Lectionary Calendar
Friday, July 18th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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THE MESSAGE

1 Kings 18:12

This verse is not available in the MSG!

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Children;   Doubting;   Elijah;   Obadiah;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Children, Good;   Fear, Godly;   Prophets;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Carmel;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Obadiah;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Gods and Goddesses, Pagan;   Holy Spirit;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Hospitality;   Zeal;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Infant Baptism;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Obadiah;   Reverence;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ahab;   Carmel;   Elijah;   Haggai;   Obadiah;   Prophecy, Prophets;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Obadiah ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Mount carmel;   Obadiah;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Elijah;   Jezebel;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Obadi'ah;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Elijah;   Obadiah;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But when I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord may carry you off to some place I don’t know. Then when I go report to Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the Lord from my youth.
Hebrew Names Version
It will happen, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you I don't know where; and so when I come and tell Ach'av, and he can't find you, he will kill me: but I your servant fear the LORD from my youth.
King James Version
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.
English Standard Version
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.
New Century Version
The Spirit of the Lord may carry you to some other place after I leave. If I go tell King Ahab you are here, and he comes and doesn't find you, he will kill me! I have followed the Lord since I was a boy.
New English Translation
But when I leave you, the Lord 's spirit will carry you away so I can't find you. If I go tell Ahab I've seen you, he won't be able to find you and he will kill me. That would not be fair, because your servant has been a loyal follower of the Lord from my youth.
Amplified Bible
"And as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I come to tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. Yet your servant has [reverently] feared the LORD from my youth.
New American Standard Bible
"And it will come about when I leave you that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to where I do not know; so when I come and inform Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, though I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And when I am gone from thee, the Spirit of the Lorde shall cary thee into some place that I doe not know: so when I come and tell Ahab, if he cannot finde thee, then wil he kil me: But I thy seruant feare the Lord from my youth.
Legacy Standard Bible
And it will be that when I leave you, the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you where I do not know; and I will come and tell Ahab, and he will not find you, and he will kill me, although I your servant have feared Yahweh from my youth.
Contemporary English Version
What if the Lord 's Spirit takes you away as soon as I leave? When Ahab comes to get you, he won't find you. Then he will surely kill me. I have worshiped the Lord since I was a boy.
Complete Jewish Bible
But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of Adonai will carry you off to I don't know where; so that when I come and tell Ach'av, and he can't find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have revered Adonai from my youth —
Darby Translation
And it shall come to pass when I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of Jehovah shall carry thee whither I know not; and when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will kill me; and I thy servant fear Jehovah from my youth.
Easy-to-Read Version
If I go tell King Ahab that you are here, the Spirit of the Lord might carry you away. Then when King Ahab comes here and cannot find you, he will kill me! I have followed the Lord since I was a boy.
George Lamsa Translation
And as soon as I am gone from you, the Spirit of the LORD will take you up and carry you whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he shall slay me; but I your servant have revered the LORD from my youth.
Good News Translation
What if the spirit of the Lord carries you off to some unknown place as soon as I leave? Then, when I tell Ahab that you are here and he can't find you, he will put me to death. Remember that I have been a devout worshiper of the Lord ever since I was a boy.
Lexham English Bible
And it will happen that I will go from you and the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you up to where I do not know. Then I will come to tell Ahab, but he will not find you, and then he will kill me, even though your servant has feared Yahweh from my youth.
Literal Translation
And it shall be, I will go away from you, and the Spirit of Jehovah will lift you up, where I do not know, and I will come to tell Ahab, and he will not find you, and he will kill me. And your servant has feared Jehovah from my youth.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Now whan I were gone from the, the sprete of the LORDE shulde take ye awaye, I can not tell whither: and yf I then came and tolde Achab, and founde the not, he shulde slaye me: But thy seruaunt feareth the LORDE from his youth vp.
American Standard Version
And it will come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of Jehovah will carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will slay me: but I thy servant fear Jehovah from my youth.
Bible in Basic English
And straight away, when I have gone from you, the spirit of the Lord will take you away, I have no idea where, so that when I come and give word to Ahab, and he sees you not, he will put me to death: though I, your servant, have been a worshipper of the Lord from my earliest years.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And assoone as I am gone from thee, the spirite of the Lorde shall carrie thee into some place that I do not knowe, and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can not finde thee, he shall slay me: But I thy seruaunt feare the Lorde from my youth vp.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And it will come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the spirit of the LORD will carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will slay me; but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth.
King James Version (1611)
And it shall come to passe, as soone as I am gone from thee, that the spirit of the Lord shall cary thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot finde thee, he shall slay mee: but I thy seruant feare the Lord from my youth.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And it shall come to pass when I shall have departed from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee to a land which I know not, and I shall go in to tell the matter to Achaab, and he will not find thee and will slay me: yet thy servant fears the Lord from his youth.
English Revised Version
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.
Berean Standard Bible
I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne Y schal departe fro thee, the Spirit of the Lord schal bere thee awey in to a place which Y knowe not; and Y schal entre, and `Y schal telle to Achab, and he schal not fynde thee, and he schal sle me; forsothe thi seruaunt dredith the Lord fro his yong childhod.
Young's Literal Translation
and it hath been, I go from thee, and the Spirit of Jehovah doth lift thee up, whither I know not, and I have come to declare to Ahab, and he doth not find thee, and he hath slain me; and thy servant is fearing Jehovah from my youth.
Update Bible Version
And it will come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, I don't know where the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can't find you, he will slay me: but I your slave have feared Yahweh from my youth.
Webster's Bible Translation
And it will come to pass, [as soon as] I have gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry thee whither I know not; and [so] when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth.
World English Bible
It will happen, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you I don't know where; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can't find you, he will kill me: but I your servant fear Yahweh from my youth.
New King James Version
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.
New Living Translation
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.
New Life Bible
And after I have left you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you where I do not know. So I will go and tell Ahab, and he will not be able to find you. Then he will kill me. But I your servant have honored the Lord since I was young.
New Revised Standard
As soon as I have gone from you, the spirit of the Lord will carry you I know not where; so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have revered the Lord from my youth.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
so shall it come to pass, as soon as, I, go from thee, that, the spirit of Yahweh, shall carry thee away - whither I know not, and so, when I go in to tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, then will he slay me, - and yet, thy servant, hath revered Yahweh, from my youth.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And when I am gone from thee, the Spirit of the Lord will carry thee into a place that I know not: and I shall go in and tell Achab; and he, not finding thee, will kill me: but thy servant feareth the Lord from his infancy.
Revised Standard Version
And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the LORD will carry you whither I know not; and so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have revered the LORD from my youth.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"It will come about when I leave you that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you where I do not know; 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.

