Bible Strands
Romans 11:3
“Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well”?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul quotes Elijah’s prayer to God, recording the prophet’s complaint that Israel killed messengers and destroyed worship sites. The statement occurs within Romans 11:2–4 as Paul’s appeal to demonstrate that God has not abandoned His foreknown people.
The words — κὺριε (kurie) translates literally as “Lord,” and ἀπέκτειναν (apekteinan) means “they have killed.” These terms frame Elijah’s direct address to Yahweh and his factual report of national violence against prophets and altars.
The thread — Elijah’s report appears in 1 Kings 19:10 and 1 Kings 18:13, where the prophet catalogs Israel’s covenant breaking and altar destruction. Nehemiah 9:26 later repeats the same historical pattern of rebellion and the killing of God’s messengers.
Why it lands — The text records a historical claim of widespread persecution before noting God’s preserved remnant. Readers must acknowledge that faithful obedience often provokes opposition, while the surrounding context directs attention to God’s sovereign preservation rather than human failure.
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 Greek words
King James Version
Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 19:10 “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.”
- 1 Kings 18:13 Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water.
- Nehemiah 9:26 But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.
- 1 Kings 18:4 for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
- Jeremiah 2:30 “I have struck your sons in vain; they accepted no discipline. Your own sword has devoured your prophets like a voracious lion.”
- 1 Kings 18:30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people approached him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down.