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Easy-to-Read Version

1 Kings 18:1

During the third year that no rain fell, the Lord said to Elijah, "Go meet with King Ahab, and I will make it rain."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Elijah;   Famine;   Israel;   Prayer;   Thompson Chain Reference - Direction, Divine;   Divine;   Guidance, Divine;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Rain;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Carmel;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Ahab;   Obadiah;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Elijah;   Gods and Goddesses, Pagan;   Providence of God;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Hospitality;   Zeal;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Fertility Cult;   Jezebel;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Lord;   Monotheism;   Persecution in the Bible;   Presence of God;   Ugarit;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ahab;   Carmel;   Haggai;   Prophecy, Prophets;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Numbers;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Mount carmel;   Obadiah;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Elijah;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Elijah;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
After a long time, the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year: “Go and present yourself to Ahab. I will send rain on the surface of the land.”
Hebrew Names Version
It happened after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Eliyah, in the third year, saying, Go, show yourself to Ach'av; and I will send rain on the eretz.
King James Version
And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.
English Standard Version
After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth."
New Century Version
During the third year without rain, the Lord spoke his word to Elijah: "Go and meet King Ahab, and I will soon send rain."
New English Translation
Some time later, in the third year of the famine, the Lord told Elijah, "Go, make an appearance before Ahab, so I may send rain on the surface of the ground."
Amplified Bible
Now it happened after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth."
New American Standard Bible
Now it happened after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will provide rain on the face of the earth."
Geneva Bible (1587)
After many dayes, the worde of the Lorde came to Eliiah, in the third yeere, saying, Goe, shewe thy selfe vnto Ahab, and I will sende rayne vpon the earth.
Legacy Standard Bible
Now it happened after many days that the word of Yahweh came to Elijah in the third year, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth."
Contemporary English Version
For three years no rain fell in Samaria, and there was almost nothing to eat anywhere. The Lord said to Elijah, "Go and meet with King Ahab. I will soon make it rain." So Elijah went to see Ahab.
Complete Jewish Bible
A long time passed. Then, in the third year, the word of Adonai came to Eliyahu: "Go, present yourself to Ach'av, and I will send rain down on the land."
Darby Translation
And it came to pass after many days, that the word of Jehovah came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.
George Lamsa Translation
AND it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.
Good News Translation
After some time, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, "Go and present yourself to King Ahab, and I will send rain."
Lexham English Bible
It happened many days later that the word of Yahweh came to Elijah in the third year, saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab so that I may give rain on the surface of the earth."
Literal Translation
And it happened after many days the Word of Jehovah came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will give rain on the face of the earth.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And after a longe season came ye worde of the LORDE vnto Elias in the thirde yeare, & sayde: Go thy waye, & shewe yi selfe vnto Achab, yt I maye cause it for to rayne vpon earth.
American Standard Version
And it came to pass after many days, that the word of Jehovah came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.
Bible in Basic English
Now after a long time, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go and let Ahab see you, so that I may send rain on the earth.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
After processe of many dayes, the word of the Lord came to Elias in the third yere, saying: Go shewe thy selfe vnto Ahab, and I wyll sende rayne vpon the earth.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying: 'Go, show thyself unto Ahab, and I will send rain upon the land.'
King James Version (1611)
And it came to passe after many daies, that the word of the Lord came to Eliiah in the third yeere, saying, Goe shewe thy selfe vnto Ahab, and I will send raine vpon the earth.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Eliu in the third year, saying, Go, and appear before Achaab, and I will bring rain upon the face of the earth.
English Revised Version
And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.
Berean Standard Bible
After 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 on the face of the earth."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Aftir many daies the word of the Lord was maad to Elie, in the thridde yeer, and seide, Go, and schewe thee to Achab, that Y yyue reyn on the face of erthe.
Young's Literal Translation
And the days are many, and the word of Jehovah hath been unto Elijah in the third year, saying, `Go, appear unto Ahab, and I give rain on the face of the ground;'
Update Bible Version
And it came to pass after many days, that the word of Yahweh came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain on the earth.
Webster's Bible Translation
And it came to pass [after] many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.
World English Bible
It happened after many days, that the word of Yahweh came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain on the earth.
New King James Version
And it came to pass after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth."
New Living Translation
Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, "Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!"
New Life Bible
After many days, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go show yourself to Ahab. And I will send rain upon the earth."
New Revised Standard
After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year of the drought, saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab; I will send rain on the earth."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And it came to pass, after many days, that, the word of Yahweh, came unto Elijah, in the third year, saying, - Go, shew thyself unto Ahab, that I may send rain upon the face of the ground.
Douay-Rheims Bible
After many days, the word of the Lord came to Elias, in the third year, saying: Go, and shew thyself to Achab, that I may give rain upon the face of the earth.
Revised Standard Version
After many days the word of the LORD came to Eli'jah, in the third year, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth."
THE MESSAGE
A long time passed. Then God 's word came to Elijah. The drought was now in its third year. The message: "Go and present yourself to Ahab; I'm about to make it rain on the country." Elijah set out to present himself to Ahab. The drought in Samaria at the time was most severe.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now it happened after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth."

