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New Living Translation

1 Kings 18:10

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.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Doubting;   Elijah;   Extradition;   Obadiah;   Persecution;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Prophets;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Carmel;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Flood;   Obadiah;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Gods and Goddesses, Pagan;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Hospitality;   Zeal;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Noah;   Shalman;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Kings, 1 and 2;   Obadiah;   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;   Oath;   Obadiah;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear they had not found you.
Hebrew Names Version
As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom, where my lord has not sent to seek you: and when they said, He is not here, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they didn't find you.
King James Version
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.
English Standard Version
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.
New Century Version
As surely as the Lord your God lives, the king has sent people to every country to search for you. If the ruler said you were not there, Ahab forced the ruler to swear you could not be found in his country.
New English Translation
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 them swear an oath that they could not find you.
Amplified Bible
"As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent messengers to seek you; and when they said, 'He is not here,' Ahab made the kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you.
New American Standard Bible
"As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom to which my master has not sent word to search for you; and whenever they say, 'He is not here,' he makes the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you.
Geneva Bible (1587)
As the Lorde thy God liueth, there is no nation or kingdome, whither my lorde hath not sent to seeke thee: and when they sayd, He is not here, he tooke an othe of the kingdome and nation, if they had not found thee.
Legacy Standard Bible
As Yahweh your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to search for you; and if they said, ‘He is not here,' he made the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you.
Contemporary English Version
I swear to you in the name of the living Lord your God that the king has looked everywhere for you. He sent people to look in every country, and when they couldn't find you, he made the leader of each country swear that you were not in that country.
Complete Jewish Bible
As Adonai your God lives, there can't be a single nation or kingdom where my master hasn't sent to search you out; and in each kingdom or nation where they said, ‘He isn't here,' he made them take an oath that they hadn't found you.
Darby Translation
As Jehovah thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom whither my lord has not sent to seek thee; and when they said, He is not [here], he took an oath of the kingdom or nation that they found thee not.
Easy-to-Read Version
As surely as the Lord your God lives, the king has been looking for you everywhere. He has sent people to every country to find you. He even made the rulers of those countries swear that you were not there.
George Lamsa Translation
As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom whither my lord has not sent to seek you; and when they said, He is not here, he took an oath of the kingdoms and nations, that they had not found you.
Good News Translation
By the living Lord , your God, I swear that the king has made a search for you in every country in the world. Whenever the ruler of a country reported that you were not in his country, Ahab would require that ruler to swear that you could not be found.
Lexham English Bible
As Yahweh your God lives, surely there is not a nation or a kingdom to which my lord has not sent me to seek you. If they would say, ‘He is not here,' then he would make the kingdom or the nation swear that it could not find you.
Literal Translation
As Jehovah your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you; and when they said, He is not here, then he caused the kingdom and the nation to swear that it did not find you.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
As truly as the LORDE thy God lyueth, there is no people ner kingdome, but my lorde hath sent thither to seke the. And whan they sayde: He is not here, he toke an ooth of the same kyngdome and nacion, that they had not founde the.
American Standard Version
As Jehovah 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 here, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.
Bible in Basic English
By the life of the Lord your God, there is not a nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent in search of you; and when they said, He is not here; he made them take an oath that they had not seen you.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
As the Lorde thy God liueth, there is no nation or kingdome, whyther my lord hath not sent to seeke thee: And when they saide, he is not there: he toke an oth of the kingdome and nation when he found thee not.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
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 here, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.
King James Version (1611)
As the Lord thy God liueth, there is no nation or kingdome, whither my lord hath not sent to seeke thee: and when they said, He is not there, hee tooke an oath of the kingdome and nation, that they found thee not.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
As the Lord thy God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom, whither my lord has not sent to seek thee; and if they said, He is not here, then has he set fire to the kingdom and its territories, because he has not found thee.
English Revised Version
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 here, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.
Berean Standard Bible
As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, 'He is not here,' he made that kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thi Lord God lyueth, for no folk ethir rewme is, whidur my lord, sekynge thee, sente not; and whanne alle men answeriden, He is not here, he chargide greetli alle rewmes and folkis, for thou were not foundun; and now thou seist to me,
Young's Literal Translation
Jehovah thy God liveth, if there is a nation and kingdom whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee; and they said, He is not, then he caused the kingdom and the nation to swear, that it doth not find thee;
Update Bible Version
As Yahweh your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom, where my lord has not sent to seek you: and when they said, He is not here, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they didn't find you.
Webster's Bible Translation
[As] the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation nor 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.
World English Bible
As Yahweh your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom, where my lord has not sent to seek you: and when they said, He is not here, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they didn't find you.
New King James Version
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.
New Life Bible
As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation where the king has not sent men to look for you. And when they said, ‘He is not here,' he made the nation prove that they could not find you.
New Revised Standard
As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom to which my lord has not sent to seek you; and when they would say, ‘He is not here,' he would require an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
By the life of Yahweh thy God, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee, and, when they have said - Nay! he hath taken an oath of the kingdom or the nation, that no one could find thee;
Douay-Rheims Bible
As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when all answered: He is not here: he took an oath of every kingdom and nation, because thou wast not found.
Revised Standard Version
As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom whither 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.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to search for you; and when they said, 'He is not here,' he made the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you.

