Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.”
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.
- BSB And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
- NKJV Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”
- 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 many days, Yahweh’s word came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain on the earth.”
- Eccl 9:7Go your way — eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works.
- 1 Kgs 17:1Elijah the Tishbite, who was one of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”
- Acts 27:34Therefore I beg you to take some food, for this is for your safety; for not a hair will perish from any of your heads.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.