1 Kings 19:3

Christian Standard Bible ®

Then Elijah became afraid and immediately ran for his life. When he came to Beer-sheba that belonged to Judah, he left his servant there,

Parallel Translations

Legacy Standard Bible
And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his young man there.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
When he sawe that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beerseba in Iuda, and left his seruaunt there.

New King James Version
And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

Literal Translation
And he saw, and rose up and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba of Judah, and left his young man there;

Easy-to-Read Version
When Elijah heard this, he was afraid. So he ran away to save his life. He took his servant with him, and they went to Beersheba in Judah. Then Elijah left his servant in Beersheba

Revised Standard Version
Then he was afraid, and he arose and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

World English Bible
When he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

King James Version (1611)
And when he saw that, hee arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Iudah, and left his seruant there.

King James Version
And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then was he afrayed, & gat him vp, & wente where he wolde, & came vnto Berseba in Iuda, and lefte his lad there.

THE MESSAGE
When Elijah saw how things were, he ran for dear life to Beersheba, far in the south of Judah. He left his young servant there and then went on into the desert another day's journey. He came to a lone broom bush and collapsed in its shade, wanting in the worst way to be done with it all—to just die: "Enough of this, God ! Take my life—I'm ready to join my ancestors in the grave!" Exhausted, he fell asleep under the lone broom bush. Suddenly an angel shook him awake and said, "Get up and eat!"

American Standard Version
And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.

Bible in Basic English
And he got up, fearing for his life, and went in flight, and came to Beer-sheba in Judah, parting there from his servant;

Update Bible Version
And he was afraid, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his attendant there.

Webster's Bible Translation
And when he saw [that], he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which [belongeth] to Judah, and left his servant there.

New English Translation
Elijah was afraid, so he got up and fled for his life to Beer Sheba in Judah. He left his servant there,

Contemporary English Version
Elijah was afraid when he got her message, and he ran to the town of Beersheba in Judah. He left his servant there,

Complete Jewish Bible
On seeing that, he got up and fled for his life. When he arrived in Be'er-Sheva, in Y'hudah, he left his servant there;

Darby Translation
And when he saw [that], he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

Geneva Bible (1587)
When he sawe that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which is in Iudah, and left his seruant there.

George Lamsa Translation
And Elijah was afraid, and he arose and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his disciple there.

Amplified Bible
And Elijah was afraid and arose and ran for his life, and he came to Beersheba which belongs to Judah, and he left his servant there.

Hebrew Names Version
When he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Be'er-Sheva, which belongs to Yehudah, and left his servant there.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.

New Living Translation
Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.

New Life Bible
Elijah was afraid. He got up and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba of Judah, he left his servant there.

New Revised Standard
Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Eliu feared, and rose, and departed for his life: and he comes to Bersabee to the land of Juda, and he left his servant there.

English Revised Version
And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer–sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.

Berean Standard Bible
And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, when he saw that , he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, - and left his servant there.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Then Elias was afraid, and rising up, he went whithersoever he had a mind: and he came to Bersabee of Juda, and left his servant there,

Lexham English Bible
Then he became afraid, got up, and fled for his life. He came to Beersheba which belongs to Judah, and he left his servant there.

English Standard Version
Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

New American Standard Bible
And he was afraid, and got up and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and he left his servant there.

New Century Version
When Elijah heard this, he was afraid and ran for his life, taking his servant with him. When they came to Beersheba in Judah, Elijah left his servant there.

Good News Translation
Elijah was afraid and fled for his life; he took his servant and went to Beersheba in Judah. Leaving the servant there,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor Elie dredde, and roos, and yede whidur euer wille bar hym; and he cam in to Bersabe of Juda, and he lefte there his child;

Young's Literal Translation
And he feareth, and riseth, and goeth for his life, and cometh in to Beer-Sheba, that [is] Judah's, and leaveth his young man there,

Contextual Overview

¹ Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ² So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "May the gods punish me and do so severely if I don't make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow!" ³ Then Elijah became afraid and immediately ran for his life. When he came to Beer-sheba that belonged to Judah, he left his servant there, ⁴ but he went on a day's journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, "I have had enough! Lord , take my life, for I'm no better than my fathers." ⁵ Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. Suddenly, an angel touched him. The angel told him, "Get up and eat." ⁶ Then he looked, and there at his head was a loaf of bread baked over hot stones, and a jug of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. ⁷ Then the angel of the Lord returned for a second time and touched him. He said, "Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you." ⁸ So he got up, ate, and drank. Then on the strength from that food, he walked 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

he arose: Genesis 12:12, Genesis 12:13, Exodus 2:15, 1 Samuel 27:1, Isaiah 51:12, Isaiah 51:13, Matthew 26:56, Matthew 26:70-74, 2 Corinthians 12:7

Beersheba: 1 Kings 4:25, Genesis 21:31, Amos 7:12, Amos 7:13

Reciprocal: Genesis 19:17 - Escape Genesis 21:14 - Beersheba Genesis 42:1 - saw 1 Samuel 21:10 - fled 1 Kings 19:4 - he requested 2 Kings 4:12 - servant 2 Kings 23:8 - Beersheba Proverbs 28:12 - but Proverbs 29:25 - fear Jeremiah 20:9 - I will Jeremiah 37:12 - went Jonah 1:3 - to flee Acts 13:5 - their Hebrews 11:34 - escaped

Cross-References

Genesis 19:6
Lot went out to them at the entrance and shut the door behind him.

