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Read the Bible

Contemporary English Version

1 Kings 19:3

Elijah was afraid when he got her message, and he ran to the town of Beersheba in Judah. He left his servant there,

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Elijah;   Jezebel;   King;   Life;   Minister, Christian;   Miracles;   Prudence;   Thompson Chain Reference - Elijah;   God's;   Silence-Speech;   Voice;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Deserts;   Prophets;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Beer-Sheba;   Jezebel;   Sinai;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Elijah;   Jezebel;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Persecution;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Elijah;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Beersheba;   Jezebel;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Angel;   Beer-Sheba;   Elijah;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ahab;   Beersheba;   Elijah;   Jezebel;   Simeon;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Elijah;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Judah, Kingdom of;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Elijah;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Beer-sheba;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Beer-Sheba;  

Devotionals:

- Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life - Devotion for July 25;   Every Day Light - Devotion for January 28;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then Elijah became afraid and immediately ran for his life. When he came to Beer-sheba that belonged to Judah, he left his servant there,
Hebrew Names Version
When he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Be'er-Sheva, which belongs to Yehudah, and left his servant there.
King James Version
And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
English Standard Version
Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
New Century Version
When Elijah heard this, he was afraid and ran for his life, taking his servant with him. When they came to Beersheba in Judah, Elijah left his servant there.
New English Translation
Elijah was afraid, so he got up and fled for his life to Beer Sheba in Judah. He left his servant there,
Amplified Bible
And Elijah was afraid and arose and ran for his life, and he came to Beersheba which belongs to Judah, and he left his servant there.
New American Standard Bible
And he was afraid, and got up and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and he left his servant there.
Geneva Bible (1587)
When he sawe that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which is in Iudah, and left his seruant there.
Legacy Standard Bible
And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his young man there.
Complete Jewish Bible
On seeing that, he got up and fled for his life. When he arrived in Be'er-Sheva, in Y'hudah, he left his servant there;
Darby Translation
And when he saw [that], he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
Easy-to-Read Version
When Elijah heard this, he was afraid. So he ran away to save his life. He took his servant with him, and they went to Beersheba in Judah. Then Elijah left his servant in Beersheba
George Lamsa Translation
And Elijah was afraid, and he arose and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his disciple there.
Good News Translation
Elijah was afraid and fled for his life; he took his servant and went to Beersheba in Judah. Leaving the servant there,
Lexham English Bible
Then he became afraid, got up, and fled for his life. He came to Beersheba which belongs to Judah, and he left his servant there.
Literal Translation
And he saw, and rose up and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba of Judah, and left his young man there;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then was he afrayed, & gat him vp, & wente where he wolde, & came vnto Berseba in Iuda, and lefte his lad there.
American Standard Version
And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
Bible in Basic English
And he got up, fearing for his life, and went in flight, and came to Beer-sheba in Judah, parting there from his servant;
Bishop's Bible (1568)
When he sawe that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beerseba in Iuda, and left his seruaunt there.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
King James Version (1611)
And when he saw that, hee arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Iudah, and left his seruant there.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Eliu feared, and rose, and departed for his life: and he comes to Bersabee to the land of Juda, and he left his servant there.
English Revised Version
And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer–sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
Berean Standard Bible
And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor Elie dredde, and roos, and yede whidur euer wille bar hym; and he cam in to Bersabe of Juda, and he lefte there his child;
Young's Literal Translation
And he feareth, and riseth, and goeth for his life, and cometh in to Beer-Sheba, that [is] Judah's, and leaveth his young man there,
Update Bible Version
And he was afraid, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his attendant there.
Webster's Bible Translation
And when he saw [that], he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which [belongeth] to Judah, and left his servant there.
World English Bible
When he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
New King James Version
And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
New Living Translation
Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.
New Life Bible
Elijah was afraid. He got up and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba of Judah, he left his servant there.
New Revised Standard
Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, when he saw that , he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, - and left his servant there.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Then Elias was afraid, and rising up, he went whithersoever he had a mind: and he came to Bersabee of Juda, and left his servant there,
Revised Standard Version
Then he was afraid, and he arose and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
THE MESSAGE
When Elijah saw how things were, he ran for dear life to Beersheba, far in the south of Judah. He left his young servant there and then went on into the desert another day's journey. He came to a lone broom bush and collapsed in its shade, wanting in the worst way to be done with it all—to just die: "Enough of this, God ! Take my life—I'm ready to join my ancestors in the grave!" Exhausted, he fell asleep under the lone broom bush. Suddenly an angel shook him awake and said, "Get up and eat!"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

Contextual Overview

1 Ahab told his wife Jezebel what Elijah had done and that he had killed the prophets. 2 She sent a message to Elijah: "You killed my prophets. Now I'm going to kill you! I pray that the gods will punish me even more severely if I don't do it by this time tomorrow." 3 Elijah was afraid when he got her message, and he ran to the town of Beersheba in Judah. He left his servant there, 4 then walked another whole day into the desert. Finally, he came to a large bush and sat down in its shade. He begged the Lord , "I've had enough. Just let me die! I'm no better off than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down in the shade and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel woke him up and said, "Get up and eat." 6 Elijah looked around, and by his head was a jar of water and some baked bread. He sat up, ate and drank, then lay down and went back to sleep. 7 Soon the Lord 's angel woke him again and said, "Get up and eat, or else you'll get too tired to travel." 8 So Elijah sat up and ate and drank. The food and water made him strong enough to walk forty more days. At last, he reached Mount Sinai, the mountain of God,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

he arose: Genesis 12:12, Genesis 12:13, Exodus 2:15, 1 Samuel 27:1, Isaiah 51:12, Isaiah 51:13, Matthew 26:56, Matthew 26:70-74, 2 Corinthians 12:7

