Verse Lens · Expanded explanation

1 Kings 19:10 Explained in Context

Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.

Selected verse

Verse 10. And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions

Quick Meaning

This verse advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence: “And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “At Horeb God questions, passes by, commissions, and names a remnant.”

The cave question meets a census Elijah cannot see

This verse is one part of that explanation in 1 Kings 19:9–18. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.

Read It With

  • 1 Kings 19:9–18

Read 1 Kings 19:10 with 19:9–18. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Places Elijah in a cave where the divine question asks why he is there; corrects Elijah's isolation claim by disclosing seven thousand in Israel who have not honored Baal.

Why This Verse Appears Here

Within “At Horeb God questions, passes by, commissions, and names a remnant,” 1 Kings 19:10 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The Horeb encounter answers Elijah's exhausted isolation claim with presence, commission, named political change, Elisha, and a remnant, while 18:4 already prevents 'I only' from becoming a literal census.

Read 1 Kings 19:9–18 together

Why these verses belong together: At Horeb God questions, passes by, commissions, and names a remnant is the complete reviewed scene, prayer, oracle, list, or regnal notice bounded at 19:9–19:18.

Verse 9. 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?

Verse 10. And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

Verse 11. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:

Verse 12. And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

Verse 13. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?

Verse 14. And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

Verse 15. And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:

Verse 16. And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.

Verse 17. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.

Verse 18. 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.

Follow the Context

  1. Places Elijah in a cave where the divine question asks why he is there
  2. Corrects Elijah's isolation claim by disclosing seven thousand in Israel who have not honored Baal

What This Verse Is Not Saying

1 Kings 19:10 does not permit the wording “And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The unit does not authorize lying, coercive obedience tests, imprisonment of dissenters, lethal prophetic imitation, or certainty beyond what the narrated word, sign, and outcome establish.

What Remains True

Truthful witness may confront power without making every messenger, method, or claimed revelation morally infallible. This unit tests that truth through places Elijah in a cave where the divine question asks why he is there; corrects Elijah's isolation claim by disclosing seven thousand in Israel who have not honored Baal. In 1 Kings 19:10, the concrete line “And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.

Teach It Back

In 70–220 words, explain 1 Kings 19:10's role in 19:9–18. Paraphrase “And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of…,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.

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Continue in Context

Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.

Read 1 Kings 19:9–18 — At Horeb God questions, passes by, commissions, and names a remnant
Sources used for this Verse Lens

How certain is this explanation? probable

These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.

Exact location: 1 Kings 19:9–18, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Kings

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

Supports: Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, name, clause, and older-English checks; this is not a critical apparatus or historical proof.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 19:9–18

Open source ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible: 1 Kings with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2006

Supports: Only printed unit-level translation, lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and verse-numbering notes; silence is not evidence.

Exact location: NET Bible 1 Kings PDF, printed pp. 621–622, translation and translator notes for 19:9–18

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