1 Kings 18:1-9

Elijah Meets the King’s Servant

18:1 Some time later, in the third year of the famine, the Lord told Elijah, ¹  “Go, make an appearance before Ahab, so I may send rain on the surface of the ground.” 18:2 So Elijah went to make an appearance before Ahab.

Now the famine was severe in Samaria. ²  18:3 So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who supervised the palace. (Now Obadiah was a very loyal follower of the Lord. ³  18:4 When Jezebel was killing ⁴  the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them in two caves in two groups of fifty. He also brought them food and water.) 18:5 Ahab told Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grazing areas ⁵  so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to kill ⁶  some of the animals.” 18:6 They divided up the land between them; Ahab went ⁷  one way and Obadiah went the other.

18:7 As Obadiah was traveling along, Elijah met him. ⁸  When he recognized him, he fell facedown to the ground and said, “Is it really you, my master, Elijah?” 18:8 He replied, “Yes, ⁹  go and say to your master, ‘Elijah is back.’” ¹⁰  18:9 Obadiah ¹¹  said, “What sin have I committed that you are ready to hand your servant over to Ahab for execution? ¹² 

[18:1]  ¹ tn Heb “the word of the Lord came to Elijah.”

[18:2]  ² map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[18:3]  ³ tn Heb “now Obadiah greatly feared the Lord.” “Fear” refers here to obedience and allegiance, the products of healthy respect for the Lord’s authority.

[18:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “cutting off.”

[18:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “grass.”

[18:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “to cut off.”

[18:6]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text has “alone” here and again in reference to Obadiah toward the end of the verse.

[18:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “look, Elijah [came] to meet him.”

[18:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “[It is] I.”

[18:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Look, Elijah”; or “Elijah is here.”

[18:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Obadiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:9]  ¹² tn Heb “to kill me.”