1 Kings 19:9

JPS Old Testament

And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said unto him: 'What doest thou here, Elijah?'

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He entered a cave there and spent the night.

Hebrew Names Version
He came there to a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Eliyah?

King James Version
And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

English Standard Version
There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

New Century Version
There Elijah went into a cave and stayed all night. Then the Lord spoke his word to him: "Elijah! Why are you here?"

New English Translation
He went into a cave there and spent the night. All of a sudden the Lord spoke to him, "Why are you here, Elijah?"

Amplified Bible
There he came to a cave and spent the night in it; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

New American Standard Bible
Then he came there to a cave and spent the night there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
And there he entred into a caue, & lodged there: and beholde, the Lorde spake to him, and said vnto him, What doest thou here, Eliiah?

Legacy Standard Bible
Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

Contemporary English Version
and he spent the night there in a cave. While Elijah was on Mount Sinai, the Lord asked, "Elijah, why are you here?"

Complete Jewish Bible
There he went into a cave and spent the night. Then the word of Adonai came to him; he said to him, "What are you doing here, Eliyahu?"

Darby Translation
And there he went into a cave, and lodged there. And behold, the word of Jehovah [came] to him, and he said to him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

Easy-to-Read Version
There Elijah went into a cave and spent the night. Then the Lord said to him, "Elijah, why are you here?"

George Lamsa Translation
And he entered into a cave and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah?

Good News Translation
There he went into a cave to spend the night. Suddenly the Lord spoke to him, "Elijah, what are you doing here?"

Lexham English Bible
He came to the cave there and spent the night there. Suddenly the word of Yahweh came to him and asked him, "Elijah, what are you doing here?"

Literal Translation
And he came there to the cave, and lodged there; and behold, the Word of Jehovah came to him, and said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and there he came to a caue, and abode there all nighte. And beholde the worde of the LORDE came to him, and sayde vnto him: What doest thou here Elias?

American Standard Version
And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of Jehovah came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

Bible in Basic English
And there he went into a hole in the rock for the night; then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, What are you doing here, Elijah?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
When he came thyther vnto a caue, he lodged therein al night: And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and sayd vnto him: What doest thou here Elias?

King James Version (1611)
And he came thither vnto a caue, and lodged there, and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said vnto him, What doest thou here, Eliiah?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he entered there into a cave, and rested there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said, What doest thou here, Eliu?

English Revised Version
And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

Berean Standard Bible
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?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne he hadde come thidur, he dwellide in a denne; and lo! the word of the Lord `was maad to him, and seide to hym, Elie, what doist thou here?

Young's Literal Translation
And he cometh in there, unto the cave, and lodgeth there, and lo, the word of Jehovah [is] unto him, and saith to him, `What -- to thee, here, Elijah?'

Update Bible Version
And he came there to a cave, and lodged there; and, look, the word of Yahweh came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah?

Webster's Bible Translation
And he came thither to a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD [came] to him, and he said to him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

World English Bible
He came there to a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah?

New King James Version
And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

New Living Translation
There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. But the Lord said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

New Life Bible
He came to a cave, and stayed there. The word of the Lord came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

New Revised Standard
At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he entered, there, into a cave, and lodged there, - and lo! the word of Yahweh came unto him, and said to him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And when he was come thither, he abode in a cave. and behold the word of the Lord came unto him, and he said to him: What dost thou here, Elias?

Revised Standard Version
And there he came to a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, "What are you doing here, Eli'jah?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

Contextual Overview

⁹ And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said unto him: 'What doest thou here, Elijah?' ¹⁰ And he said: 'I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for 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.' ¹¹ And He said: 'Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD.' And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake; ¹² and after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. ¹³ And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said: 'What doest thou here, Elijah?' ¹⁴ And he said: 'I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for 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.' ¹⁵ And the LORD said unto him: 'Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when thou comest, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Aram; ¹⁶ and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. ¹⁷ And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. ¹⁸ 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.'

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

unto a cave: Exodus 33:21, Exodus 33:22, Jeremiah 9:2, Hebrews 11:38

What doest thou: 1 Kings 19:13, Genesis 3:9, Genesis 16:8, Jeremiah 2:18, Jonah 1:3, Jonah 1:4

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 17:5 - did according 1 Kings 19:14 - I have been Proverbs 27:8 - man Jeremiah 37:12 - went Jonah 4:5 - Jonah Matthew 26:69 - Peter Mark 14:54 - and he John 18:18 - Peter

Cross-References

Genesis 11:6
And the LORD said: 'Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do; and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do.

Genesis 13:12
Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom.

Genesis 19:7
And he said: 'I pray you, my brethren, do not so wickedly.

Genesis 19:8
Behold now, I have two daughters that have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes; only unto these men do nothing; forasmuch as they are come under the shadow of my roof.'

Genesis 19:19
behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shown unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest the evil overtake me, and I die.

Genesis 19:22
Hasten thou, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither.'--Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.--

Genesis 19:26
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Genesis 19:28
And he looked out toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the Plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.

Exodus 2:14
And he said: 'Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? thinkest thou to kill me, as thou didst kill the Egyptian?' And Moses feared, and said: 'Surely the thing is known.'

1 Samuel 2:16
And if the man said unto him: 'Let the fat be made to smoke first of all, and then take as much as thy soul desireth'; then he would say: 'Nay, but thou shalt give it me now; and if not, I will take it by force.'

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there,.... This cave, some travellers say u, is to be seen at this day, not far from a church dedicated to the prophet Elijah, and that the cave itself has the appearance of a chapel; but a more particular account of it is given in a journal w lately published, which says, this cave exists to this very day, and is situated at the foot of Mount Sinai, and is now enclosed in a church built of red and white granite marble, the entrance into which is from the west; the dimensions of this cave are in length five feet, in depth four feet, and in height four and a half. The Jewish writers are of opinion that this was the cleft of the rock in which Moses was put, when the Lord passed before him; but, if so, there would have been no need of Elijah to have gone forth to and stand upon the mount when the Lord passed by, 1 Kings 19:11,

and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him; an articulate voice was heard by him:

and he said unto him, what dost thou here, Elijah? this is not a proper place for a prophet to be in, in a wilderness, in a mountain, in a cave in it: what work could he do for God? or what service to his people? in the land of Israel he might bear his testimony against idolatry, and so be a means of reclaiming backsliders, and of establishing those that were in the true religion; but of what usefulness could he be here? Abarbinel takes it to be a reproof of Elijah, for going into a place so holy as it was, and in which Moses, the chief of the prophets, had been, and that it did not become such a man as he was to be in such a place.

u Egmont and Heyman's Travels, vol. 2. p. 166. w Journal from Cairo to Mount Sinai in 1722, p. 26. Ed. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A cave - Rather, “the cave.” Some well-known cave must be intended - perhaps the “cliff of the rock” Exodus 33:22. The traditional “cave of Elijah” which is shown in the secluded plain immediately below the highest summit of the Jebel Mousa, cannot, from its small size, be the real cavern.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 19:9. He came thither unto a cave — Conjectured by some to be the same cave in which God put Moses that he might give him a glimpse of his glory. See Exodus 33:22.

What doest thou here, Elijah? — Is this a reproach for having fled from the face of Jezebel, through what some call unbelieving fears, that God would abandon him to her rage?