1 Kings 21:20

21:20 When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, ¹  “So, you have found me, my enemy!” Elijah ²  replied, “I have found you, because you are committed ³  to doing evil in the sight of ⁴  the Lord.

1 Kings 21:25

21:25 (There had never been anyone like Ahab, who was firmly committed ⁵  to doing evil in the sight of ⁶  the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel. ⁷ 

Isaiah 50:1

50:1 This is what the Lord says:

“Where is your mother’s divorce certificate

by which I divorced her?

Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? ⁸ 

Look, you were sold because of your sins; ⁹ 

because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother. ¹⁰ 

[21:20]  ¹ tn Heb “and Ahab said to Elijah.” The narrative is elliptical and streamlined. The words “when Elijah arrived” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[21:20]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:20]  ³ tn Heb “you have sold yourself.”

[21:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[21:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “who sold himself.”

[21:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[21:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “like Ahab…whom his wife Jezebel incited.”

[50:1]  ⁸ sn The Lord challenges the exiles (Zion’s children) to bring incriminating evidence against him. The rhetorical questions imply that Israel accused the Lord of divorcing his wife (Zion) and selling his children (the Israelites) into slavery to pay off a debt.

[50:1]  ⁹ sn The Lord admits that he did sell the Israelites, but it was because of their sins, not because of some debt he owed. If he had sold them to a creditor, they ought to be able to point him out, but the preceding rhetorical question implies they would not be able to do so.

[50:1]  ¹⁰ sn The Lord admits he did divorce Zion, but that too was the result of the nation’s sins. The force of the earlier rhetorical question comes into clearer focus now. The question does not imply that a certificate does not exist and that no divorce occurred. Rather, the question asks for the certificate to be produced so the accuser can see the reason for the divorce in black and white. The Lord did not put Zion away arbitrarily.