1 Kings 19:18

Easy-to-Read Version

I still have 7000 people in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed that idol."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But I will leave seven thousand in Israel—every knee that has not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Hebrew Names Version
Yet will I leave [me] seven thousand in Yisra'el, all the knees which have not bowed to Ba`al, and every mouth which has not kissed him.

King James Version
Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

English Standard Version
Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

New Century Version
I have seven thousand people left in Israel who have never bowed down before Baal and whose mouths have never kissed his idol."

New English Translation
I still have left in Israel seven thousand followers who have not bowed their knees to Baal or kissed the images of him."

Amplified Bible
"Yet I will leave 7,000 [survivors] in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed down to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him."

New American Standard Bible
"Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him."

Geneva Bible (1587)
Yet wil I leaue seuen thousand in Israel, euen all the knees that haue not bowed vnto Baal, and euery mouth that hath not kissed him.

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

Contemporary English Version
But seven thousand Israelites have refused to worship Baal, and they will live.

Complete Jewish Bible
Still, I will spare seven thousand in Isra'el, every knee that hasn't bent down before Ba‘al and every mouth that has not kissed him."

Darby Translation
Yet I have left [myself] seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth that hath not kissed him.

George Lamsa Translation
Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.

Good News Translation
Yet I will leave seven thousand people alive in Israel—all those who are loyal to me and have not bowed to Baal or kissed his idol."

Lexham English Bible
I will leave in Israel seven thousand, all of the knees that have not bowed down to Baal and all of the mouths that have not kissed him."

Literal Translation
And I have left in Israel seven thousand, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And I wil reserue vnto me vij.M. men in Israel: namely, all ye knees which haue not bowed the selues vnto Baal, and euery mouth yt hath not kyssed him.

American Standard Version
Yet will I leave me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

Bible in Basic English
But I will keep safe seven thousand in Israel, all those whose knees have not been bent to Baal, and whose mouths have given him no kisses.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And [thereto] I haue left me seuen thousande in Israel, of whiche neuer man bowed his knees vnto Baal, nor kissed him with his mouth.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Yet will I leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.'

King James Version (1611)
Yet I haue left me seuen thousand in Israel, all the knees which haue not bowed vnto Baal, and euery mouth which hath not kissed him.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And thou shalt leave in Israel seven thousand men, all the knees which had not bowed themselves to Baal, and every mouth which had not worshipped him.

English Revised Version
Yet will I leave [me] seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

Berean Standard Bible
Nevertheless, I have reserved seven thousand in Israel-all whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Y schal leeue to me in Israel seuene thousynde of men, of whiche the knees ben not bowid bifor Baal, and ech mouth that worschipide not hym, and kisside hond.

Young's Literal Translation
and I have left in Israel seven thousand, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that hath not kissed him.'

Update Bible Version
Yet I will leave [me] seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which haven't bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.

Webster's Bible Translation
Yet I have left to [me] seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

World English Bible
Yet will I leave [me] seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.

New King James Version
Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

New Living Translation
Yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!"

New Life Bible
But I will leave 7,000 in Israel whose knees have not bowed down in front of Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him."

New Revised Standard
Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Yet will I leave remaining in Israel, seven thousand, - all knees which have not bowed to Baal, and all mouths which have not kissed to him.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I will leave me seven thousand men in Israel, whose knees have not been bowed before Baal, and every mouth that hath not worshipped him, kissing the hands.

Revised Standard Version
Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Ba'al, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him."

Contextual Overview

⁹ There Elijah went into a cave and spent the night. Then the Lord said to him, "Elijah, why are you here?" ¹⁰ Elijah answered, " Lord God All-Powerful, I have always served you the best I can, but the Israelites have broken their agreement with you. They destroyed your altars and killed your prophets. I am the only prophet left alive, and now they are trying to kill me!" ¹¹ Then the Lord said to Elijah, "Go, stand in front of me on the mountain. I, the Lord , will pass by you." Then a very strong wind blew. The wind caused the mountains to break apart. It broke large rocks in front of the Lord . But that wind was not the Lord . After that wind, there was an earthquake. But that earthquake was not the Lord . ¹² After the earthquake, there was a fire. But that fire was not the Lord . After the fire, there was a quiet, gentle voice. ¹³ When Elijah heard the voice, he used his coat to cover his face and went to the entrance to the cave and stood there. Then a voice said to him, "Elijah, why are you here?" ¹⁴ Elijah said, " Lord God All-Powerful, I have always served you the best that I can, but the Israelites broke their agreement with you. They destroyed your altars and killed your prophets. I am the only prophet left alive, and now they are trying to kill me." ¹⁵ The Lord said, "Go back. Take the road that leads to the desert around Damascus. Go into Damascus and anoint Hazael as king over Aram. ¹⁶ Then anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel. Next, anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah. He will be the prophet who takes your place. ¹⁷ Jehu will kill anyone who escapes Hazael's sword, and Elisha will kill anyone who escapes from Jehu's sword. ¹⁸ I still have 7000 people in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed that idol."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Yet I have left: or, Yet I will leave, Isaiah 1:9, Isaiah 10:20-22, Romans 11:4, Romans 11:5

