1 Kings 18:3-16

Other Translations of 1 Kings 18:3-16

King James Version

³ And Ahab called Obadiah, Obadiah: Heb. Obadiahu which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly: ⁴ For it was so, when Jezebel Jezebel: Heb. Izebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) ⁵ And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. ⁶ So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. ⁷ And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah? ⁸ And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. ⁹ And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? ¹⁰ As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. ¹¹ And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. ¹² And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. ¹³ Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? ¹⁴ And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. ¹⁵ And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day. ¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

English Standard Version

³ And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, ⁴ and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.) ⁵ And Ahab said to Obadiah, "Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals." ⁶ So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself. ⁷ And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, "Is it you, my lord Elijah?" ⁸ And he answered him, "It is I. Go, tell your lord, 'Behold, Elijah is here.'" ⁹ And he said, "How have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? ¹⁰ As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, 'He is not here,' he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. ¹¹ And now you say, 'Go, tell your lord, "Behold, Elijah is here."' ¹² And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you I know not where. And so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth. ¹³ Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water? ¹⁴ And now you say, 'Go, tell your lord, "Behold, Elijah is here"'; and he will kill me." ¹⁵ And Elijah said, "As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today." ¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.

The Message

³ Ahab called for Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. Obadiah feared God - he was very devout. ⁴ Earlier, when Jezebel had tried to kill off all the prophets of God, Obadiah had hidden away a hundred of them in two caves, fifty in a cave, and then supplied them with food and water. ⁵ Ahab ordered Obadiah, "Go through the country; locate every spring and every stream. Let's see if we can find enough grass to keep our horses and mules from dying." ⁶ So they divided the country between them for the search - Ahab went one way, Obadiah the other. ⁷ Obadiah went his way and suddenly there he was - Elijah! Obadiah fell on his knees, bowing in reverence, and exclaimed, "Is it really you - my master Elijah?" ⁸ "Yes," said Elijah, "the real me. Now go and tell your boss, 'I've seen Elijah.'" ⁹ Obadiah said, "But what have I done to deserve this? Ahab will kill me. ¹⁰ As surely as your God lives, there isn't a country or kingdom where my master hasn't sent out search parties looking for you. And if they said, 'We can't find him; we've looked high and low,' he would make that country or kingdom swear that you were not to be found. ¹¹ And now you're telling me, 'Go and tell your master Elijah's found!' ¹² The minute I leave you the Spirit of God will whisk you away to who knows where. Then when I report to Ahab, you'll have disappeared and Ahab will kill me. And I've served God devoutly since I was a boy! ¹³ Hasn't anyone told you what I did when Jezebel was out to kill the prophets of God, how I risked my life by hiding a hundred of them, fifty to a cave, and made sure they got food and water? ¹⁴ And now you're telling me to draw attention to myself by announcing to my master, 'Elijah's been found.' Why, he'll kill me for sure." ¹⁵ Elijah said, "As surely as God-of-the-Angel-Armies lives, and before whom I take my stand, I'll meet with your master face to face this very day." ¹⁶ So Obadiah went straight to Ahab and told him. And Ahab went out to meet Elijah.

New King James Version

³ And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. ⁴ For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.) ⁵ And Ahab had said to Obadiah, "Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, so that we will not have to kill any livestock." ⁶ So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. ⁷ Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, "Is that you, my lord Elijah?" ⁸ And he answered him, "It is I. Go, tell your master, 'Elijah is here.' " ⁹ So he said, "How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? ¹⁰ As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, 'He is not here,' he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. ¹¹ And now you say, 'Go, tell your master, "Elijah is here" '! ¹² And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth. ¹³ Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid one hundred men of the Lord's prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? ¹⁴ And now you say, 'Go, tell your master, "Elijah is here." ' He will kill me!" ¹⁵ Then Elijah said, "As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today." ¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

New Living Translation

³ So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Obadiah was a devoted follower of the Lord . ⁴ Once when Jezebel had tried to kill all the Lord 's prophets, Obadiah had hidden 100 of them in two caves. He put fifty prophets in each cave and supplied them with food and water.) ⁵ Ahab said to Obadiah, "We must check every spring and valley in the land to see if we can find enough grass to save at least some of my horses and mules." ⁶ So they divided the land between them. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. ⁷ As Obadiah was walking along, he suddenly saw Elijah coming toward him. Obadiah recognized him at once and bowed low to the ground before him. "Is it really you, my lord Elijah?" he asked. ⁸ "Yes, it is," Elijah replied. "Now go and tell your master, 'Elijah is here.'" ⁹ "Oh, sir," Obadiah protested, "what harm have I done to you that you are sending me to my death at the hands of Ahab? ¹⁰ For I swear by the Lord your God that the king has searched every nation and kingdom on earth from end to end to find you. And each time he was told, 'Elijah isn't here,' King Ahab forced the king of that nation to swear to the truth of his claim. ¹¹ And now you say, 'Go and tell your master, "Elijah is here."' ¹² But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you away to who knows where. When Ahab comes and cannot find you, he will kill me. Yet I have been a true servant of the Lord all my life. ¹³ Has no one told you, my lord, about the time when Jezebel was trying to kill the Lord 's prophets? I hid 100 of them in two caves and supplied them with food and water. ¹⁴ And now you say, 'Go and tell your master, "Elijah is here."' Sir, if I do that, Ahab will certainly kill me." ¹⁵ But Elijah said, "I swear by the Lord Almighty, in whose presence I stand, that I will present myself to Ahab this very day." ¹⁶ So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come, and Ahab went out to meet Elijah.