1 Kings 18:12
New International Version
I don’t know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the LORD since my youth.

New Living Translation
But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the LORD will carry you away to who knows where. When Ahab comes and cannot find you, he will kill me. Yet I have been a true servant of the LORD all my life.

English Standard Version
And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the LORD will carry you I know not where. And so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth.

Berean Standard Bible
I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.

King James Bible
And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth.

New King James Version
And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth.

New American Standard Bible
And it will come about when I leave you that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to where I do not know; so when I come and inform Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, though I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.

NASB 1995
“It will come about when I leave you that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you where I do not know; so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth.

NASB 1977
“And it will come about when I leave you that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you where I do not know; so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth.

Legacy Standard Bible
And it will be that when I leave you, the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you where I do not know; and I will come and tell Ahab, and he will not find you, and he will kill me, although I your servant have feared Yahweh from my youth.

Amplified Bible
And as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I come to tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. Yet your servant has [reverently] feared the LORD from my youth.

Christian Standard Bible
But when I leave you, the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off to some place I don’t know. Then when I go report to Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But when I leave you, the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off to some place I don’t know. Then when I go report to Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.

American Standard Version
And it will come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of Jehovah will carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will slay me: but I thy servant fear Jehovah from my youth.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And when I go from your presence, The Spirit of LORD JEHOVAH will pick you up and will carry you where I will not know, and I shall go on to show Akhab, and we will not find you, and he will kill me, and your Servant is in awe of LORD JEHOVAH from his childhood!

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And it shall come to pass when I shall have departed from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee to a land which I know not, and I shall go in to tell the matter to Achaab, and he will not find thee and will slay me: yet thy servant fears the Lord from his youth.

Contemporary English Version
What if the LORD's Spirit takes you away as soon as I leave? When Ahab comes to get you, he won't find you. Then he will surely kill me. I have worshiped the LORD since I was a boy.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And when I am gone from thee, the spirit of the Lord will carry thee into a place that I know not: and I shall go in and tell Achab, and he not finding thee, will kill me: but thy servant feareth the Lord from his infancy.

English Revised Version
And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
This is what will happen: When I leave you, the LORD's Spirit will take you away to some unknown place. I'll tell Ahab, but he won't be able to find you. Then he will kill me. "I have been faithful to the LORD since I was a child.

Good News Translation
What if the spirit of the LORD carries you off to some unknown place as soon as I leave? Then, when I tell Ahab that you are here and he can't find you, he will put me to death. Remember that I have been a devout worshiper of the LORD ever since I was a boy.

International Standard Version
As soon as I've left you, the Spirit of the LORD will carry you off to I don't know where! Then when I go tell Ahab and he can't find you, he'll kill me, even though I have been your servant and have feared the LORD since I was young!

JPS Tanakh 1917
And it will come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the spirit of the LORD will carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will slay me; but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth.

Literal Standard Version
and it has been, I go from you, and the Spirit of YHWH lifts you up to where I do not know, and I have come to declare to Ahab, and he does not find you, and he has slain me; and your servant is fearing YHWH from my youth.

Majority Standard Bible
I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.

New American Bible
After I leave you, the spirit of the LORD will carry you to some place I do not know, and when I go to inform Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me—though your servant has revered the LORD from his youth!

NET Bible
But when I leave you, the LORD's spirit will carry you away so I can't find you. If I go tell Ahab I've seen you, he won't be able to find you and he will kill me. That would not be fair, because your servant has been a loyal follower of the LORD from my youth.

New Revised Standard Version
As soon as I have gone from you, the spirit of the LORD will carry you I know not where; so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have revered the LORD from my youth.

New Heart English Bible
It will happen, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you I do not know where; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can't find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.

Webster's Bible Translation
And it will come to pass, as soon as I have gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth.

World English Bible
It will happen, as soon as I leave you, that Yahweh’s Spirit will carry you I don’t know where; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can’t find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared Yahweh from my youth.

Young's Literal Translation
and it hath been, I go from thee, and the Spirit of Jehovah doth lift thee up, whither I know not, and I have come to declare to Ahab, and he doth not find thee, and he hath slain me; and thy servant is fearing Jehovah from my youth.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Elijah Confronts Ahab
11And now you say, ‘Go tell your master that Elijah is here!’ 12 I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth. 13Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water.…

Cross References
Acts 8:39
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.

1 Kings 18:11
And now you say, 'Go tell your master that Elijah is here!'

2 Kings 2:16
"Look now," they said to Elisha, "we your servants have fifty valiant men. Please let them go and search for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and put him on one of the mountains or in one of the valleys." "Do not send them," Elisha replied.

Ezekiel 3:12
Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me: 'Blessed be the glory of the LORD in His dwelling place!'

Ezekiel 3:14
So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.


