Loading…

1 Kings 18:41–46

The Drought Ends

41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; hthen he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, 43 and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.”

So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.”

44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, 1‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’ ”

45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46 Then the ihand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he jgirded 2up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

Read more Explain verse



1 Kings 18:41–46 — The New International Version (NIV)

41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” 42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.

43 “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.

“There is nothing there,” he said.

Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

44 The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”

So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’ ”

45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

1 Kings 18:41–46 — English Standard Version (ESV)

41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. 43 And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. 44 And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’ ” 45 And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. 46 And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

1 Kings 18:41–46 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, 43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. 44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. 45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. 46 And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

1 Kings 18:41–46 — New Living Translation (NLT)

41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!”

42 So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees.

43 Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.”

The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, “I didn’t see anything.”

Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. 44 Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.”

Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’ ”

45 And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel. 46 Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.

1 Kings 18:41–46 — New Century Version (NCV)

41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Now, go, eat, and drink, because a heavy rain is coming.” 42 So King Ahab went to eat and drink. At the same time Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, where he bent down to the ground with his head between his knees.

43 Then Elijah said to his servant, “Go and look toward the sea.”

The servant went and looked. “I see nothing,” he said.

Elijah told him to go and look again. This happened seven times. 44 The seventh time, the servant said, “I see a small cloud, the size of a human fist, coming from the sea.”

Elijah told the servant, “Go to Ahab and tell him to get his chariot ready and go home now. Otherwise, the rain will stop him.”

45 After a short time the sky was covered with dark clouds. The wind began to blow, and soon a heavy rain began to fall. Ahab got in his chariot and started back to Jezreel. 46 The Lord gave his power to Elijah, who tightened his clothes around him and ran ahead of King Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

1 Kings 18:41–46 — American Standard Version (ASV)

41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain. 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees. 43 And he said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. 44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a cloud out of the sea, as small as a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Make ready thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. 45 And it came to pass in a little while, that the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel: 46 and the hand of Jehovah was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

1 Kings 18:41–46 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

41 And Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. 42 And Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed down on the earth, and put his face between his knees. 43 And he said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. 44 And it came to pass at the seventh time that he said, Behold there is a cloud, small as a man’s hand, arising out of the sea. And he said, Go up, say to Ahab, Harness and go down, that the pour of rain stop thee not. 45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heavens became black with clouds and wind, and there was a great pour of rain. And Ahab got on the chariot, and went to Jizreel. 46 And the hand of Jehovah was upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jizreel.

1 Kings 18:41–46 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

41 Then Elijah told Ahab, “Get up, eat, and drink. It sounds like a heavy rain ⸤is coming⸥.” 42 Ahab got up to eat and drink. 

Elijah went to the top of Carmel and bowed down on the ground to pray. 43 He said to his servant, “Please go back to ⸤Mount Carmel⸥, and look toward the sea.” 

He went up, looked, ⸤came back,⸥ and said, “There’s nothing.” 

Seven times Elijah told him, “Go back.” 

44 After the seventh time the servant said, “A little cloud like a man’s hand is coming from the sea.” 

Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare ⸤your chariot⸥, and leave before the rain delays you.’ ” 

45 Gradually, the sky grew darker with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. Ahab got into his chariot to go back to Jezreel. 46 The Lord’s power was on Elijah. He hiked up his robe and ran ahead of Ahab until they came to Jezreel. 

1 Kings 18:41–46 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

41 Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a rainstorm.”

42 So Ahab went to eat and drink, but Elijah went up to the summit of Carmel. He bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees. 43 Then he said to his servant, “Go up and look toward the sea.”

So he went up, looked, and said, “There’s nothing.”

Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

44 On the seventh time, he reported, “There’s a cloud as small as a man’s hand coming from the sea.”

Then Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Get your chariot ready and go down so the rain doesn’t stop you.’ ”

45 In a little while, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and there was a downpour. So Ahab got in his chariot and went to Jezreel. 46 The power of the Lord was on Elijah, and he tucked his mantle under his belt and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

1 Kings 18:41–46 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

41 Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of rushing rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; there he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees. 43 He said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” He went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” Then he said, “Go again seven times.” 44 At the seventh time he said, “Look, a little cloud no bigger than a person’s hand is rising out of the sea.” Then he said, “Go say to Ahab, ‘Harness your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’ ” 45 In a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind; there was a heavy rain. Ahab rode off and went to Jezreel. 46 But the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; he girded up his loins and ran in front of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

1 Kings 18:41–46 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of the noise of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink while Elijah went to the top of Carmel, bent down to the earth, and put his face between his knees. 43 Then he said to his servant, “Please go and look in the direction of the sea.” So he went up and looked; then he said, “There is nothing.” Then he said, “Go back,” seven times. 44 It happened that at the seventh time, he said, “Look, there is a small cloud, as the hand of a man, coming up from the sea.” Then Elijah said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Harness your horses and go down, lest the rain stop you.’ ” 45 In no time the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was heavy rain. Ahab rode and he went to Jezreel, 46 but the hand of Yahweh was on Elijah; he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab as one comes to Jezreel.

1 Kings 18:41–46 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

41 Elijah said to Ahab, “Go. Eat and drink. I can hear the sound of a heavy rain.”

42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink.

But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel. He bent down toward the ground. Then he put his face between his knees.

43 “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. So he went up and looked.

“I don’t see anything there,” he said.

Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

44 The seventh time the servant said, “I see a cloud. It’s as small as a man’s hand. It’s coming up over the sea.”

Elijah said, “Go to Ahab. Tell him, ‘Tie your chariot to your horse. Go down to Jezreel before the rain stops you.’ ”

45 Black clouds filled the sky. The wind came up, and a heavy rain began to fall. Ahab rode off to Jezreel.

46 The power of the Lord came on Elijah. He tucked his coat into his belt. And he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

1 Kings 18:41–46 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

41 Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.”

42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he crouched down on the earth and put his face between his knees.

43 He said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go backseven times.

44 It came about at the seventh time, that he said, “Behold, a cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.’ ”

45 In a little while the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.

46 Then the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel.


A service of Logos Bible Software