1 Kings 19:9

1 Kings 19:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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?
• New International Version (NIV)There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)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 King James Version (NKJV)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?”

Context of 1 Kings 19:9

7The angel of the Lord came back a second time. He touched Elijah and he said, ‘Get up and eat more food. Then you will be strong enough to go on a long journey.’ 8So Elijah got up. He ate the food and he drank the water. The meal made him strong enough to travel for 40 days and 40 nights. He travelled to Sinai, the mountain of God. Elijah went into a cave on Sinai mountain and he stayed there all night. Suddenly, the Lord spoke to Elijah. He asked Elijah, ‘Elijah, why have you come here?’ 10Elijah replied, ‘The Israelites have turned away from the covenant that you made with them. They have destroyed your altars. They have killed your prophets with swords. But I have always served the Lord God Almighty faithfully. Now I am the only prophet that is still alive and they are trying to kill me too.’ 11The Lord said, ‘Go out from the cave and stand on the mountain, in front of me. I, the Lord, will pass in front of you.’ Then a very strong wind broke the mountain apart. It broke the rocks into pieces as the Lord came near. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake.

1 Kings 19:9 word by word

וַיָּבֹא־שָׁ֥ם אֶל־הַמְּעָרָ֖ה וַיָּ֣לֶן שָׁ֑ם וְהִנֵּ֤ה דְבַר־יְהוָה֙ אֵלָ֔יו וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֔וֹ מַה־לְּךָ֥ פֹ֖ה אֵלִיָּֽהוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• thither unto a caveמְעָרָהme‛ârâh · caveH4631
• and lodgedלוּןlûn lîyn · to lodgeH3885
• there; and, behold, the wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• to him, and he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto him, What doest thou here, Elijahאֵלִיָּה'êlîyâh 'êlîyâhû · ElijahH452

Cross-references for 1 Kings 19:9

• Exodus 33:21Then the Lord said, ‘Look! There is a place near to me. You can stand there on a rock.
• Jeremiah 9:2I would like to live in a hut in the desert. Then I could leave my people. I could forget about them. They have all turned away from God. They have not been faithful to him. They are a crowd of people that nobody can trust.’
• Hebrews 11:38These people who trusted God were too good for this world. Some of them had to travel about in the wilderness and on the hills. Some had to live in holes in the rocks and in the ground.
• 1 Kings 19:13When Elijah heard that, he covered his face with his robe. He went out and he stood at the entrance of the cave. Then a voice said to him, ‘Elijah, why have you come here?’
• Genesis 3:9The Lord God called out to the man. He said to him, ‘Where are you?’
• Genesis 16:8The angel said, ‘Sarai's servant, Hagar, where have you come from? Where are you going?’ Hagar replied, ‘I am running away from Sarai. I am her servant.’
• Jeremiah 2:18So what help will you get from Egypt? If you drink water from the Nile river, will that make you strong? No! And what help will you get from Assyria? If you drink water from the Euphrates river, will that make you strong? No!
• Jonah 1:3But Jonah did not want to obey the Lord's command. He decided to run away to Tarshish. He went down to Joppa. There he found a ship that was ready to sail to Tarshish. After he had paid for the journey, he got into the ship. He wanted to go on the ship to Tarshish, to get far away from the Lord.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 19:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9He 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?Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9A 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.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-13Verses 9-13 The question God put, What doest thou here, Elijah? is a reproof. It concerns us often to ask whether we are in our place, and in the way of our duty. Am I where I should be? whither God calls me, where my business lies, and where I may be useful? He complained of the people, and their obstinacy in sin; I only am left. Despair of success hinders many a good enterprise. Did Elijah come hither to meet with God? he shall find that God will meet…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-10a cave (literally the cave): Some suggest Elijah came to the same place where God appeared to Moses (Exodus 33:21–23). What are you doing here, Elijah?: The Lord's question might mean two things: Why had Elijah come? And did he grasp the importance of the place where he stood? Elijah answered the first part of the question. He had bravely declared he was alone in his commitment to the Lord (1 Kings 18:22). Now, that feeling had turned into self-pity.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-184-18. went a day's journey into the wilderness--on the way from Beer-sheba to Horeb--a wide expanse of sand hills, covered with the retem (not juniper, but broom shrubs), whose tall and spreading branches, with their white leaves, afford a very cheering and refreshing shade. His gracious God did not lose sight of His fugitive servant, but watched over him, and, miraculously ministering to his wants, enabled him, in a better but not wholly right frame of…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 19:9

• Cave
• Elijah
• Minister, Christian
• Prophets
• Trouble

In the dictionaries

• Elijah
• Ahab
• Cave
• Jealous
• Quotations
• Set
• Cattle
• God
• House
• zeal, zealous

Commentaries on 1 Kings 19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings