1 Kings 19:3
New International Version
Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he 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.

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.

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

King James Bible
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.

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.

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.

NASB 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.

NASB 1977
And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

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.

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.

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,

Holman 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,

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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Elyah was afraid, and he arose, he went to save his life and he came to Beersheba of Yehuda, and he left his Disciple there.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
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.

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,

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,

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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Frightened, Elijah fled to save his life. He came to Beersheba in Judah and 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,

International Standard Version
Elijah was terrified, so he got up and ran for his life to Beer-sheba, which is part of Judah, and left his servant there

JPS Tanakh 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.

Literal Standard Version
And he fears, and rises, and goes for his life, and comes to Beer-Sheba, that [is] Judah’s, and leaves his young man there,

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

New American Bible
Elijah was afraid and fled for his life, going to Beer-sheba of Judah. He left his servant there

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

New Revised Standard Version
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.

New Heart English Bible
And he was afraid, and he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant 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.

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

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,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Elijah Flees From Jezebel
2So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the lives of those you killed!” 3And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4while he himself traveled on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”…

Cross References
Genesis 21:14
Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar's shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.

Genesis 21:31
So that place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them swore an oath.

1 Samuel 8:2
The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba.

Jeremiah 20:9
If I say, "I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name," His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.


Treasury of Scripture

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

he arose

Genesis 12:12,13
Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive…

Exodus 2:15
Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.

1 Samuel 27:1
And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.

beer-sheba

1 Kings 4:25
And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

Genesis 21:31
Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.

Amos 7:12,13
Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: …

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1 Kings 19
1. Elijah, threatened by Jezebel, flees to Beersheba
4. In the desert, being weary of his life, he is comforted by an angel
9. At Horeb God appears unto him, sending him to anoint Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha
19. Elisha, taking leave of his friends, follows Elijah














(3) He arose, and went for his life.--The sudden reaction of disappointment and despondency, strange as it seems to superficial observation, is eminently characteristic of an impulsive and vehement nature. His blow had been struck, as he thought, triumphantly. Now the power of cool unrelenting antagonism makes itself felt, unshaken and only embittered by all that had passed. On Ahab and the people he knows that he cannot rely; so once more he flees for his life.

Beer-sheba. (See Genesis 21:14; Genesis 21:33; Genesis 22:19; Genesis 28:10; Genesis 46:1, &c.)--This frontier town of Palestine to the south is little mentioned after the patriarchal time. The note that "it belonged to Judah" is, perhaps, significant. Judah was now in half-dependent alliance with Israel; even under Jehoshaphat, Elijah might not be safe there, though his servant--traditionally the son of the widow of Zarephath--might stay without danger. . . .

