God’s Word Translation
1 Kings 19:18
18But I still have 7,000 people in Israel whose knees have not knelt to worship Baal and whose mouths have 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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)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 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.”
Context of 1 Kings 19:18
16Anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel. And anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat, from Abel Meholah as prophet to take your place. 17If anyone escapes from Hazael’s sword, Jehu will kill him. And if anyone escapes from Jehu’s sword, Elisha will kill him. But I still have 7,000 people in Israel whose knees have not knelt to worship Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” 19Elijah found Elisha, son of Shaphat. Elisha was plowing behind 12 pairs of oxen. He was using the twelfth pair. Elijah took off his coat and put it on Elisha. 20So Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye. Then I will follow you.” “Go back,” Elijah answered him. “I’m not stopping 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 Armies hadn’t left us a few survivors, we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Isaiah 10:20At that time the remaining few Israelites, the survivors of Jacob’s descendants will no longer depend on the one who struck them. They will only depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
- Romans 11:4But what was God’s reply? God said, “I’ve kept 7,000 people for myself who have not knelt to worship Baal.”
- Exodus 20:5Never worship them or serve them, because I, the Lord your God, am a God who does not tolerate rivals. I punish children for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.
- Isaiah 49:23Then kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens will nurse you. They will bow in front of you with their faces touching the ground. They will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Those who wait with hope for me will not be put to shame.
- Romans 14:10Why do you criticize or despise other Christians? Everyone will stand in front of God to be judged.
- Philippians 2:10so that at the name of Jesus everyone in heaven, on earth, and in the world below will kneel
- Job 31:27so that my heart was secretly tempted, and I threw them a kiss with my hand,
- Psalms 2:12Kiss the Son, or he will become angry and you will die on your way because his anger will burst into flames. Blessed is everyone who takes refuge in him.
- Hosea 13:2They keep on sinning more and more. They make idols from silver for themselves. These idols are skillfully made. All of them are the work of craftsmen. People say this about the Israelites: “They offer human sacrifices and kiss calf-shaped idols.”
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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