Treasury of Scripture

And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry you where I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he shall slay me: but I your servant fear the LORD from my youth.

the Spirit of the Lord

2 Kings 2:11,16
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven…

Ezekiel 3:12-14
Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place…

Ezekiel 8:3
And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

he shall slay me

1 Samuel 22:11-19
Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king…

Daniel 2:5-13
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill…

Matthew 2:16
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

from my youth

1 Samuel 2:18,26
But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod…

1 Samuel 3:19,20
And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground…

2 Chronicles 34:3
For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.

Jump to Previous
Ahab Although Carry Fear Feared Find Kill Leave Revered Servant Slay Soon Spirit Whither Youth
Jump to Next
Ahab Although Carry Fear Feared Find Kill Leave Revered Servant Slay Soon Spirit Whither Youth
1 Kings 18
1. In the extremity of famine Elijah, sent to Ahab, meets good Obadiah
9. Obadiah brings Ahab to Elijah
17. Elijah, reproving Ahab, by fire from heaven convinces Baal's prophets
41. Elijah, by prayer obtaining rain, follows Ahab to Jezreel














(12) The Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee.--In this phrase there is perhaps a survival of the original physical sense of the word "Spirit"--the whirlwind which is "the breath of the Lord." (Comp. 2Kings 2:16; Acts 8:39.) To Obadiah it seemed that only by such miraculous agency could Elijah have been removed from the persecution for so long a time, and that, having emerged for a moment, he will be swept away into his hidden refuge again.

Verse 12. - And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that [Heb. I shall go from thee, and] the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not [These words, which literally translated are "shall lift thee up upon where," etc., are to be explained by 2 Kings 2:16, "lest the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up" (same word) "and cast him upon some mountain," etc. Seb. Schmidt, Wordsworth, al. think that such a transportation must have already occurred in the history of Elijah, but the sudden, mysterious disappearance and the long concealment of the prophet is quite sufficient to account for Obadiah's fear. Compare Acts 8:39. The words do suggest, however, that it had been believed by some that the Lord had hid Elijah, and it is not improbable that during his long absence rumours had often gained credence that he had been seen and had suddenly disappeared, just as later Jews have held that he "has appeared again and again as an Arabian merchant to wise and good Rabbis at their prayers or in their journeys" (Stanley)]; and so when I come and tell [Heb. and I come to tell] Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me [This is just what a prince like Ahab, or any prince who was under the guidance of a Jezebel, would do, out of sheer vexation at losing his prey when so nearly in his grasp]: but [Heb. and] I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. [Obadiah's meaning clearly is not that he, "as a God-fearing man and a protector of the prophets, cannot have any special favour to expect from Ahab" (Keil; similarly Ewald), but that it was hard that one who was a steadfast worshipper of Elijah's God should be slain for his sake. It is extremely unlikely that Ahab knew of Obadiah's having protected the prophets. He could hardly have maintained him in his post had he known that the steward of the palace had thwarted the designs of his queen.]

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
I do not
לֹֽא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

know
אֵדָ֔ע (’ê·ḏā‘)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 3045: To know

where
עַ֚ל (‘al)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the Spirit
וְר֨וּחַ (wə·rū·aḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - common singular construct
Strong's 7307: Wind, breath, exhalation, life, anger, unsubstantiality, a region of the sky, spirit

of the LORD
יְהוָ֤ה ׀ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

may carry you off
יִֽשָּׂאֲךָ֙ (yiś·śā·’ă·ḵā)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5375: To lift, carry, take

when I
אֲנִ֣י ׀ (’ă·nî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589: I

leave
אֵלֵ֣ךְ (’ê·lêḵ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

you.
מֵאִתָּ֗ךְ (mê·’it·tāḵ)
Preposition-m | Direct object marker | second person masculine singular
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

Then when I go
וּבָ֨אתִי (ū·ḇā·ṯî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

[and] tell
לְהַגִּ֧יד (lə·hag·gîḏ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 5046: To be conspicuous

Ahab
לְאַחְאָ֛ב (lə·’aḥ·’āḇ)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 256: Ahab -- 'father's brother', a king of Israel, also a false prophet

and he does not
וְלֹ֥א (wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

find you,
יִֽמְצָאֲךָ֖ (yim·ṣā·’ă·ḵā)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | second person masculine singular
Strong's 4672: To come forth to, appear, exist, to attain, find, acquire, to occur, meet, be present

he will kill me.
וַהֲרָגָ֑נִי (wa·hă·rā·ḡā·nî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular | first person common singular
Strong's 2026: To smite with deadly intent

But I, your servant,
וְעַבְדְּךָ֛ (wə·‘aḇ·də·ḵā)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5650: Slave, servant

have feared
יָרֵ֥א (yā·rê)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 3372: To fear, to revere, caus, to frighten

the LORD
יְהוָ֖ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

from my youth.
מִנְּעֻרָֽי׃ (min·nə·‘u·rāy)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 5271: Youth, the state, the persons


Links
1 Kings 18:12 NIV
1 Kings 18:12 NLT
1 Kings 18:12 ESV
1 Kings 18:12 NASB
1 Kings 18:12 KJV

1 Kings 18:12 BibleApps.com
1 Kings 18:12 Biblia Paralela
1 Kings 18:12 Chinese Bible
1 Kings 18:12 French Bible
1 Kings 18:12 Catholic Bible

OT History: 1 Kings 18:12 It will happen as soon as (1Ki iKi i Ki 1 Kg 1kg)
1 Kings 18:11
Top of Page
Top of Page