1 Kings 18:12

18:12 But when I leave you, the Lord’s spirit will carry you away so I can’t find you. ¹  If I go tell Ahab I’ve seen you, he won’t be able to find you and he will kill me. ²  That would not be fair, ³  because your servant has been a loyal follower of ⁴  the Lord from my youth.

1 Kings 22:22

22:22 He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord ⁵  said, ‘Deceive and overpower him. ⁶  Go out and do as you have proposed.’

[18:12]  ¹ tn Heb “to [a place] which I do not know.”

[18:12]  ² tn Heb “and I will go to inform Ahab and he will not find you and he will kill me.”

[18:12]  ³ tn The words “that would not be fair” are added to clarify the logic of Obadiah’s argument.

[18:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “has feared the Lord” (also see the note at 1 Kgs 18:3).

[22:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:22]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text has two imperfects connected by וְגַם (vÿgam). These verbs could be translated as specific futures, “you will deceive and also you will prevail,” in which case the Lord is assuring the spirit of success on his mission. However, in a commissioning context (note the following imperatives) such as this, it is more likely that the imperfects are injunctive, in which case one could translate, “Deceive, and also overpower.”