1 Kings 21:20
in 1 Kings 21When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So you have found me out, my enemy.” He replied, “I have found you out because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee, because thou hast sold thyself to do that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah.
KJV
And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord.
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This verse in 1 Kings 21
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThou hast sold thyself to work evil - See a similar form of speech, Rom 7:14 (note). Thou hast totally abandoned thyself to the service of sin. Satan is become thy absolute master, and thou his undivided slave.
This site's exposition
Hast thou found me, O mine enemy
Ahab's greeting names Elijah his enemy on sight, the same dread Obadiah voiced in chapter eighteen now confirmed, the prophet's arrival always costs the king something he does not want to pay. Elijah refuses the label and reassigns it, I have found thee, because thou hast sold thyself to work evil, language Paul later uses of himself at Romans 7:14 under sin's dominion, though there as a captive who groans against it rather than a willing seller. Ahab sold himself freely, and the text lets that difference stand.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And the Lord said to Elijah, "Get up, go down to meet King Ahab of Israel," and so on. Now, when Jezebel invited Ahab to come and take hold of the vineyard whose owners had been stoned, Elijah went out to meet him, precisely when …
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
The second flow from the light of faith is the zeal of truth, so that a man be aroused with indignation against anything evil or false and be immediately attracted to anything good. Let him despise every wickedness, like Elias, who foretold about Achab and …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Sold thyself - Thou hast wholly resigned up thyself to be the bondslave of the devil, as a man that sells himself to another is totally in his master's power. To work evil, &c. - Impudently and contemptuously. Those who give themselves up to sin will certainly be found out, sooner or later, to their unspeakable amazement.
Ahab, having sold himself to sin, was resolved to stand to his bargain, and could not endure him that would have helped him to recover himself, [2.] That he feared him: Hast thou found me? intimating that he shunned him all he could, and it was now a terror to him to see him.
), because thou hast sold thyself to work evil. Note, Those that give up themselves to sin will certainly be found out, sooner or later, to their unspeakable horror and amazement. Ahab is now set to the bar, as Naboth was, and trembles more than he did. [1.] Elijah finds the indictment against him, and convicts him upon the notorious evidence of the fact (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Ahab said to Elijah, hast thou found me, O mine enemy?....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
thou hast sold thyself to work evil--that is, allowed sin to acquire the unchecked and habitual mastery over thee (2Ki 17:17; 21, 22. will make thine house, &c.--(see on 1Ki 15:29 and 1Ki 16:3-12).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The words “O mine enemy,” may refer partly to the old antagonism (marginal reference; 1Ki 17:1; 1Ki 19:2-3); but the feeling which it expresses is rather that of present oppositions - the opposition between good and evil, light and darkness Joh 3:20. Thou hast sold thyself to work evil - Compare the marginal references. The metaphor is taken from the practice of men’s selling themselves into slavery, and so giving themselves wholly up to work the will of their master. This was a widespread custom in the ancient world.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַחְאָב֙ | ʾachav | Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֵ֣לִיָּ֔הוּ | ʾeliyahu | Elijah | H452 → | 71 times |
| הַֽמְצָאתַ֖נִי | hamtzatani | ¿ have you found me | H4672 → | 455 times |
| אֹיְבִ֑י | ʾoyevi | O enemy my | H341 → | 282 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מָצָ֔אתִי | matzati | I have found [you] | H4672 → | 455 times |
| יַ֚עַן | yaan | because | H3282 → | 99 times |
| הִתְמַכֶּרְךָ֔ | hitmakerkha | you having sold yourself | H4376 → | |
| לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת | laasot | to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הָרַ֖ע | hara' | the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֥י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אַחְאָב֙Ahab
ʾachavH256 →92 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֵ֣לִיָּ֔הוּElijah
ʾeliyahuH452 →71 times
הַֽמְצָאתַ֖נִי¿ have you found me
hamtzataniH4672 →455 times
אֹיְבִ֑יO enemy my
ʾoyeviH341 →282 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מָצָ֔אתִיI have found [you]
matzatiH4672 →455 times
יַ֚עַןbecause
yaanH3282 →99 times
הִתְמַכֶּרְךָ֔you having sold yourself
hitmakerkhaH4376 →
לַעֲשׂ֥וֹתto do
laasotH6213 →2628 times
הָרַ֖עthe evil
hara'H7451 →662 times
בְּעֵינֵ֥יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
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
2 Kings 17:17They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and soothsaying. They devoted themselves to doing evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 21:6
He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
- 2 Kings 16:3
Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the…
- Deuteronomy 18:10–12
Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,
- Ezekiel 23:37
For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to Me, in the fire as food…
- 2 Kings 21:6
Through
1 Kings 21:25(Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel.
it leads to
- Proverbs 22:14
The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.
- Proverbs 22:14
Through
1 Kings 18:17When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
it leads to
- Joshua 7:25
“Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.
- Joshua 7:25
Through
Romans 7:14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 17:17
They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and soothsaying. They devoted themselves to doing evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
- 1 Kings 21:25
(Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel.
- 2 Kings 17:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomElijahThe Tishbite who shut heaven for three years and a half, called down fire on Carmel, heard the still small voice at Horeb, and wen…
- PersonDivided kingdomAhabSeventh king of the northern kingdom, son of Omri, who "did evil above all that were before him"; Elijah's chief antagonist, conde…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 21:17; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.