And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
Parallel translations
- WEB When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
- BSB When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
- NKJV Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
- NASB When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is this you, the cause of disaster to Israel?”
- NLT When Ahab saw him, he exclaimed, “So, is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel?”
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
Ahab accuses Elijah of being the "troubler of Israel," blaming him for the nation's suffering. The king inverts the truth about who caused the calamity.
Overview
Ahab's greeting is an accusation, casting Elijah as the source of Israel's drought-stricken misery. This is a classic reversal of blame, where the wicked charge the righteous with the very harm they themselves have caused. It mirrors how God's faithful witnesses, ultimately Christ Himself, are often accused of disturbing a society that has actually abandoned God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Josh 7:25And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.
- 1 Kgs 21:20And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.
- Acts 16:20And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,
- Acts 17:6And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
- Acts 24:5For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:
- Amos 7:10Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.
- Jer 38:4Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
- Jer 26:8–9Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
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 18:17 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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