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1 Kings 19:10-12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
1 Kings 19:10-12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
10 He answered: “I have been most zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant. They have destroyed your altars and murdered your prophets by the sword. I alone remain, and they seek to take my life.” 11 (A)Then the Lord said: Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord;[a] the Lord will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord—but the Lord was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 after the earthquake, fire—but the Lord was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound.[b]
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- 19:11–13 To “stand before the Lord” is a literal translation of a Hebrew idiom meaning “to serve the Lord”; Elijah has used this idiom twice before to describe himself as the Lord’s servant (17:1; 18:15). The Lord’s command, then, means that Elijah is to take up once again the prophetic service to which he has been appointed. The Lord’s question, “Why are you here?” (v. 9, repeated in v. 13), could imply an accusation that he is abandoning his prophetic office. In v. 15, the Lord tells him to go back.
- 19:12 Compare these divine manifestations to Elijah with those to Moses on the same mountain (Ex 19:16–19; 33:18–23; 34:5–6; Dt 4:10–15). Though various phenomena, such as wind, storms, earthquakes, fire, accompany the divine presence, they do not constitute the presence itself which, like the “silent sound,” is mysterious and ultimately ungraspable. Moses and Elijah, the two figures who experienced God’s theophany on this mountain, reappear with Jesus on another mountain at his transfiguration (Mt 17:1–9; Mk 9:2–9; Lk 9:28–36).
1 Kings 19:10-12
New International Version
1 Kings 19:10-12
New International Version
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous(A) for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant,(B) torn down your altars,(C) and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left,(D) and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain(E) in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”(F)
Then a great and powerful wind(G) tore the mountains apart and shattered(H) the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire,(I) but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.(J)
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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