1 Kings 18:41-19:18

New King James Version

The Drought Ends

⁴¹ Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” ⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; ^(A)then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, ⁴³ and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.”

So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.”

⁴⁴ Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ^[a]‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’ ”

⁴⁵ Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. ⁴⁶ Then the ^(B)hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he ^(C)girded^[b] up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

Elijah Escapes from Jezebel

19 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had ^(D)executed all the prophets with the sword. ² Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ^(E)“So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” ³ And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to 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 ^[c]broom tree. And he ^(F)prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

⁵ Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an ^[d]angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” ⁶ Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on ^[e]coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. ⁷ And the ^[f]angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” ⁸ So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and ^(G)forty nights as far as ^(H)Horeb, the mountain of God.

⁹ And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁰ So he said, ^(I)“I have been very ^(J)zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and ^(K)killed Your prophets with the sword. ^(L)I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

God’s Revelation to Elijah

¹¹ Then He said, “Go out, and stand ^(M)on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord ^(N)passed by, and ^(O)a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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 ^[g]a still small voice.

¹³ So it was, when Elijah heard it, that ^(P)he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. ^(Q)Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

^14 (R)And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; ^(S)and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. ¹⁶ Also you shall anoint ^(T)Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And ^(U)Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. ^17 (V)It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will ^(W)kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, ^(X)Elisha will kill. ^18 (Y)Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, ^(Z)and every mouth that has not kissed him.”