the knees: Exodus 20:5, Isaiah 49:23, Romans 14:10-12, Philippians 2:10

every mouth: Idolaters often kissed their hand in honour of their idols; and hence the origin of adoration from ad, to and os, oris, the mouth. Cicero mentions a statue of Hercules, the chin and lips of which were considerably worn by the kissing of his worshippers. Job 31:27, Psalms 2:12, Hosea 13:2

Reciprocal: Numbers 25:2 - bowed 1 Samuel 10:1 - kissed him 1 Kings 20:15 - seven thousand 2 Kings 5:18 - and I bow 2 Kings 23:4 - Baal Isaiah 17:6 - General Mark 15:19 - and bowing Ephesians 3:14 - I Revelation 3:4 - even

Cross-References

Genesis 19:6
Lot went outside and closed the door behind him.

Genesis 19:8
Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man before. I will give my daughters to you. You can do anything you want with them. But please don't do anything to these men. They have come to my house, and I must protect them."

Genesis 19:11
Then they did something to the men outside the door—they caused all these evil men, young and old, to become blind. So the men trying to get in the house could not find the door.

Genesis 19:12
The two men said to Lot, "Are there any other people from your family living in this city? Do you have any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or any other people from your family here? If so, you should tell them to leave now.

Genesis 32:26
Then the man said to Jacob, "Let me go. The sun is coming up." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go. You must bless me."

Isaiah 45:11
The Lord God is the Holy One of Israel. He created Israel, and he says, "My children, you asked me to show you a sign. You told me to show you what I have done.

Acts 9:13
But Ananias answered, "Lord, many people have told me about this man. They told me about the many bad things he did to your holy people in Jerusalem.

Acts 10:14
But Peter said, "I can't do that, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is not pure or fit to be used for food."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel,.... From perishing by the sword of either of them:

all the knees which have not bowed to Baal; that is, had not worshipped him, which was signified by this gesture:

and every mouth which hath not kissed him; either the image of Baal itself, or the hand, in reverence of him; which rites, one or other, or both, were used by his worshippers; :-. This either refers, as some think, to the present time, and so is an answer to Elijah, who thought he was the only worshipper left with which seems to agree Romans 11:2, or to the times to come, when destruction should be made by the above persons, and when God would have some faithful worshippers, and would take care of them; so some render the words, "I will reserve", c. y.

y והשארתי "reservabo vel servabo", Vatablus so V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Yet I have left me ... - Rather, as in the margin. “Seven thousand” faithful Israelites shall survive all the persecutions of Ahab and Jezebel, and carry down the worship of Yahweh to another generation. Elijah is mistaken in supposing that he only is left. The number is manifestly a “round” number, not an exact estimate. Perhaps it is, moreover, a mystical or symbolic number. Compare Revelation 7:5-8. Of all the symbolic numbers used in Scripture, seven is the most common.

Every mouth which hath not kissed him - Idolaters sometimes kissed the hand to the object of their worship Job 31:26-27; at other times they kissed the actual image (marginal reference).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 19:18. Seven thousand in Israel — That is, many thousands; for seven is a number of perfection, as we have often seen: so, The barren has borne seven - has had a numerous off-spring; Gold seven times purified-purified till all the dross is perfectly separated from it. The court and multitudes of the people had gone after Baal; but perhaps the majority of the common people still worshipped in secret the God of their fathers.

Every mouth which hath not kissed him. — Idolaters often kissed their hand in honour of their idols; and hence the origin of adoration - bringing the hand to the mouth after touching the idol, if it were within reach; and if not, kissing the right hand in token of respect and subjection. The word is compounded of ad, to, and os, oris, the mouth. Dextera manu deum contingentes, ori admovebant: "Touching the god with their right hand, they applied it to their mouth." So kissing the hand, and adoration, mean the same thing -

thus Pliny,

Inter adorandum, dexteram ad osculum referimus, totum corpus circumagimus: Nat. Hist. lib. xxviii., cap. 2. -

"In the act of adoration we kiss the right hand, and turn about the whole body."

Cicero mentions a statue of Hercules, the chin and lips of which were considerably worn by the frequent kissing of his worshippers:

Ut rictus ejus, et mentum paulo sit attritius, quod in precibus et gratulationibus, non solum id venerari, sed etiam osculari solent. - Orat. in VERREM.

I have seen several instances of this, especially in the paintings of old saints: the lips and mouth of beautiful paintings literally worn away by the unmerciful osculations of devotees.