1 Kings 18:3-16

18:3 So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who supervised the palace. (Now Obadiah was a very loyal follower of the Lord.¹ 18:4 When Jezebel was killing² 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 areas³ so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to kill⁴ some of the animals.” 18:6 They divided up the land between them; Ahab went⁵ one way and Obadiah went the other.

18:7 As Obadiah was traveling along, Elijah met him.⁶ When he recognized him, he fell facedown to the ground and said, “Is it really you, my master, Elijah?” 18:8 He replied, “Yes,⁷ go and say to your master, ‘Elijah is back.’”⁸ 18:9 Obadiah⁹ said, “What sin have I committed that you are ready to hand your servant over to Ahab for execution?¹⁰ 18:10 As certainly as the Lord your God lives, my master has sent to every nation and kingdom in an effort to find you. When they say, ‘He’s not here,’ he makes them¹¹ swear an oath that they could not find you. 18:11 Now you say, ‘Go and say to your master, “Elijah is back.”’¹² 18:12 But when I leave you, the Lord’s spirit will carry you away so I can’t find you.¹³ If I go tell Ahab I’ve seen you, he won’t be able to find you and he will kill me.¹⁴ That would not be fair,¹⁵ because your servant has been a loyal follower of¹⁶ the Lord from my youth. 18:13 Certainly my master is aware of what I did¹⁷ when Jezebel was killing the Lord’s prophets. I hid one hundred of the Lord’s prophets in two caves in two groups of fifty and I brought them food and water. 18:14 Now you say, ‘Go and say to your master, “Elijah is back,”’¹⁸ but he will kill me.” 18:15 But Elijah said, “As certainly as the Lord who rules over all¹⁹ lives (whom I serve),²⁰ I will make an appearance before him today.”

Elijah Confronts Baal’s Prophets

18:16 When Obadiah went and informed Ahab, the king went to meet Elijah.²¹

¹tn Heb “now Obadiah greatly feared the Lord.” “Fear” refers here to obedience and allegiance, the products of healthy respect for the Lord’s authority.

²tn Heb “cutting off.”

³tn Heb “grass.”

⁴tn Heb “to cut off.”

⁵tn The Hebrew text has “alone” here and again in reference to Obadiah toward the end of the verse.

⁶tn Heb “look, Elijah [came] to meet him.”

⁷tn Heb “[It is] I.”

⁸tn Heb “Look, Elijah”; or “Elijah is here.”

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

¹⁰tn Heb “to kill me.”

¹¹tn Heb “he makes the kingdom or the nation swear an oath.”

¹²tn Heb “Look, Elijah”; or “Elijah is here.”

¹³tn Heb “to [a place] which I do not know.”

¹⁴tn Heb “and I will go to inform Ahab and he will not find you and he will kill me.”

¹⁵tn The words “that would not be fair” are added to clarify the logic of Obadiah’s argument.

¹⁶tn Heb “has feared the Lord” (also see the note at 1 Kgs 18:3).

¹⁷tn Heb “Has it not been told to my master what I did…?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “Of course it has!”

¹⁸tn Heb “Look, Elijah”; or “Elijah is here.”

¹⁹tn Traditionally, “the Lord of Hosts.”

²⁰tn Heb “(before whom I stand).”

²¹tn Heb “Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.”