¹² And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, ^(A)a sound of a gentle blowing. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, ^(B)he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, ^(C)a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁴ Then he said, “^(D)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, ^(E)you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram. ¹⁶ You shall also anoint ^(F)Jehu the son of Nimshi king over Israel; and you shall anoint ^(G)Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. ¹⁷ And it shall come about that the ^(H)one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu ^(I)shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. ^18 (J)Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not ^(K)kissed him.”