Bible Strands
1 Kings 19:14
“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Elijah speaks to the voice of Yahweh at the mouth of the cave, directly answering the question posed in 1 Kings 19:13. He reports his isolation and persecution immediately after fleeing to that location.
The words — קִנֵּאתִי (ki.Ne.ti) translates literally as "I have been zealous," marking Elijah’s intense commitment to Yahweh (1 Kings 19:14). עָזְב֤וּ ('a.ze.Vu) means "they have forsaken," describing Israel’s active rejection of the covenant (1 Kings 19:14).
The thread — The pattern of covenant abandonment runs through Deuteronomy 29:25 and Deuteronomy 31:20, where Israel’s rejection of Yahweh’s laws is repeatedly condemned (Deuteronomy 29:25; Deuteronomy 31:20). Elijah’s accusation directly echoes these earlier prophetic warnings (1 Kings 19:14).
Why it lands — The text demands an honest accounting of spiritual fatigue and perceived isolation before receiving divine redirection (1 Kings 19:14). It requires the reader to confront personal burnout without assuming God’s silence or absence (1 Kings 19:14).
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 29:25 And the people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 31:20 When I have brought them into the land that I swore to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. Then they will turn to other gods and worship them, and they will reject Me and break My covenant.
- 1 Kings 19:9 There Elijah entered a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
- Psalms 78:37 Their hearts were disloyal to Him, and they were unfaithful to His covenant.
- Isaiah 1:4 Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who act corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.
- Isaiah 62:1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still, until her righteousness shines like a bright light, her salvation like a blazing torch.
- Isaiah 62:6 On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD shall take no rest for yourselves,
- Jeremiah 22:9 Then people will reply, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’”
- Daniel 11:30 Ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and rage against the holy covenant and do damage. So he will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.
- Hosea 6:7 But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there they were unfaithful to Me.