1 Kings 18:7-16

Common English Bible

⁷ While Obadiah was out searching, suddenly Elijah met up with him. When Obadiah saw him, he fell on his face. “My master!” he said. “Are you Elijah?”

⁸ Elijah replied, “I am. Go and say to your master, ‘Elijah is here!’”

⁹ Then Obadiah said, “How have I sinned that you are handing me, your servant, over to Ahab so he can kill me? ¹⁰ As surely as the Lord your God lives, there’s no nation or kingdom where my master Ahab hasn’t looked for you. They would insist, ‘He’s not here,’ but Ahab would make them swear that they couldn’t find you. ¹¹ And now you are commanding me: ‘Go and say to your master, “Elijah is here”’? ¹² But here’s what will happen: As soon as I leave you, the Lord’s spirit will carry you off somewhere—I don’t know where—then I’ll report to Ahab, but he won’t be able to find you. Then he will kill me! But your servant has feared the Lord from my youth. ¹³ Wasn’t my master told what I did when Jezebel killed the Lord’s prophets? I hid one hundred of the Lord’s prophets, fifty each in two caves. I also supplied them with food and water. ¹⁴ But even after all that, you tell me, ‘Say to your master, “Elijah is here”’! Ahab will kill me!”

¹⁵ Elijah said, “As surely as the Lord of heavenly forces lives, the one I serve, I will appear before Ahab today.”

¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab. He told him what had happened. Then Ahab went to meet Elijah.