1 Kings 18:1

Elijah and Obadiah

1 After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.”

Read Chapter Compare

PREVIOUS 1 Kings 17:24 NEXT 1 Kings 18:2

1 Kings 18:1 in Other Translations

KJV

1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.

ESV

1 After many days the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth."

NLT

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!”

MSG

1 A 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."

CSB

1 After a long time, the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year: "Go and present yourself to Ahab. I will send rain on the surface of the land."

1 Kings 18:1 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 18:1

And it came to pass after many days
When two years and more were gone from the time the drought and famine began; or rather from the time of the prophets departure to the brook Cherith, which might be six months after the famine began:

that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year;
of his absence from Ahab:

saying, go show thyself unto Ahab;
whom he had not seen so long, and who had been seeking for him, but to no purpose:

and I will send rain upon the earth;
the term of three years and six months being almost expired, see ( James 5:17 ) .

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

1 Kings 18:1 In-Context

1 After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.”

2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria,

3 and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the LORD.

4 While Jezebel was killing off the LORD’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.)

5 Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.”

Cross References 3

1. 1 Kings 17:1; Luke 4:25; James 5:17
2. ver 15
3. S Deuteronomy 28:12