered your prophets.

Israel is suffering oppression; she has lost land that was rightfully hers, because she insisted on going for help to those who had none to give.

This will happen because you have followed the evil practices of King Omri and of his son, King Ahab. You have continued their policies, and so I will bring you to ruin, and everyone will despise you. People everywhere will treat you with contempt."

There is not an honest person left in the land, no one loyal to God. Everyone is waiting for a chance to commit murder. Everyone hunts down their own people.

and when Jezebel was killing the LORD's prophets, Obadiah took a hundred of them, hid them in caves in two groups of fifty, and provided them with food and water.)

So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and the prophets of Baal to meet at Mount Carmel.

Then Elijah said, "I am the only prophet of the LORD still left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal.

Meanwhile, a prophet went to King Ahab and said, "The LORD says, 'Don't be afraid of that huge army! I will give you victory over it today, and you will know that I am the LORD.' "

Then the prophet went to King Ahab and said, "Go back and build up your forces and make careful plans, because the king of Syria will attack again next spring."

At the LORD's command a member of a group of prophets ordered a fellow prophet to hit him. But he refused,

The prophet tore the cloth from his face, and at once the king recognized him as one of the prophets.

The prophet then said to the king, "This is the word of the LORD: 'Because you allowed the man to escape whom I had ordered to be killed, you will pay for it with your life, and your army will be destroyed for letting his army escape.' "

Ahab answered, "There is one more, Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me; it's always something bad." "You shouldn't say that!" Jehoshaphat replied.

God has not rejected his people, whom he chose from the beginning. You know what the scripture says in the passage where Elijah pleads with God against Israel:

What answer did God give him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not worshiped the false god Baal."

She sent a message to Elijah: "May the gods strike me dead if by this time tomorrow I don't do the same thing to you that you did to the prophets."

By the living LORD, your God, I swear that the king has made a search for you in every country in the world. Whenever the ruler of a country reported that you were not in his country, Ahab would require that ruler to swear that you could not be found.

When Ahab saw him, he said, "So there you are---the worst troublemaker in Israel!"