The Bible — World English Bible

1 Kings 19

In brief

The day after his victory on Carmel, Elijah receives Jezebel's threat and flees into the wilderness, exhausted, to the point of asking to die. God does not rebuke him: he lets him sleep and has an angel bring him bread and water. At Horeb, God reveals himself not in the wind, the earthquake or the fire, but in a still small voice. He reminds Elijah that he is not alone and entrusts him with a successor, Elisha.

The chapter in 5 parts

  1. v. 1-4Jezebel's threat and Elijah's flight
  2. v. 5-8An angel prepares bread for an exhausted Elijah
  3. v. 9-14At Horeb: the still small voice
  4. v. 15-18A new mission and seven thousand faithful
  5. v. 19-21Elisha called to follow Elijah

1Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.

2Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I don’t make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time!”

3When he saw that, he arose, and ran for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

4But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree. Then he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough. Now, O Yahweh, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.”

5He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat!”

6He looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again.

7Yahweh’s angel came again the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”

8He arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, God’s Mountain.

9He came to a cave there, and camped there; and behold, Yahweh’s word came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10He said, “I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

11He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before Yahweh.” Behold, Yahweh passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before Yahweh; but Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake; but Yahweh was not in the earthquake.

12After the earthquake a fire passed; but Yahweh was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a still small voice.

13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle, went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. Behold, a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

14He said, “I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

15Yahweh said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.

16Anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi to be king over Israel; and anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah to be prophet in your place.

17He who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and he who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill.

18Yet I reserved seven thousand in Israel, all the knees of which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.”

19So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. Elijah went over to him, and put his mantle on him.

20Elisha left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me please kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” He said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?”

21He returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled their meat with the instruments of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and served him.

Key verses

Verse 4
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree. Then he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough. Now, O Yahweh, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.”

Elijah sits down under a broom tree and asks to die. The text does not hide the distress of a great servant of God, who is not the only one in the Bible to know such despair.

Verse 5-7
He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat!” He looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. Yahweh’s angel came again the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”

Before any speech, the angel tells him to get up and eat, twice. God answers the body's weariness gently and without reproach: the journey is too long for him.

Verse 11-12
He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before Yahweh.” Behold, Yahweh passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before Yahweh; but Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake; but Yahweh was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire passed; but Yahweh was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a still small voice.

God is not in the wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but in a still small voice. The passage invites us not to look for God only in the spectacular.

Verse 18
Yet I reserved seven thousand in Israel, all the knees of which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.”

Elijah thinks he is alone, but God has reserved for himself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal. The feeling of isolation does not tell the whole reality.

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What the sermons say

Elijah Breaks Down: God Prepares Bread for YouThe preacher observes that a single threat is enough to make Elijah flee after Carmel. God does not lecture him: he prepares bread for him, and collapsing does not mean you are in the wrong place.Read the summary →Elijah at Horeb: When God Meets a Broken HeartThree steps for a broken heart: turn to the Lord, receive rest and food, then listen to him in the still small voice. The passage shows that God cares for the body before speaking to the spirit.Read the summary →When the Leader Is TiredThis message is addressed to exhausted leaders. It notes that God does not reprimand Elijah, but lets him sleep and eat, and invites us to recognize the aftershock that follows intense seasons.Read the summary →3 Levels to Read the Bible Without Staying on the SurfaceThe preacher takes 1 Kings 19 as a demonstration of deep reading. He points out echoes with Hagar, Jonah and Moses, and recalls that God carries on his work even when Elijah would like to stop.Read the summary →Silence and Solitude: Hearing God When Everything Around You Is ShoutingThe speakers connect Elijah's meeting with God in the still small voice to the practice of silence and solitude. They suggest quieting the noise in order to hear God's voice.Read the summary →

Frequently asked questions about 1 Kings 19

Why does Elijah flee after his victory on Carmel?

Jezebel promises to kill him within twenty-four hours, and Elijah, exhausted, becomes afraid. Many readers see in it the aftershock of an intense season, where physical and emotional fatigue gives way to discouragement. The story shows that a great servant of God can collapse and that God comes to him without condemning him.

What does “a still small voice” mean in 1 Kings 19:12?

After the wind, the earthquake and the fire, God reveals himself in a quiet whisper. The passage does not deny that God can act in spectacular ways, as at Carmel, but it recalls that he also speaks in simplicity. It invites us to listen for God in the midst of the noise, without waiting only for grand signs.

How does God answer Elijah when he says he is alone in 1 Kings 19?

God tells him that he has reserved seven thousand men in Israel who have not bowed the knee to Baal. He also entrusts him with a next step: to anoint Hazael, Jehu and Elisha as prophet in his place. Elijah is neither alone nor indispensable, and God's mission goes on.

Articles quoting 1 Kings 19

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World English Bible translation — public domain.