19 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had slain all the prophets [of Baal] with the sword.

² Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.

³ Then he was afraid and arose and went for his life and came to Beersheba of Judah [over eighty miles, and out of Jezebel’s realm] and left his servant there.

⁴ But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a lone broom or juniper tree and asked that he might die. He said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am no better than my fathers.

⁵ As he lay asleep under the broom or juniper tree, behold, an angel touched him and said to him, Arise and eat.

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

⁷ The angel of the Lord came the second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.

⁸ So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

⁹ There he came to a cave and lodged in it; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah?

¹⁰ He replied, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I, I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

¹¹ And He said, Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks 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 [a sound of gentle stillness and] a still, small voice.

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

¹⁴ He said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and slain Your prophets with the sword. And I, I only, am left, and they seek my life, to destroy it.

¹⁵ And the Lord said to him, Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.

¹⁶ And anoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah to be prophet in your place.

¹⁷ And him who escapes from the sword of ^[a]Hazael Jehu shall slay, and him who escapes the sword of Jehu Elisha shall slay.

¹⁸ Yet I will leave Myself 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.

¹⁷ However, from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and summoned the elders of the church [to come to him there].

¹⁸ And when they arrived he said to them: You yourselves are well acquainted with my manner of living among you from the first day that I set foot in [the province of] Asia, and how I continued afterward,

¹⁹ Serving the Lord with all humility in tears and in the midst of adversity (affliction and trials) which befell me, due to the plots of the Jews [against me];

²⁰ How I did not shrink from telling you anything that was for your benefit and teaching you in public meetings and from house to house,

²¹ But constantly and earnestly I bore testimony both to Jews and Greeks, urging them to turn in repentance [^[a]that is due] to God and to have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ [^[b]that is due Him].

²² And now, you see, I am going to Jerusalem, bound by the [Holy] Spirit and obligated and compelled by the [convictions of my own] spirit, not knowing what will befall me there—

²³ Except that the Holy Spirit clearly and emphatically affirms to me in city after city that imprisonment and suffering await me.

²⁴ But none of these things move me; neither do I esteem my life dear to myself, if only I may finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have obtained from [which was entrusted to me by] the Lord Jesus, faithfully to attest to the good news (Gospel) of God’s grace (His unmerited favor, spiritual blessing, and mercy).

²⁵ And now, observe, I perceive that all of you, among whom I have gone in and out proclaiming the kingdom, will see my face no more.

²⁶ Therefore I testify and protest to you on this [our parting] day that I am clean and innocent and not responsible for the blood of any of you.

²⁷ For I never shrank or kept back or fell short from declaring to you the whole purpose and plan and counsel of God.

²⁸ Take care and be on guard for yourselves and the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you bishops and guardians, to shepherd (tend and feed and guide) the church of the Lord or ^[c]of God which He obtained for Himself [buying it and saving it for Himself] with His own blood.

²⁹ I know that after I am gone, ferocious wolves will get in among you, not sparing the flock;

³⁰ Even from among your own selves men will come to the front who, by saying perverse (distorted and corrupt) things, will endeavor to draw away the disciples after them [to their own party].

³¹ Therefore be always alert and on your guard, being mindful that for three years I never stopped night or day seriously to admonish and advise and exhort you one by one with tears.

³² And now [brethren], I commit you to God [I deposit you in His charge, entrusting you to His protection and care]. And I commend you to the Word of His grace [to the commands and counsels and promises of His unmerited favor]. It is able to build you up and to give you [your rightful] inheritance among all God’s set-apart ones (those consecrated, purified, and transformed of soul).

³³ I coveted no man’s silver or gold or [costly] garments.

³⁴ You yourselves know personally that these hands ministered to my own needs and those [of the persons] who were with me.

³⁵ In everything I have pointed out to you [by example] that, by working diligently in this manner, we ought to assist the weak, being mindful of the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, It is more blessed (makes one happier and more ^[d]to be envied) to give than to receive.

³⁶ Having spoken thus, he knelt down with them all and prayed.

³⁷ And they all wept freely and threw their arms around Paul’s neck and kissed him fervently and repeatedly,

³⁸ Being especially distressed and sorrowful because he had stated that they were about to see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.

¹⁷ This is what I command you: that you love one another.

¹⁸ If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you.

¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, the world would treat you with affection and would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world [no longer one with it], but I have chosen (selected) you out of the world, the world hates (detests) you.

²⁰ Remember that I told you, A servant is not greater than his master [is not superior to him]. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word and obeyed My teachings, they will also keep and obey yours.

²¹ But they will do all this to you [inflict all this suffering on you] because of [your bearing] My name and on My account, for they do not know or understand the One Who sent Me.

²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin [would be blameless]; but now they have no excuse for their sin.

²³ Whoever hates Me also hates My Father.

²⁴ If I had not done (accomplished) among them the works which no one else ever did, they would not be guilty of sin. But [the fact is] now they have both seen [these works] and have hated both Me and My Father.

²⁵ But [this is so] that the word written in their Law might be fulfilled, They hated Me without a cause.^(A)

²⁶ But when the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth Who comes (proceeds) from the Father, He [Himself] will testify regarding Me.

²⁷ But you also will testify and be My witnesses, because you have been with Me from the beginning.