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?
• 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?”
• New Living Translation (NLT)There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. But the Lord 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 and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 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?” 10He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 11The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, 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, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.
• Jeremiah 9:2Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people.
• Hebrews 11:38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
• 1 Kings 19:13When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
• Genesis 3:9But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
• Genesis 16:8And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
• Jeremiah 2:18Now why go to Egypt to drink water from the Nile? And why go to Assyria to drink water from the Euphrates?
• Jonah 1:3But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee 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