After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice.
Parallel translations
- WEB After the earthquake a fire passed; but Yahweh was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a still small voice.
- KJV And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
- NKJV and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
- NASB And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, a sound of a gentle blowing.
- NLT And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.
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
After the fire comes a still small voice, and there God meets Elijah. The Lord speaks in quietness rather than spectacle.
Overview
The "still small voice" (a low whisper) shows that God often works not in dramatic power but in quiet, personal communion. The contrast may correct Elijah's longing for another grand display and teach him that God's kingdom advances by His word as much as by mighty acts. It reassures the discouraged that God draws near in gentleness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Job 4:16It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes, and I heard a whispering voice:
- 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.
- Deut 4:33Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, as you have, and lived?
- Deut 4:11–12You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.
- 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,
- Job 33:7Surely no fear of me should terrify you; nor will my hand be heavy upon you.
- Gen 15:17When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the carcasses.
- Exod 3:2There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed.
- Heb 12:29“For our God is a consuming fire.”
- Acts 2:2Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
- 2 Kgs 2:11As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind.
- Acts 2:36–37Therefore let all Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!”
- 2 Kgs 1:10Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men.
- 1 Kgs 18:38Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 19:12 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.