1 Kings 18:17
New International Version
When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”

New Living Translation
When Ahab saw him, he exclaimed, “So, is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel?”

English Standard Version
When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?”

Berean Standard Bible
When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”

King James Bible
And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?

New King James Version
Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”

New American Standard Bible
When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is this you, the cause of disaster to Israel?”

NASB 1995
When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?”

NASB 1977
And it came about, when Ahab saw Elijah that Ahab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?”

Legacy Standard Bible
Now it happened when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?”

Amplified Bible
When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Are you the one who is bringing disaster on Israel?”

Christian Standard Bible
When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, the one ruining Israel? ”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, you destroyer of Israel?”

American Standard Version
And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel?

Contemporary English Version
and when he saw him, Ahab shouted, "There you are, the biggest troublemaker in Israel!"

English Revised Version
And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When he saw Elijah, Ahab said, "Is that you, you troublemaker of Israel?"

Good News Translation
When Ahab saw him, he said, "So there you are--the worst troublemaker in Israel!"

International Standard Version
When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab asked him, "Is it really you, you destroyer of Israel?"

Majority Standard Bible
When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”

NET Bible
When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is it really you, the one who brings disaster on Israel?"

New Heart English Bible
It happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?"

Webster's Bible Translation
And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?

World English Bible
When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
[And it] comes to pass at Ahab’s seeing Elijah that Ahab says to him, “Are you he—the troubler of Israel?”

Young's Literal Translation
and it cometh to pass at Ahab's seeing Elijah, that Ahab saith unto him, 'Art thou he -- the troubler of Israel?'

Smith's Literal Translation
And it will be when Ahab saw Elijah, and Ahab will say to him, This thou, troubling Israel?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And when he had seen him, he said: Art thou he that troublest Israel?

Catholic Public Domain Version
And when he had seen him, he said, “Are you the one who is disturbing Israel?”

New American Bible
When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is it you, you disturber of Israel?”

New Revised Standard Version
When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And when Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, Are you he who troubles Israel?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And when Akhab saw Elyah, Akhab said to him: “You are the one who troubles those of Israel!”
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him: 'Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel?'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And it came to pass when Achaab saw Eliu, that Achaab said to Eliu, Art thou he that perverts Israel?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Elijah on Mount Carmel
16So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah. 17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” 18“I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.…

Cross References
1 Kings 21:20
When 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.

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 9:22
When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?” “How can there be peace,” he replied, “as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?”

2 Chronicles 21:13
but you have walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and have caused Judah and the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, just as the house of Ahab prostituted itself. You have also killed your brothers, your father’s family, who were better than you.

Jeremiah 38:4
Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to them; this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but their ruin.”

Amos 7:10
Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words,

Matthew 5:11-12
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. / Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

Matthew 23:29-37
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous. / And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ / So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. ...

Luke 6:22-23
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man. / Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For their fathers treated the prophets in the same way.

Luke 11:47-51
Woe to you! For you build tombs for the prophets, but it was your fathers who killed them. / So you are witnesses consenting to the deeds of your fathers: They killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. / Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and others they will persecute.’ ...

John 15:18-21
If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. / If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. / Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well. ...

John 16:2-3
They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. / They will do these things because they have not known the Father or Me.

Acts 7:51-52
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did. / Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—

Acts 17:6-7
But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here, / and Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, named Jesus!”

Romans 11:3
“Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well”?


Treasury of Scripture

And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Are you he that troubles Israel?

he that troubleth Israel

1 Kings 21:20
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.

Joshua 7:25
And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.