Genesis 19:8
Look, I've got two daughters who haven't had sexual relations with a man. I'll bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want to them. However, don't do anything to these men, because they have come under the protection of my roof."

Genesis 19:28
He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw that smoke was going up from the land like the smoke of a furnace.

Genesis 19:29
So it was, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham and brought Lot out of the middle of the upheaval when He demolished the cities where Lot had lived.

Genesis 21:8
The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned.

Exodus 12:15
You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you must remove yeast from your houses. Whoever eats what is leavened from the first day through the seventh day must be cut off from Israel.

Exodus 12:39
The people baked the dough they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves, since it had no yeast; for when they had been driven out of Egypt they could not delay and had not prepared any provisions for themselves.

Judges 6:19
So Gideon went and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from a half bushel of flour. He placed the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought them out and offered them to Him under the oak.

1 Samuel 28:24
The woman had a fattened calf at her house, and she quickly slaughtered it. She also took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread.

2 Kings 4:8
One day Elisha went to Shunem. A prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to eat some food. So whenever he passed by, he stopped there to eat.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when he saw that,.... That her design and resolution were to take away his life; the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions read, "and he was afraid"; or frightened; he that had such courage as not to be afraid to meet Ahab, and contend with four hundred and fifty priests of Baal, and in the face of all Israel, who at first were not inclined to take his part, is now terrified at the threats of a single woman; which shows that the spirit and courage he had before were of the Lord, and not of himself; and that those who have the greatest zeal and courage for religion, for God, and his worship, his truths and ordinances, if left to themselves, become weak and timorous; and whether this is the true reading, or not, it was certainly his case by what follows:

he arose and went for his life; fled to save his life, at a time when he was much wanted to encourage and increase the reformation from idolatry, and to preserve the people from relapsing who were converted; and through the miracles that had been wrought by him, and for him, he had great reason to trust in the Lord: or "he went unto", or "according to his own soul" m; according to his own mind and will, not taking counsel of God, or any direction from him; and so Abarbinel interprets it:

and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah; to the tribe of Judah; for though it was in the inheritance of Simeon, yet that was within the tribe of Judah, Joshua 19:1, or to the kingdom of Judah, over which Jehoshaphat reigned, and so might think himself safe, being out of the dominions of Ahab, and reach of Jezebel; but yet he did not think so, his fears ran so high that he imagined she would send some after him to search for him, and slay him privately, or make interest with Jehoshaphat to deliver him up, there being friendship between him and Ahab; for though this place was eighty four miles from Jezreel, as Bunting n computes it, he left it:

and left his servant there; he took him not with him, either lest he should betray him, or rather out of compassion to him, that he might not share in the miseries of life that were like to come upon him.

m אל נפשו κατα την ψυχην αυτου, Sept. "secundum animam suam", Vatablus, Pagninus. n Travels, ut supra. (p. 204.)

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The rapid movement of the original is very striking. “And he saw (or, “feared,” as some read), and he rose, and he went, etc.” The fear and flight of Elijah are very remarkable. Jezebel’s threat alone, had not, in all probability, produced the extraordinary change but, partly, physical reaction from the over-excitement of the preceding day; and, partly, internal disquietude and doubt as to the wisdom of the course which he had adopted.

Beer-sheba is about 95 miles from Jezreel, on the very borders of the desert et-Tih. Elijah cannot possibly have reached it until the close of the second day. It seems implied that he traveled both night and day, and did not rest until he arrived thus far on his way. It was one of the towns assigned to the tribe of Simeon Joshua 19:2. The Simeonites were, however, by this time absorbed into Judah.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 19:3. He arose, and went for his life — He saw it was best to give place to this storm, and go to a place of safety. He probably thought that the miracle at Carmel would have been the means of effecting the conversion of the whole court and of the country, but, finding himself mistaken, he is greatly discouraged.

To Beer-sheba — This being at the most southern extremity of the promised land, and under the jurisdiction of the king of Judah, he might suppose himself in a place of safety.

Left his servant there. — Being alone, he would be the more unlikely to be discovered; besides, he did not wish to risk the life of his servant.