1 Kings 18:17 (DRB)

Passage

And when he had seen him, he said: Art thou he that troublest Israel?

Nearby Context

1 Kings 18:15 And Elias said: As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whose face I stand, this day I will shew myself unto him.

1 Kings 18:16 Abdias therefore went to meet Achab, and told him: and Achab came to meet Elias.

1 Kings 18:17 And when he had seen him, he said: Art thou he that troublest Israel?

1 Kings 18:18 And he said: I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house, who have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and have followed Baalim.

1 Kings 18:19 Nevertheless send now, and gather unto me all Israel, unto Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, who eat at Jezabel's table.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "seen", "said", "thou", "troublest", and "israel". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "seen" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "Abdias therefore went to meet Achab and..." into verse 18's "And he said I have not troubled...", so "seen" and "said" belong inside that flow. In 1 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "seen" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.