Jeremiah 26:8,9
Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die…

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1 Kings 18
1. In the extremity of famine Elijah, sent to Ahab, meets good Obadiah
9. Obadiah brings Ahab to Elijah
17. Elijah, reproving Ahab, by fire from heaven convinces Baal's prophets
41. Elijah, by prayer obtaining rain, follows Ahab to Jezreel














When Ahab saw Elijah
This phrase sets the stage for a dramatic encounter between two pivotal figures in Israel's history. Ahab, the king of Israel, represents the political and spiritual decline of the nation, having led the people into idolatry by worshiping Baal. Elijah, whose name means "My God is Yahweh," stands as a prophet of the true God, challenging the apostasy of the time. The Hebrew root for "saw" (רָאָה, ra'ah) implies more than just physical sight; it suggests perception and recognition. Ahab's seeing of Elijah is not just a visual encounter but a confrontation with the truth and the presence of God's messenger.

he said to him
This phrase indicates direct communication, a face-to-face confrontation. In the ancient Near Eastern context, such encounters between a king and a prophet were significant, often involving matters of national importance. The Hebrew verb "said" (אָמַר, amar) is frequently used in the Old Testament to introduce prophetic speech, underscoring the weight of the ensuing dialogue. This moment is charged with tension, as Ahab's words reveal his perception of Elijah's role in Israel's troubles.

Is that you
Ahab's question is rhetorical and accusatory. The phrase suggests recognition mixed with disdain. In the Hebrew text, the question is phrased to express surprise and contempt. Ahab's tone reflects his frustration and anger towards Elijah, whom he blames for the drought and famine afflicting Israel. This question sets the stage for the conflict between the forces of idolatry and the worship of Yahweh.

O troubler of Israel?
The term "troubler" (עָכַר, akar) is significant, as it implies one who brings disaster or misfortune. Historically, this accusation is ironic because it is Ahab's own actions, in leading Israel into idolatry, that have brought divine judgment upon the land. Elijah, in truth, is not the cause of Israel's troubles but the one who calls the nation back to covenant faithfulness. This phrase highlights the spiritual blindness of Ahab, who fails to see his own culpability and instead projects blame onto God's prophet. Theologically, this reflects a common biblical theme where the righteous are often misunderstood and persecuted by those in power.

(17) Art thou . . .--Probably (as in 1Kings 18:7) the rendering should be, "Thou here, the troubler of Israel!"--defying vengeance (that is) in the very land which thou hast troubled.

Verse 17. - And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him Art thou he [Rather, here: same words as in ver. 7. "Do I at last see thee again? Hast thou ventured into my presence?"] that troubleth Israel? [Heb. thou troubler of Israel. For the word (עָכַר) see Genesis 24:30; Joshua 6:18; Joshua 7:25; Proverbs 11:17; 1 Samuel 14:29. When Rawlinson says that this charge of troubling Israel has "never been before brought against any one but Achan," he apparently forgets the passage last cited. "My father hath troubled the land." Wordsworth paraphrases, "Art thou the Achan of Israel?" but it is very doubtful whether this thought was in Ahab's mind.]

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
When Ahab
אַחְאָ֖ב (’aḥ·’āḇ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 256: Ahab -- 'father's brother', a king of Israel, also a false prophet

saw
כִּרְא֥וֹת (kir·’ō·wṯ)
Preposition-k | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 7200: To see

Elijah,
אֵלִיָּ֑הוּ (’ê·lî·yā·hū)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 452: Elijah -- 'Yah is God', a well-known prophet of Israel, also three other Israelites

[he]
אַחְאָב֙ (’aḥ·’āḇ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 256: Ahab -- 'father's brother', a king of Israel, also a false prophet

said
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to him,
אֵלָ֔יו (’ê·lāw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

“Is that
זֶ֖ה (zeh)
Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

you,
הַאַתָּ֥ה (ha·’at·tāh)
Article | Pronoun - second person masculine singular
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

O troubler
עֹכֵ֥ר (‘ō·ḵêr)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5916: To roil water, to disturb, affict

of Israel?”
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc


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OT History: 1 Kings 18:17 It happened when Ahab saw Elijah that (1Ki iKi i Ki 1 Kg 1kg)
1 Kings 18:16
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