Then the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD is about to pass by.” And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains 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.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before Yahweh.” Behold, Yahweh passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before Yahweh; but Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake; but Yahweh was not in the earthquake.
- KJV 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:
- NKJV Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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;
- NASB So He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and powerful wind was tearing out the mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
- NLT “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God tells Elijah to stand on the mountain, then sends wind and earthquake, but He is not in them. The dramatic forces are not where God reveals Himself.
Overview
The powerful phenomena recall the awesome theophany Moses witnessed at Sinai, yet God deliberately withholds His presence from them. This teaches that God's working is not always in the spectacular displays Elijah may have expected after Carmel. The Lord is preparing to reveal Himself in a surprising, gentler way.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 30
- Ezek 1:4I looked and saw a whirlwind coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire was a gleam like amber,
- Ps 50:3Our God approaches and will not be silent! Consuming fire precedes Him, and a tempest rages around Him.
- Job 38:1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
- Isa 30:30And the LORD will cause His majestic voice to be heard and His mighty arm to be revealed, striking in angry wrath with a flame of consuming fire, and with cloudburst, storm, and hailstones.
- Heb 12:26At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth, but heaven as well.”
- Exod 34:2Be ready in the morning, and come up on Mount Sinai to present yourself before Me on the mountaintop.
- Rev 11:19Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
- Ps 68:8the earth shook and the heavens poured down rain before God, the One on Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.
- Exod 19:20The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the summit. So Moses went up,
- Heb 12:18–21For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm;
- Ezek 37:7So I prophesied as I had been commanded. And as I prophesied, there was suddenly a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone.
- Exod 24:18Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
- Rev 16:18And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and a great earthquake the likes of which had not occurred since men were upon the earth—so mighty was the great quake.
- Exod 24:12Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay here, so that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”
- Rev 20:11Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
- Matt 27:51–54At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split.
- 2 Pet 1:17–18For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
- Matt 28:2Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it.
- Exod 34:6Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,
- Nah 1:5–6The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles at His presence—the world and all its dwellers.
- Nah 1:3The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
- Exod 20:18When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sounding of the ram’s horn, and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance.
- Zech 4:6So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.
- Matt 17:1–3After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
- Hab 3:3–5God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His glory covered the heavens, and His praise filled the earth.
- Exod 33:21–23The LORD continued, “There is a place near Me where you are to stand upon a rock,
- Zech 14:5You will flee by My mountain valley, for it will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with Him.
- Matt 24:7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
- Exod 19:16On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
- 1 Sam 14:15Then terror struck the Philistines in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even those in the outposts and raiding parties trembled. Indeed, the earth quaked and panic spread from God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 19:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.