Elijah Flees Jezebel

19 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how ^(A)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 also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” ³ Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to ^(C)Beersheba, which belongs 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 broom tree. ^(D)And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” ⁵ And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” ⁶ And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. ⁷ And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” ⁸ And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food ^(E)forty days and forty nights to ^(F)Horeb, the mount of God.

The Lord Speaks to Elijah

⁹ There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, ^(G)the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ He said, “I have been very ^(H)jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, ^(I)thrown down your altars, and ^(J)killed your prophets with the sword, ^(K)and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” ¹¹ And he said, “Go out and ^(L)stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and ^(M)a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind ^(N)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 the sound of a low whisper.^{[a] 13} And when Elijah heard it, ^(O)he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, ^(P)there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁴ He said, ^(Q)“I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, ^(R)thrown down your altars, and killed your 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 to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. ^16 (S)And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and ^(T)Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. ¹⁷ And the one who escapes from ^(U)the sword of Hazael ^(V)shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu ^(W)shall Elisha put to death. ^18 (X)Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not ^(Y)kissed him.”

The Church in Antioch

^19 (A)Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. ²⁰ But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists^[a] also, ^(B)preaching the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And ^(C)the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed ^(D)turned to the Lord. ²² The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³ When he came and saw ^(E)the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord ^(F)with steadfast purpose, ²⁴ for he was a good man, ^(G)full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people ^(H)were added to the Lord. ²⁵ So Barnabas went to ^(I)Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called ^(J)Christians.

²⁷ Now in these days ^(K)prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸ And one of them named ^(L)Agabus stood up and foretold ^(M)by the Spirit that there would be a great ^(N)famine over all the world (this took place in the days of ^(O)Claudius). ²⁹ So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, ^(P)to send relief to ^(Q)the brothers^[b] living in Judea. ^30 (R)And they did so, sending it to ^(S)the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.