The Meaning of 1 Kings 18:12 Explained

1 Kings 18:12

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.

YLT: and it hath been, I go from thee, and the Spirit of Jehovah doth lift thee up, whither I know not, and I have come to declare to Ahab, and he doth not find thee, and he hath slain me; and thy servant is fearing Jehovah from my youth.

Darby: And it shall come to pass when I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of Jehovah shall carry thee whither I know not; and when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will kill me; and I thy servant fear Jehovah from my youth.

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 Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does 1 Kings 18:12 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 18:1-15 - Behold, Elijah!
"The word of the Lord came" to Elijah on four successive occasions- 1 Kings 17:2; 1 Kings 17:8; 1 Kings 18:1; 1 Kings 19:9. God has many things to say to us, if we will only listen. His word may find us in very different places, and direct us to varied duties; but to live by it is to execute the perfect plan of life.
Obadiah was a good man, but weak. He did his best to shield the prophets and to keep the true light from becoming extinguished- 1 Kings 18:13. But court favor had corrupted him. He stood before Ahab, while Elijah stood before God. Our Lord said that soft raiment and the king's court go together, Luke 7:25; and in the enervating atmosphere of a palace, it is granted to very few to retain the spirit and power of Elijah or of the Baptist. Who would not rather be Elijah than Obadiah! Elijah dared confront Ahab as the troubler of Israel, while Obadiah daily feared for his own life. Elijah rooted up idolatry, while Obadiah endeavored only to check its excesses. Obadiah sought grass for the royal steeds, but Elijah's prayer brought the rain. Let us dare to stand for God, though we stand alone! [source]

Chapter Summary: 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

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 18:12 mean?

And it shall come to pass [as soon as] I am gone from you that the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you there to a place not I do know so when I go [and] tell Ahab and cannot he find you and he will kill me but I your servant have feared - Yahweh from my youth
וְהָיָ֞ה אֲנִ֣י ׀ אֵלֵ֣ךְ מֵאִתָּ֗ךְ וְר֨וּחַ יְהוָ֤ה ׀ יִֽשָּׂאֲךָ֙ עַ֚ל אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹֽא־ אֵדָ֔ע וּבָ֨אתִי לְהַגִּ֧יד לְאַחְאָ֛ב וְלֹ֥א יִֽמְצָאֲךָ֖ וַהֲרָגָ֑נִי וְעַבְדְּךָ֛ יָרֵ֥א אֶת־ יְהוָ֖ה מִנְּעֻרָֽי

וְהָיָ֞ה  And  it  shall  come  to  pass 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
אֲנִ֣י ׀  [as  soon  as]  I 
Parse: Pronoun, first person common singular
Root: אֲנִי  
Sense: I (first pers.
אֵלֵ֣ךְ  am  gone 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
מֵאִתָּ֗ךְ  from  you 
Parse: Preposition-m, Direct object marker, second person masculine singular
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
וְר֨וּחַ  that  the  Spirit 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, common singular construct
Root: רוּחַ  
Sense: wind, breath, mind, spirit.
יְהוָ֤ה ׀  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
יִֽשָּׂאֲךָ֙  will  carry  you 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, second person masculine singular
Root: נָשָׂא  
Sense: to lift, bear up, carry, take.
אֲשֶׁ֣ר  to  a  place 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
אֵדָ֔ע  I  do  know 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
וּבָ֨אתִי  so  when  I  go 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
לְהַגִּ֧יד  [and]  tell 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: נָגַד  
Sense: to be conspicuous, tell, make known.
לְאַחְאָ֛ב  Ahab 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַחְאָב 
Sense: king of Israel, son of Omri, husband of Jezebel.
וְלֹ֥א  and  cannot 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יִֽמְצָאֲךָ֖  he  find  you 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, second person masculine singular
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
וַהֲרָגָ֑נִי  and  he  will  kill  me 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: הָרַג  
Sense: to kill, slay, murder, destroy, murderer, slayer, out of hand.
וְעַבְדְּךָ֛  but  I  your  servant 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: עֶבֶד  
Sense: slave, servant.
יָרֵ֥א  have  feared 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: יָרֵא 
Sense: to fear, revere, be afraid.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
יְהוָ֖ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
מִנְּעֻרָֽי  from  my  youth 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: נְעוּרִים 
Sense: youth, early life.