Contextual Overview

1A long time passed. Then God 's word came to Elijah. The drought was now in its third year. The message: "Go and present yourself to Ahab; I'm about to make it rain on the country." Elijah set out to present himself to Ahab. The drought in Samaria at the time was most severe. 3Ahab called for Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. Obadiah feared God —he was very devout. 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. 5Ahab 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." 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.'" 9Obadiah said, "But what have I done to deserve this? Ahab will kill me. 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. And now you're telling me, ‘Go and tell your master Elijah's found!' 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! 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? 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.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the Spirit of the Lord: 2 Kings 2:11, 2 Kings 2:16, Ezekiel 3:12-14, Ezekiel 8:3, Ezekiel 11:24, Ezekiel 37:1, Ezekiel 40:1, Ezekiel 40:2, Matthew 4:1, Acts 8:39, 2 Corinthians 12:2, 2 Corinthians 12:3

he shall slay me: 1 Samuel 22:11-19, Daniel 2:5-13, Matthew 2:16, Acts 12:19

from my youth: 1 Samuel 2:18, 1 Samuel 2:26, 1 Samuel 3:19, 1 Samuel 3:20, 2 Chronicles 34:3, Psalms 71:17, Psalms 71:18, Proverbs 8:13, Ecclesiastes 7:18, Isaiah 50:10, Luke 1:15, 2 Timothy 3:15

Reciprocal: Exodus 18:21 - such as 1 Kings 18:3 - feared the Lord 1 Kings 18:9 - What have I sinned Nehemiah 7:2 - feared God Psalms 19:9 - The fear Ecclesiastes 11:9 - in thy youth Ecclesiastes 12:1 - Remember Ezekiel 11:1 - the spirit Ezekiel 43:5 - the spirit Malachi 3:16 - that feared Matthew 20:2 - he sent Luke 4:1 - and was 1 Thessalonians 4:17 - caught Revelation 17:3 - he carried Revelation 21:10 - he carried

Cross-References

Genesis 17:17
Abraham fell flat on his face. And then he laughed, thinking, "Can a hundred-year-old man father a son? And can Sarah, at ninety years, have a baby?"
Genesis 18:6
Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. He said, "Hurry. Get three cups of our best flour; knead it and make bread."
Genesis 18:7
Then Abraham ran to the cattle pen and picked out a nice plump calf and gave it to the servant who lost no time getting it ready. Then he got curds and milk, brought them with the calf that had been roasted, set the meal before the men, and stood there under the tree while they ate.
Genesis 18:11
Abraham and Sarah were old by this time, very old. Sarah was far past the age for having babies. Sarah laughed within herself, "An old woman like me? Get pregnant? With this old man of a husband?"
Genesis 18:13
God said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh saying, ‘Me? Have a baby? An old woman like me?' Is anything too hard for God ? I'll be back about this time next year and Sarah will have a baby."
Genesis 18:20
God continued, "The cries of the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah are deafening; the sin of those cities is immense. I'm going down to see for myself, see if what they're doing is as bad as it sounds. Then I'll know."
1 Peter 3:6
Cultivate Inner Beauty The same goes for you wives: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition. Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as "my dear husband." You'll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, unanxious and unintimidated.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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,.... This he supposed might possibly, and very probably, be the case, since small raptures might have been already, and known to Obadiah, as there were afterwards, see 2 Kings 2:16, and then he should not know where he was, nor be able to direct his master where to find him:

and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me; for telling him a lie, and deceiving and mocking him; or for not seizing on Elijah, and bringing him, when he knew he was so desirous of getting him into his hands:

but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth; and therefore did not deserve to be treated after this manner, having been an early and conscientious worshipper of the true God.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 18:12. The Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee — Obadiah supposed that the Spirit of the Lord had carried him to some strange country during the three years and a half of the drought; and as he had reason to think that Ahab would slay Elijah if he found him, and that the God of the prophet would not suffer his servant to fall into such murderous hands, he took for granted that as soon as he should come into danger, so soon would the Spirit of the Lord carry him away, or direct him to some hiding place.


 
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