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.
Parallel translations
- WEB As Yahweh your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they didn’t find you.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV 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.
- NASB 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.
- NLT 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Obadiah explains that Ahab has searched every nation for Elijah and forced oaths to prove the prophet could not be found. The king's obsession underscores how dreaded Elijah had become.
Overview
Ahab's relentless, kingdom-wide manhunt shows that the drought had made Elijah Israel's most-wanted man. Obadiah swears by Yahweh, marking himself as a true believer even within a corrupt court. His account magnifies the drama: the very prophet Ahab could not find is now about to present himself voluntarily.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 1 Kgs 17:1Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”
- Ps 10:2In pride the wicked pursue the needy; let them be caught in the schemes they devise.
- 1 Sam 29:6So Achish summoned David and told him, “As surely as the LORD lives, you have been upright in my sight, and it seems right that you should march in and out with me in the army, because I have found no fault in you from the day you came to me until this day. But you have no favor in the sight of the leaders.
- Ps 91:1He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
- 1 Kgs 2:24And now, as surely as the LORD lives—the One who established me, who set me on the throne of my father David, and who founded for me a dynasty as He promised—surely Adonijah shall be put to death today!”
- 1 Kgs 18:15Then Elijah said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to Ahab today.”
- Jer 26:20–23Now there was another man prophesying in the name of the LORD, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land the same things that Jeremiah did.
- Ps 12:7–8You, O LORD, will keep us; You will forever guard us from this generation.
- John 8:59At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.
- 1 Kgs 1:29And the king swore an oath, saying, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress,
- 1 Kgs 17:12But she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”
- 1 Kgs 17:9“Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
- 1 Kgs 17:5So Elijah did what the LORD had told him, and he went and lived by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan.
- Ps 31:20You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the schemes of men. You conceal them in Your shelter from accusing tongues.
- Jer 36:26Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, as well as Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them.
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Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 18:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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