English Standard Version
1 Kings 19:18
18Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."
1 Kings 19:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)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 (NLT)Yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!”
Context of 1 Kings 19:18
16And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. 17And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. 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." 19So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. 20And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." And he said to him, "Go back again, for what have I done to you?"
Read all of 1 Kings 191 Kings 19:18 word by word
וְהִשְׁאַרְתִּ֥י בְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל שִׁבְעַ֣ת אֲלָפִ֑ים כָּל־הַבִּרְכַּ֗יִם אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־כָֽרְעוּ֙ לַבַּ֔עַל וְכָ֨ל־הַפֶּ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־נָשַׁ֖ק לֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Yet I have leftשָׁאַרshâ'ar · to remainH7604
- sevenשֶׁ֫בַעsheba‛ shib‛âh · sevenH7651
- thousandאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
- in Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- all the kneesבֶּ֫רֶךְberek · kneeH1290
- which have not bowedכָּרַעkâra‛ · to bowH3766
- unto Baalבַּעַלba‛al · BaalH1168
- and every mouthפֶּהpeh · lipH6310
- which hath not kissedנָשַׁקnâshaq · to kissH5401
Cross-references for 1 Kings 19:18
- Isaiah 1:9If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.
- Isaiah 10:20In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
- Romans 11:4But what is God's reply to him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal."
- Exodus 20:5You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
- Isaiah 49:23Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame."
- Romans 14:10Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;
- Philippians 2:10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
- Job 31:27and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand,
- Psalms 2:12Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
- Hosea 13:2And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of them, "Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!"
Commentaries on 1 Kings 19:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Seven 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…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Yet 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…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-18Verses 14-18 God repeated the question, What doest thou here? Then he complained of his discouragement; and whither should God's prophets go with their complaints of that kind, but to their Master? The Lord gave him an answer. He declares that the wicked house of Ahab shall be rooted out, that the people of Israel shall be punished for their sins; and he shows that Elijah was not left alone as he had supposed, and also that a helper should at once be…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18The Lord corrected Elijah's thinking. The prophet was not alone. Earlier, he forgot about the 100 prophets protected by Obadiah (1 Kings 18:4, 13). Now he learned that 7,000 others stayed faithful to the Lord. bowed … kissed him: These were common ways to show submission in the ancient Near East (2 Kings 21:3; Isaiah 46:6; 60:14; Hosea 13:2). They are often mentioned in the records of victorious kings or ancient stories. Ashurbanipal reported that during…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 19:18
In the dictionaries
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
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Commentaries