Beersheba: 1 Kings 4:25, Genesis 21:31, Amos 7:12, Amos 7:13

Reciprocal: Genesis 19:17 - Escape Genesis 21:14 - Beersheba Genesis 42:1 - saw 1 Samuel 21:10 - fled 1 Kings 19:4 - he requested 2 Kings 4:12 - servant 2 Kings 23:8 - Beersheba Proverbs 28:12 - but Proverbs 29:25 - fear Jeremiah 20:9 - I will Jeremiah 37:12 - went Jonah 1:3 - to flee Acts 13:5 - their Hebrews 11:34 - escaped

Cross-References

Genesis 19:6
Lot went outside and shut the door behind him.
Genesis 19:8
I have two daughters who have never been married. I'll bring them out, and you can do what you want with them. But don't harm these men. They are guests in my home."
Genesis 19:28
He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and saw smoke rising from all over the land—it was like a flaming furnace.
Genesis 19:29
When God destroyed the cities of the valley where Lot lived, he remembered his promise to Abraham and saved Lot from the terrible destruction.
Genesis 21:8
The time came when Sarah no longer had to nurse Isaac, and on that day Abraham gave a big feast.
Exodus 12:15
For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. And on the first of these seven days, you must remove all yeast from your homes. If you eat anything made with yeast during this festival, you will no longer be part of Israel.
Exodus 12:39
They left Egypt in such a hurry that they did not have time to prepare any food except the bread dough made without yeast. So they baked it and made thin bread.
Judges 6:19
Gideon went home and killed a young goat, then started boiling the meat. Next, he opened a big sack of flour and made it into thin bread. When the meat was done, he put it in a basket and poured the broth into a clay cooking pot. He took the meat, the broth, and the bread and placed them under the big tree.
1 Samuel 28:24
Right away the woman killed a calf that she had been fattening up. She cooked part of the meat and baked some thin bread.
2 Kings 4:8
Once, while Elisha was in the town of Shunem, he met a rich woman who invited him to her home for dinner. After that, whenever he was in Shunem, he would have a meal there with her and her husband.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when he saw that,.... That her design and resolution were to take away his life; the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions read, "and he was afraid"; or frightened; he that had such courage as not to be afraid to meet Ahab, and contend with four hundred and fifty priests of Baal, and in the face of all Israel, who at first were not inclined to take his part, is now terrified at the threats of a single woman; which shows that the spirit and courage he had before were of the Lord, and not of himself; and that those who have the greatest zeal and courage for religion, for God, and his worship, his truths and ordinances, if left to themselves, become weak and timorous; and whether this is the true reading, or not, it was certainly his case by what follows:

he arose and went for his life; fled to save his life, at a time when he was much wanted to encourage and increase the reformation from idolatry, and to preserve the people from relapsing who were converted; and through the miracles that had been wrought by him, and for him, he had great reason to trust in the Lord: or "he went unto", or "according to his own soul" m; according to his own mind and will, not taking counsel of God, or any direction from him; and so Abarbinel interprets it:

and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah; to the tribe of Judah; for though it was in the inheritance of Simeon, yet that was within the tribe of Judah, Joshua 19:1, or to the kingdom of Judah, over which Jehoshaphat reigned, and so might think himself safe, being out of the dominions of Ahab, and reach of Jezebel; but yet he did not think so, his fears ran so high that he imagined she would send some after him to search for him, and slay him privately, or make interest with Jehoshaphat to deliver him up, there being friendship between him and Ahab; for though this place was eighty four miles from Jezreel, as Bunting n computes it, he left it:

and left his servant there; he took him not with him, either lest he should betray him, or rather out of compassion to him, that he might not share in the miseries of life that were like to come upon him.

m אל נפשו κατα την ψυχην αυτου, Sept. "secundum animam suam", Vatablus, Pagninus. n Travels, ut supra. (p. 204.)

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The rapid movement of the original is very striking. “And he saw (or, “feared,” as some read), and he rose, and he went, etc.” The fear and flight of Elijah are very remarkable. Jezebel’s threat alone, had not, in all probability, produced the extraordinary change but, partly, physical reaction from the over-excitement of the preceding day; and, partly, internal disquietude and doubt as to the wisdom of the course which he had adopted.

Beer-sheba is about 95 miles from Jezreel, on the very borders of the desert et-Tih. Elijah cannot possibly have reached it until the close of the second day. It seems implied that he traveled both night and day, and did not rest until he arrived thus far on his way. It was one of the towns assigned to the tribe of Simeon Joshua 19:2. The Simeonites were, however, by this time absorbed into Judah.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 19:3. He arose, and went for his life — He saw it was best to give place to this storm, and go to a place of safety. He probably thought that the miracle at Carmel would have been the means of effecting the conversion of the whole court and of the country, but, finding himself mistaken, he is greatly discouraged.

To Beer-sheba — This being at the most southern extremity of the promised land, and under the jurisdiction of the king of Judah, he might suppose himself in a place of safety.

Left his servant there. — Being alone, he would be the more unlikely to be discovered; besides, he did not wish to risk the life of his servant.


 
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