1 Kings 19
New American Standard Bible
Elijah Flees from Jezebel
19 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, and [a](A)how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “(B)So may the gods do to me and more so, if by about this time tomorrow I do not make your [b]life like the [c]life of one of them.” 3 And he [d]was afraid, and got up and ran for his [e]life and came to (C)Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and he left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and (D)he asked for himself to die, and said, “Enough! Now, Lord, take my [f]life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 5 Then he lay down and fell asleep under a broom tree; but behold, there was (E)an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat!” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a round loaf of bread baked on hot coals, and a pitcher of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 But the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him, and said, “Arise, eat; because the journey is too long for you.” 8 So he arose and ate and drank, and he journeyed in the strength of that food for (F)forty days and forty nights to (G)Horeb, the mountain of God.
Elijah at Horeb
9 Then he came there to a cave and spent the night there; and behold, (H)the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 And he said, “(I)I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of armies; for the sons of Israel have abandoned Your covenant, (J)torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And (K)I alone am left; and they have sought to take my life.”
11 So He said, “(L)Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And (M)a great and powerful wind was tearing out the mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, (N)a sound of a gentle blowing. 13 When Elijah heard it, (O)he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, (P)a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 Then he said, “(Q)I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of armies; for the sons of Israel have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they have sought to take my life.”
15 The Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when you have arrived, (R)you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 You shall also anoint (S)Jehu the son of Nimshi king over Israel; and you shall anoint (T)Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 17 And it shall come about that the (U)one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu (V)shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. 18 (W)Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not (X)kissed him.”
19 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat while he was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah came over to him and threw (Y)his cloak on him. 20 Then he left the oxen behind and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please (Z)let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back, for [g]what have I done to you?” 21 So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them, and (AA)cooked their meat with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he got up and followed Elijah and served him.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 19:1 Lit all that he had
- 1 Kings 19:2 Lit soul
- 1 Kings 19:2 Lit soul
- 1 Kings 19:3 Reading of many mss; MT may read saw
- 1 Kings 19:3 Lit soul
- 1 Kings 19:4 Lit soul
- 1 Kings 19:20 I.e., so as to influence Elisha’s decision
1 Kings 19
King James Version
19 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
7 And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.
8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?
14 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
15 And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:
16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
17 And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.
18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
19 So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.
20 And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?
21 And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.
1 Kings 19
Living Bible
19 When Ahab told Queen Jezebel what Elijah had done, and that he had slaughtered the prophets of Baal, 2 she sent this message to Elijah: “You killed my prophets, and now I swear by the gods that I am going to kill you by this time tomorrow night.”
3 So Elijah fled for his life; he went to Beersheba, a city of Judah, and left his servant there. 4 Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day, and sat down under a broom bush and prayed that he might die.
“I’ve had enough,” he told the Lord. “Take away my life. I’ve got to die sometime, and it might as well be now.”[a]
5 Then he lay down and slept beneath the broom bush. But as he was sleeping, an Angel touched him and told him to get up and eat! 6 He looked around and saw some bread baking on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.
7 Then the Angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, for there is a long journey ahead of you.”
8 So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God, 9 where he lived in a cave.
But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have worked very hard for the Lord God of the heavens; but the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you and torn down your altars and killed your prophets, and only I am left; and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11 “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain; it was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his scarf and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
And a voice said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
14 He replied again, “I have been working very hard for the Lord God of the armies of heaven, but the people have broken their covenant and have torn down your altars; they have killed every one of your prophets except me; and now they are trying to kill me too.”
15 Then the Lord told him, “Go back by the desert road to Damascus, and when you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king of Syria. 16 Then anoint Jehu (son of Nimshi) to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha (the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah) to replace you as my prophet. 17 Anyone who escapes from Hazael shall be killed by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu shall be killed by Elisha! 18 And incidentally, there are 7,000 men in Israel who have never bowed to Baal nor kissed him!”
19 So Elijah went and found Elisha who was plowing a field with eleven other teams ahead of him; he was at the end of the line with the last team. Elijah went over to him and threw his coat across his shoulders and walked away again.[b]
20 Elisha left the oxen standing there and ran after Elijah and said to him, “First let me go and say good-bye to my father and mother, and then I’ll go with you!”
Elijah replied, “Go on back! Why all the excitement?”
21 Elisha then returned to his oxen, killed them, and used wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the other plowmen, and they all had a great feast. Then he went with Elijah, as his assistant.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 19:4 and it might as well be now, literally, “I am no better than my fathers.”
- 1 Kings 19:19 and walked away again, implied.
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