1 Kings 19:2
in 1 Kings 19So 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!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time.
KJV
Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
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This verse in 1 Kings 19
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The prophet had not long to wait before learning the intentions of the queen. A priest’s daughter herself, she would avenge the slaughtered priests; a king’s wife and a king’s child, she would not quail before a subject. That very night a messenger declared her determination to compass the prophet’s death within the space of a day. So let the gods ... - A common oath about this time (marginal references).
This site's exposition
all that Elijah had done
on 1 Kings 19:1-2
Ahab reports Carmel accurately and draws no conclusion from it: the king who watched fire fall and heard all Israel confess the Lord he is the God tells his wife only that the prophets are dead. Jezebel answers with an oath sworn by her own gods, promising Elijah's life within a day. The victory of chapter eighteen survives one king's silence and does not survive one queen's threat.
This site's exposition
Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah
Albert Barnes notes that Jezebel was the daughter of a priest and of a king, so the killing of the prophets of Baal struck at her own house. Barnes also calls her oath a common form of the time. Her messenger gives Elijah a day's notice.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, 'So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.' " The insane woman contemplated that after learning from …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
), lest the worshippers of Baal should triumph and blaspheme the God of Israel, whom they will think themselves too hard for, if they can run down his advocate. He pleads, "It is enough.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Do to me, &c. - So far was she from being changed by that evident miracle, that she persists in her former idolatry, and adds to it a monstrous confidence, that in spight of God she would destroy his prophet.
Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah,....
I am apt to think that though she desired nothing more than his blood, yet, at this time, she durst not meddle with him for fear of the people, all counting him a prophet, a great prophet, and therefore sent this message to him merely to frighten him and get him out of the way. for the present, that he might not carry on what he had begun.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
So let the gods do - If I do not slay thee, let the gods slay me with the most ignominious death.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתִּשְׁלַ֤ח | vatishlach | and she sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אִיזֶ֙בֶל֙ | ʾizevel | Jezebel | H348 → | 22 times |
| מַלְאָ֔ךְ | malakh | a messenger | H4397 → | 213 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֵלִיָּ֖הוּ | ʾeliyahu | Elijah | H452 → | 71 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כֹּֽה־ | koh- | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| יַעֲשׂ֤וּן | yaasun | may they do ! | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֱלֹהִים֙ | ʾelohim | [the] gods | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וְכֹ֣ה | vekhoh | and thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| יוֹסִפ֔וּן | yosifun | may they add ! | H3254 → | 212 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כָעֵ֤ת | khaet | about <the> this time | H6256 → | 296 times |
| מָחָר֙ | machar | tomorrow | H4279 → | |
| אָשִׂ֣ים | ʾasim | I will make | H7760 → | 584 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַפְשְׁךָ֔ | nafshekha | life your | H5315 → | 754 times |
| כְּנֶ֖פֶשׁ | kenefesh | like [the] life of | H5315 → | 754 times |
| אַחַ֥ד | ʾachad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מֵהֶֽם׃ | mehem | from them |
וַתִּשְׁלַ֤חand she sent
vatishlachH7971 →845 times
אִיזֶ֙בֶל֙Jezebel
ʾizevelH348 →22 times
מַלְאָ֔ךְa messenger
malakhH4397 →213 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֵלִיָּ֖הוּElijah
ʾeliyahuH452 →71 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
כֹּֽה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
יַעֲשׂ֤וּןmay they do !
yaasunH6213 →2628 times
אֱלֹהִים֙[the] gods
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
וְכֹ֣הand thus
vekhohH3541 →577 times
יוֹסִפ֔וּןmay they add !
yosifunH3254 →212 times
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
כָעֵ֤תabout <the> this time
khaetH6256 →296 times
מָחָר֙tomorrow
macharH4279 →
אָשִׂ֣יםI will make
ʾasimH7760 →584 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נַפְשְׁךָ֔life your
nafshekhaH5315 →754 times
כְּנֶ֖פֶשׁlike [the] life of
kenefeshH5315 →754 times
אַחַ֥דone
ʾachadH259 →971 times
מֵהֶֽם׃from them
mehem
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 27:1Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
it leads to
- James 4:13–16
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”
- Luke 12:19–20
Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
- 2 Corinthians 6:2
For He says: “In the time of favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!
- James 4:13–16
Through
Ruth 1:17Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 3:17
“What was the message He gave you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God punish you, and ever so severely, if you hide from me anything He said to you.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 2:23
Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if Adonijah has not made this request at the expense of his life.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 19:13
And say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me, and ever so severely, if from this time you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”
- 2 Kings 6:31
He announced, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders through this day!”
- 1 Samuel 3:17
Through
Daniel 3:15Now, if you are ready, as soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the statue I…
it leads to
- Acts 5:29
But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.
- Acts 5:29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About 1 Kings

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomElijahThe Tishbite who shut heaven for three years and a half, called down fire on Carmel, heard the still small voice at Horeb, and wen…
- PersonDivided kingdomJezebelSidonian princess and Ahab's queen who institutionalized Baal worship in Israel, ordered Elijah's death after Carmel, and engineer…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 19:2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