Contextual Overview

1 During the third year that no rain fell, the Lord said to Elijah, "Go meet with King Ahab, and I will make it rain." 2 So Elijah went to meet with Ahab. The famine was very bad in Samaria. 3 So King Ahab told Obadiah to come to him. Obadiah was the man in charge of the king's palace. (Obadiah was a true follower of the Lord . 4 One time when Jezebel was killing all the Lord 's prophets, Obadiah hid 100 prophets in two caves. He put 50 prophets in one cave and 50 prophets in another cave. Then he brought them food and water.) 5 King Ahab said to Obadiah, "Come with me. We will look at every spring and every stream in the land. We will see if we can find enough grass to keep our horses and mules alive. Then we will not have to kill our animals." 6 They decided where each of them would go to look for water. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself. 7 As Obadiah was walking along the road by himself, he looked up, and there was Elijah. Obadiah recognized him and bowed down to show his respect. He said, "Elijah? Is it really you, master?" 8 Elijah answered, "Yes, it is me. Now, go and tell your master, the king, that I am here." 9 Obadiah said, "If I tell Ahab that I know where you are, he will kill me! I have done nothing wrong to you. Why do you want me to die? 10 As surely as the Lord your God lives, the king has been looking for you everywhere. He has sent people to every country to find you. He even made the rulers of those countries swear that you were not there.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

am 3098, bc 906

after many days: Luke 4:25, James 5:17, Revelation 11:2, Revelation 11:6

in the third year: This form of expression, both in Hebrew and Latin, means "after the third year," i.e., some time between the third and fourth year. 1 Kings 17:1, 1 Kings 17:7, 1 Kings 17:15, Luke 4:25, James 5:17

Go: 1 Kings 18:2, 15-40

I will send rain: Leviticus 26:4, Deuteronomy 28:12, Psalms 65:9-13, Isaiah 5:6, Jeremiah 10:13, Jeremiah 14:22, Joel 2:23, Amos 4:7

Reciprocal: Genesis 20:7 - a prophet 2 Samuel 12:1 - the Lord 1 Kings 8:36 - give rain 1 Kings 18:41 - a sound 2 Kings 1:3 - Arise Psalms 135:7 - He causeth Hosea 9:8 - with Acts 14:17 - and gave

Cross-References

Genesis 12:7
The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "I will give this land to your descendants." Abram built an altar to honor the Lord who appeared to him there.
Genesis 15:1
After all these things happened, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. God said, "Abram, don't be afraid. I will defend you and give you a great reward."
Genesis 17:22
After God finished talking with Abraham, God went up into heaven.
Genesis 18:1
Later, the Lord again appeared to Abraham near the oak trees of Mamre. It was the hottest part of the day, and Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent.
Genesis 18:3
Abraham said, "Sirs, please stay a while with me, your servant.
Genesis 26:2
The Lord spoke to Isaac and said, "Don't go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I commanded you to live in.
Genesis 48:3
Then Israel said to Joseph, "God All-Powerful appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan. God blessed me there.
Exodus 4:1
Then Moses said to God, "But the Israelites will not believe me when I tell them that you sent me. They will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.'"
2 Chronicles 1:7
That night God came to Solomon and said, "Ask me for whatever you want me to give you."
Acts 7:2
Stephen answered, "My Jewish fathers and brothers, listen to me. Our great and glorious God appeared to Abraham, our ancestor, when he was in Mesopotamia. This was before he lived in Haran.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it came to pass after many days,.... When two years and more were gone from the time the drought and famine began; or rather from the time of the prophets departure to the brook Cherith, which might be six months after the famine began:

that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year; of his absence from Ahab:

saying, go show thyself unto Ahab; whom he had not seen so long, and who had been seeking for him, but to no purpose:

and I will send rain upon the earth; the term of three years and six months being almost expired, see James 5:17.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The third year - i. e., in the third year of his sojourn with the widow. The whole period of drought was three years and a half Luke 4:25; James 5:17 : of this, probably about one year was passed by Elijah in the torrent-course of Cherith, and two years and a half at Sarepta.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER XVIII

Elijah is commanded by the Lord to show himself to Ahab, 1, 2.

Ahab, and Obadiah his steward, search the land to find

provender for the cattle, 3-6.

Obadiah meets Elijah, who commands him to inform Ahab that he

is ready to present himself before him, 7-15.

Elijah and Ahab meet, 16-18.

Elijah proposes that the four hundred and fifty priests of Baal

should be gathered together at Mount Carmel; that they should

offer a sacrifice to their god, and he to Jehovah; and the God

who should send down fire to consume the sacrifice should be

acknowledged as the true God, 19-24.

The proposal is accepted, and the priests of Baal call in vain

upon their god through the whole day, 25-29.

Elijah offers his sacrifice, prays to Gods and fire comes down

from heaven and consumes it; whereupon the people acknowledge

Jehovah to be the true God, and slay all the prophets of Baal,

30-40.

Elijah promises Ahab that there shall be immediate rain; it

comes accordingly, and Ahab and Elijah come to Jezreel, 41-46.

NOTES ON CHAP. XVIII

Verse 1 Kings 18:1. After many days - in the third year — We learn from our Lord, Luke 4:25, that the drought which brought on the famine in Israel lasted three years and six months. St. James, James 5:17, gives it the same duration. Probably Elijah spent six months at the brook Cherith, and three years with the widow at Sarepta.

I will send rain upon the earth. — The word האדמה haadamah should be translated the ground or the land, as it is probable that this drought did not extend beyond the land of Judea.


 
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