1st Kings Chapter 18 verse 43 Holy Bible
And he said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.
read chapter 18 in ASV
And he said to his servant, Go now, and take a look in the direction of the sea. And he went up, and after looking said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times; and he went seven times.
read chapter 18 in BBE
And he said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked, and said, [There is] nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.
read chapter 18 in DARBY
And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.
read chapter 18 in KJV
And said to his servant, Go up now, look towards the sea. And he went up and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.
read chapter 18 in WBT
He said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. He went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. He said, Go again seven times.
read chapter 18 in WEB
and saith unto his young man, `Go up, I pray thee, look attentively the way of the sea;' and he goeth up and looketh attentively, and saith, `There is nothing;' and he saith, `Turn back,' seven times.
read chapter 18 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 43. - And said to his servant [of whom we now hear for the first time. It is an old tradition that this was none other than the son of the Sareptan, who was afterwards known as the prophet Jonah (Jerome, Praef. in Jonam). See note on 1 Kings 17:24], Go up now, look toward [Heb. the way of] the sea. [It is a striking confirmation of the theory which identifies El Murahkah with the scene of Elijah's sacrifice that the sea, though not visible from the plateau itself, is from the crest of the hill, a few feet higher. Van de Velde writes, "On its west and northwest sides the view of the sea is quite intercepted by an adjacent height. That height may be ascended, however, in a few minutes and a full view of the sea obtained from the top." Similarly the latest authority, Mr. Condor: "The peak is a semi-isolated knoll with a cliff some forty feet high, looking southeast .... The sea is invisible, except from the summit, and thus it was only by climbing to the top of Carmel, from the plateau where the altar may have stood, that the prophet's servant could have seen the little cloud," etc.] And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. [Cf. Joshua 6:15-20; 2 Kings 5:14; Matthew 18:21; Psalm 119:164. The idea here is that of sufficiency, of completion, rather than, as elsewhere, of covenant. And yet it must be remembered that Elijah was only praying for what God had already promised to grant (ver. 1). This earnest prayer for rain under these circumstances suggests that the former prayer "that it might not rain" (James 5:17) had also been inspired of God. But it is worth considering whether Elijah's attitude was not one of reverent and assured expectation, as much as of prayer. When Rawlinson says that "the faithfulness and patience shown [by the servant] in executing this order without a murmur, imply devotedness of no common kind," he surely forgets that the drought had lasted for three years and a half, and that the servant had that day seen the fires of God descend at Elijah's prayer. It is inconceivable, under such circumstances, that any man could murmur.]
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(43) Go again seven times.--From this delay of the answer to prayer Elijah's example became proverbial for intensity and perseverance in supplication (James 5:17). The contrast is remarkable between the immediate answer to his earlier prayer (see 1Kings 18:36-37) and the long delay here. The one was for the sake of the people; the other for some lesson--perhaps of humility and patience--to Elijah himself. When the answer does come, it fulfils itself speedily. The "little cloud" becomes all but immediately (for so "in the mean while" should be rendered) a storm blackening the whole heavens, borne by a hurricane from the west.