Verse 3. - And when he saw that [Heb. and he saw and arose, etc. But the LXX. has καὶ ἐφοβήθη, and the Vulgate timuit, and it is to be observed that this meaning, "and he feared," can be extracted from this word וירא without any change of radicals, for the full form יִירָא is occasionally abbreviated into יִרָא; see 1 Samuel 18:12; 1 Samuel 21:13; 2 Kings 17:28. A few MSS. have here וייּרא and it certainly suits the context better. Bahr, who interprets, "he saw how matters stood," i.e., that she meant him to flee, is not justified in asserting that this expression would require an accusative of the person feared. (See, e.g., Genesis 3:10; Genesis 15:1; Genesis 18:15.) Both he and Keil furthermore object to this interpretation that it is contrary to actual fact, neither of them being willing to allow that Elijah was afraid. Bahr says it is inconceivable that the man who had that day faced alone king and priests and the entire people should have become all at once afraid of a bad woman, and he explains Elijah's flight as caused by the discovery that he could not carryon his work of reformation, and by the absence of any intimation (like that of 1 Kings 18:1) that he was to stay and hazard his life. But apart from the fact that we are distinctly told that he "went for his life" (cf. vers. 4, 10), and that his flight seems to have been instant and hurried, history tells of many great souls, hardly less brave than Elijah's, which have succumbed to a sudden panic. Anyhow, it is evident that for the moment Elijah had lost faith in God, otherwise he would certainly have waited for the "word of the Lord," which had hitherto invariably guided his movements (1 Kings 17:2, 8; 1 Kings 18:1). No doubt other emotions besides that of fear were struggling in his breast, and prominent among these was the feeling of profound disappointment and mortification. It is clear that he had hoped that the "day of Carmel" would turn the heart of the entire nation back again (1 Kings 18:37), and the great shout of ver. 39, and the subsequent execution, at his command, of the men who had deceived and depraved the people, might well justify the most sanguine expectations. We can readily imagine, consequently, how, especially after the excitement and fatigues of that day, the threatening and defiant message of the queen would seem the death blow of his hopes, and how, utterly dispirited and broken down, he lost all trust, all faith, and, while fleeing for his life, "requested for himself that he might die" (ver. 4)], he arose, and went for his life [Keil is compelled, by his refusal to allow that Elijah was actuated by fear, to render these words, "went to commit his soul to God in the solitude of the desert." But the men meaning is settled for us by the like expression in 2 Kings 7:7; nor does Jeremiah 44:7 lend any support to Keil's view. Gesenius compares τρέχειν περὶ ψυχῆς. Od. 9:423. The A.V. exactly represents the meaning], and came to Beer-sheba [Genesis 21:31; Genesis 26:33. The southern boundary of Palestine (Joshua 15:28; 2 Samuel 24:7; Judges 20:1; 1 Chronicles 21:2, etc.), allotted to the tribe of Simeon (Joshua 19:2), which tribe, we gather from this passage (see also 2 Chronicles 19:4), was now absorbed in the southern kingdom. (See note on ch. 11:31.) Wordsworth suggests that "perhaps he resorted to Beer-sheba in order to strengthen his faith with the recollection of the patriarchs who had dwelt there," etc. But if that had been his object, a journey to the place was hardly necessary, and it is clear that he only passed through it on his way to Mount Sinai. "Beer-sheba was about 95 miles from Jezreel" - Rawlinson, who adds that Elijah cannot have reached it till the close of the second day. But we must remember that his pace would be regulated by the powers of his servant, probably a mere lad (LXX. παιδάριον), so that it is hardly likely he could travel day and night without stopping to rest], which belongeth to Judah [It is part of Keil's argument in proof that Elijah did not flee from fear of Jezebel, that, had such been the case, he would have remained in the kingdom of Judah, where he would have enjoyed the protection of Jehoshaphat. But it is by no means certain that this prince, considering his close alliance with Ahab (1 Kings 22:4; cf. 18:10; 2 Kings 8:18; 2 Chronicles 18:1), would have sheltered the prophet. Indeed, it is remarkable, as Blunt has well pointed out (Coincid. pp. 183, 184), that the prophet never took refuge in the southern kingdom. At one time he found a sanctuary beyond the Jordan; at another in the kingdom of Tyre, but never in the realm of Jehoshaphat. When he does come in haste to Beer-sheba, "it is after a manner which bespeaks his reluctance to set foot within that territory, even more than if he had evaded it altogether." The reason partly was, no doubt, as Wordsworth says, that his mission was to idolatrous Israel. Judah had both priests and prophets of its own], and left his servant [There is no warrant for the assertion (Stanley) that "one only of that vast assembly remained faithful to him, the Zidonian boy of Zarephath." The identity of this boy with the servant is by no means certain; nor is the defection of the people at all proven] there. [Probably because he wished to be alone with God; possibly because the boy was then too exhausted to go further, and there was no reason why he should be subjected to the uncertainties and privations of desert life; hardly for the security of both (Blunt). It is perhaps implied, however, that the kingdom of Judah, though not a safe abode for him, would be for his servant. When we remember that this servant never rejoined him, but that presently Elisha took his place, we can scarcely help wondering whether he was afraid to accompany Elijah any longer (cf. Acts 15:38).]

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
And Elijah was afraid
וַיַּ֗רְא (way·yar)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7200: To see

and ran
וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ (way·yê·leḵ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

for
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

his life.
נַפְשׁ֔וֹ (nap̄·šōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

When he came
וַיָּבֹ֕א (way·yā·ḇō)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

to Beersheba
שֶׁ֖בַע (še·ḇa‘)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 884: Beersheba -- 'well of seven', a place in the Negev

in Judah,
לִֽיהוּדָ֑ה (lî·hū·ḏāh)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3063: Judah -- 'praised', a son of Jacob, also the southern kingdom, also four Israelites

he left
וַיַּנַּ֥ח (way·yan·naḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3240: Bestow, cast down, lay down, up, leave off, let alone remain, pacify, place,

his servant
נַעֲר֖וֹ (na·‘ă·rōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5288: A boy, lad, youth, retainer

there,
שָֽׁם׃ (šām)
Adverb
Strong's 8033: There, then, thither


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OT History: 1 Kings 19:3 When he saw that he arose (1Ki iKi i Ki 1 Kg 1kg)
1 Kings 19:2
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