1 Kings 18:12
in 1 Kings 18I 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
⋯
This verse in 1 Kings 18
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThe Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee - Obadiah supposed that the Spirit of the Lord had carried him to some strange country during the three years and a half of the drought; and as he had reason to think that Ahab would slay Elijah if he found him, and that the God of the prophet would not suffer his servant to fall into such murderous hands, he took for granted that as soon as he should come into danger, so soon would the Spirit of the Lord carry him away, or direct him to some hiding place.
This site's exposition
Is it you, my lord Elijah
on 1 Kings 18:7-14
Obadiah's long protest measures Elijah's standing, since Ahab has searched every “nation or kingdom” and made each swear “that they had not found you”. He fears that “the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off”, leaving him to face the king alone. The text gives his fear six verses.
This site's exposition
the Spirit of the LORD may carry you
Obadiah says he has feared the LORD from his youth, and Charles Spurgeon preached on this line as early piety that grew into eminent piety. Adam Clarke reads the fear of the Spirit carrying Elijah off as a guess about where he had been during the drought.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), he began betimes to be religious and had continued long. Note, Early piety, it is to be hoped, will be eminent piety; those that are good betimes are likely to be very good; he that feared God from his youth came to fear him greatly.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
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,....
Tyrants and persecutors, in their passion, are often unreasonably outrageous, even towards their friends and confidants. [4.] He pleads that he did not deserve to be thus exposed, and put in peril of his life: What have I said amiss?
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
I SUSPECT that Elijah did not think very much of Obadiah. He does not treat him with any great consideration, but addresses him more sharply than one would expect from a fellow-believer. Elijah was the man of action’bold, always to the front, with nothing to conceal; Obadiah was a quiet believer, true and steadfast, but in a very difficult position, and therefore driven to perform his duty in a less open manner. His faith in the Lord swayed his life, but did not drive him out of the court.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Art thou he that troubleth Israel--A violent altercation took place. Ahab thought to awe him into submission, but the prophet boldly and undisguisedly told the king that the national calamity was traceable chiefly to his own and his family's patronage and practice of idolatry. But, while rebuking the sins, Elijah paid all due respect to the high rank of the offender.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I SUSPECT that Elijah did not think very much of Obadiah. He does not treat him with any great consideration, but addresses him more sharply than one would expect from a fellow-believer. Elijah was the man of action’bold, always to the front, with nothing to conceal; Obadiah was a quiet believer, true and steadfast, but in a very difficult position, and therefore driven to perform his duty in a less open manner. His faith in the Lord swayed his life, but did not drive him out of the court. I notice that even after Elijah had learned more of him at this interview, he speaks concerning God’s people as if he did not reckon much upon Obadiah, and others like him. He says, ‘They have thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.’ He knew very well that Obadiah was left, who, though not exactly a prophet, was a man of mark; but he seems to ignore him as if he were of small account in the great struggle. I suppose it was because this man of iron, this prophet of fire and thunder, this mighty servant of the Most High, set small store by anybody who did not come to the front and fight like himself: I know it is the tendency of brave and zealous minds somewhat to undervalue quiet, retired piety. True and accepted servants of God may be doing their best under great disadvantages, against fierce opposition, but they may scarcely be known, and may even shun the least recognition; therefore men who live in the fierce light of public life are apt to underestimate them. These minor stars are lost in the brilliance of the man whom God lights up like a new sun to flame through the darkness. Elijah flashed over the sky of Israel like a thunderbolt from the hand of the Eternal, and naturally he would be somewhat impatient of those whose movements were slower and less conspicuous.
The words behind it
22 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֞ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אֲנִ֣י׀ | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אֵלֵ֣ךְ | ʾelekh | I will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| מֵאִתָּ֗ךְ | meitakh | from with <the> you | H854 → | 929 times |
| וְר֨וּחַ | veruach | and [the] spirit of | H7307 → | 378 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה׀ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יִֽשָּׂאֲךָ֙ | yisaakha | it will carry away you | H5375 → | 656 times |
| עַ֚ל | ʾal | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֵדָ֔ע | ʾeda' | I know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| וּבָ֨אתִי | uvati | and I will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לְהַגִּ֧יד | lehagid | to tell | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לְאַחְאָ֛ב | leachav | to Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִֽמְצָאֲךָ֖ | yimtzaakha | he will find you | H4672 → | 455 times |
| וַהֲרָגָ֑נִי | vaharagani | and he will kill me | H2026 → | 167 times |
| וְעַבְדְּךָ֛ | veavdekha | and servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| יָרֵ֥א | yare' | [is] fearing | H3373 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מִנְּעֻרָֽי׃ | mineurai | since youth<s> my | H5271 → |
וְהָיָ֞הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
אֲנִ֣י׀I
ʾaniH589 →874 times
אֵלֵ֣ךְI will go
ʾelekhH1980 →1546 times
מֵאִתָּ֗ךְfrom with <the> you
meitakhH854 →929 times
וְר֨וּחַand [the] spirit of
veruachH7307 →378 times
יְהוָ֤ה׀Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יִֽשָּׂאֲךָ֙it will carry away you
yisaakhaH5375 →656 times
עַ֚לto
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhere
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אֵדָ֔עI know
ʾeda'H3045 →945 times
וּבָ֨אתִיand I will go
uvatiH935 →2568 times
לְהַגִּ֧ידto tell
lehagidH5046 →370 times
לְאַחְאָ֛בto Ahab
leachavH256 →92 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יִֽמְצָאֲךָ֖he will find you
yimtzaakhaH4672 →455 times
וַהֲרָגָ֑נִיand he will kill me
vaharaganiH2026 →167 times
וְעַבְדְּךָ֛and servant your
veavdekhaH5650 →799 times
יָרֵ֥א[is] fearing
yare'H3373 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מִנְּעֻרָֽי׃since youth<s> my
mineuraiH5271 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 8:39When 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.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 8:3
He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 11:1
Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that faces east. And there at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men. Among them…
Reached by 2 separate paths from 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…
- Ezekiel 43:5
Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
- Ezekiel 3:12–14
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 8:3
Through
2 Kings 2:11As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 6:17
Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and…
- Psalms 104:3–4
laying the beams of His chambers in the waters above, making the clouds His chariot, walking on the wings of the wind.
- 2 Kings 6:17
Through
Ezekiel 8:3He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:16
They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations.
- Deuteronomy 32:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 584: “A Hearer In Disguise” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1804: “Obadiah; or, Early Piety Eminent Piety” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.