Contextual Overview

1 Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, "Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!" 2 So Elijah went to appear before Ahab. Meanwhile, the famine had become very severe in Samaria. 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.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the Lord: 1 Kings 18:15, 1 Kings 1:29, 1 Kings 2:24, 1 Kings 17:1, 1 Kings 17:12, 1 Samuel 29:6

whither my lord: Psalms 10:2, Jeremiah 26:20-23

they found thee not: 1 Kings 17:5, 1 Kings 17:9, Psalms 12:7, Psalms 12:8, Psalms 31:20, Psalms 91:1, Jeremiah 36:26, John 8:59

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 23:23 - I will search 1 Kings 19:10 - they seek my life 2 Kings 1:9 - sent unto 2 Kings 11:4 - took an oath Jeremiah 36:19 - General John 8:21 - I go John 18:4 - Whom Romans 10:18 - unto the ends

Cross-References

Genesis 16:10
Then he added, "I will give you more descendants than you can count."
Genesis 17:16
And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants."
Genesis 17:19
But God replied, "No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant.
Genesis 17:21
But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year."
Genesis 18:3
"My lord," he said, "if it pleases you, stop here for a while.
Genesis 18:5
And since you've honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey." "All right," they said. "Do as you have said."
Genesis 18:8
When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees.
Genesis 18:9
"Where is Sarah, your wife?" the visitors asked. "She's inside the tent," Abraham replied.
Genesis 18:13
Then the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?'
Genesis 18:14
Is anything too hard for the Lord ? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

As the Lord thy God liveth,.... Which is the form of an oath he thought fit to make, to ascertain the truth of what he was about to say:

there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee; which is either an hyperbolical expression, signifying he had sought for him in many places, and in every place he could think of; or it must be understood either of the ten tribes, which were as so many nations and kingdoms as they had been; or were more in the times of the Canaanites; or of the nations round about, that were in alliance with or tributary to the king of Israel:

and when they said, he is not there, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation that they found thee not; which he might exact of his own subjects, but could not of other nations, unless they were free to it of themselves; or he might take it of their ambassadors or merchants that came into his land, of whom he inquired, and adjured them to tell him the truth.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

There is no nation ... - This is expressed in the style of Oriental hyperbole. What Obadiah means is: “there is no nation nor kingdom, of those over which he has influence, whither the king has not sent.” He could scarcely, for example, have exacted an oath from such countries as Egypt or Syria of Damascus. But Ahab may have been powerful enough to expect an oath from the neighboring Hittite, Moabite, and Edomite tribes, perhaps even from Ethbaal his father-in-law, and the kings of Hamath and Arpad.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 18:10. There is no nation or kingdom — He had sent through all his own states and to the neighbouring governments to find out the prophet, as he knew, from his own declaration, that both rain and drought were to be the effect of his prayers. Had he found him, he no doubt intended to oblige him to procure rain, or punish him for having brought on this drought.

He took an oath — Ahab must have had considerable power and authority among the neighbouring nations to require and exact this, and Elijah must have kept himself very secret to have shunned such an extensive and minute search.


 
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