And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Elijah said to Ahab, “Get up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”
- KJV And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
- NKJV Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”
- NASB Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.”
- NLT Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!”
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
Elijah tells Ahab to eat and drink because rain is coming. The three-year drought is about to end.
Overview
With Baal defeated and the people's confession made, Elijah announces the lifting of the drought that judged Israel's idolatry. He hears by faith "the sound of abundance of rain" before any cloud appears. The promised rain signals God's mercy returning to a people brought back to acknowledge Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 1 Kgs 18:1After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.”
- Eccl 9:7Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:
- 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!”
- Acts 27:34So for your own preservation, I urge you to eat something, because not a single hair of your head will be lost.”
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 18:41 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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