Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and ^1ahow he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “^aSo may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your ¹life as the ²life of one of them by about this time tomorrow.” 3 And he ¹was afraid and arose and ²ran for his ³life and came to ^aBeersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his young man there. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and ^ahe asked for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O Yahweh, take my ¹life, for I am not better than my fathers.” 5 Then he lay down and slept under a broom tree; and behold, there was ^aan angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat.” 6 Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of Yahweh came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 8 So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food ^aforty days and forty nights to ^bHoreb, the mountain of God.

9 Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, ^athe word of Yahweh came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 And he said, “^aI have been very zealous for Yahweh, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, ^bpulled down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And ^cI alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

11 So He said, “^aGo forth and stand on the mountain before Yahweh.” And behold, Yahweh was passing by! And ^ba great and strong wind was tearing up the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before Yahweh; but Yahweh was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but Yahweh was not in the earthquake. 12 Then after the earthquake a fire, but Yahweh was not in the fire; and after the fire ^aa sound of a thin ¹gentle whisper. 13 Now it happened that when Elijah heard it, ^ahe wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, ^ba voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 Then he said, “^aI have been very zealous for Yahweh, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, pulled down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

15 And Yahweh said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and you will arrive and ^aanoint Hazael king over Aram; 16 and ^aJehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and ^bElisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. 17 And it will be that the ^aone who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu ^bshall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. 18 ^aYet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not ^bkissed him.”

19 So he went from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw ^ahis mantle on him. 20 So he forsook the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please ^alet me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” 21 So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them and ^aboiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him.

Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and ^ahow he had killed all the prophets of Baal with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “^aSo may the gods do to me, and even more, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your ¹life like the life of one of them.” 3 And Elijah was afraid and arose and ran for his life, and he came to ^1aBeersheba which belongs to Judah, and he left his servant there. 4 But he himself traveled a day’s journey into the wilderness, and he came and sat down under a juniper tree and ^aasked God that he might die. He said, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 5 He lay down and slept under the juniper tree, and behold, ^aan angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked, and by his head there was a bread cake baked on hot coal, and a pitcher of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 Then the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, “Get up, and eat, for the journey is too long for you without adequate sustenance.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank, and with the strength of that food he traveled ^aforty days and nights to ^bHoreb (Sinai) , the mountain of God.

9 There he came to a cave and spent the night in it; and behold, ^athe word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “^aI have been very ¹zealous (impassioned) for the LORD God of hosts (armies) proclaiming what is rightfully and uniquely His; for the sons of Israel have abandoned (broken) Your covenant, ^btorn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I, ^conly I, am left; and they seek to take away my life.”

11 So He said, “^aGo out and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD was passing by, and ^ba great and powerful wind was tearing out the mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind, there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire, there was ^athe sound of a gentle blowing. 13 When Elijah heard the sound, ^ahe wrapped his face in his mantle (cloak) and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, ^ba voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He said, “^aI have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts (armies) , because the sons of Israel have abandoned (broken) Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I, only I, am left; and they seek to take away my life.”

15 The LORD ¹said to him, “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, you shall ^aanoint Hazael as king over Aram (Syria) ; 16 and you shall anoint ^aJehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and anoint ^bElisha the son of Shaphat of ¹Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 17 It shall come about that Jehu ^ashall put to death ^bwhoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, and Elisha shall put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu. 18 ^aYet I will leave 7,000 survivors in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed down to Baal and every mouth that has not ^bkissed him.”

19 So Elijah departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw ^ahis mantle (coat) on him. 20 He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “^aPlease let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go on back; for what have I done to stop you?” 21 So Elisha left him and went back. Then he took a pair of oxen and sacrificed them and ^aboiled their meat with the implements of the oxen as fuel, and gave the meat to the people, and they ate. Then he stood and followed Elijah, and served him. 2+@Kin 3:11