1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the
prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, ‘May the
gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your
life like that of one of them.’ 3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to
Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey
into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he
might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my
ancestors.’ 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ 6 He looked around, and
there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate
and drank and then lay down again. 7 The 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.’ 8 So
he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he travelled for forty days
and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 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?’
10 He 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.’ 11 The 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. 12 After the earthquake came a
fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When
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?’
14 He 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.’ 15 The Lord said
to him, ‘Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get
there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.

New International Version (NIV) - for other versions see BibleGateway.com