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1 Kings 19:1-21

A Still Small Voice

Lyrics · 1 Kings

A Still Small Voice

1 Kings 19:1-21

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About this song

About this song

This song belongs to the 1 Kings collection. One recording is available to play here, with the complete lyrics below.

Bible book
1 Kings
Collection
1 Kings
Musical styles
World Music
[Verse 1] Ahab tells Jezebel how Elijah killed the prophets of Baal. Elijah flees to Beersheba and leaves his servant there. Elijah sleeps until an angel touches him and tells him to eat. The angel awakens him again because the journey is too great. [Pre-Chorus] The word was rare until the silence broke, Then truth stood upright in the words God spoke. [Chorus] A Still Small Voice, the word came like a flame, Kings could resist but could not silence the name. The prophet stood where fear had drawn the line, And heaven answered in appointed time. [Verse 2] A great wind breaks rocks, but God is not in the wind. An earthquake follows, but God is not in the earthquake. Fire comes next, but God is not in the fire. The question and Elijah's lament are repeated at the cave entrance. [Bridge] Jehu will be anointed over Israel and Elisha as prophet. Seven thousand in Israel have not bowed to Baal. Elijah finds Elisha plowing with twelve yoke and casts his mantle upon him. Elisha sacrifices the oxen, feeds the people, and follows Elijah. [Final Chorus] A Still Small Voice, the word came like a flame, Kings could resist but could not silence the name. The prophet stood where fear had drawn the line, And heaven answered in the final time. [Outro] The word went out and did not fall in vain. The prophet left the truth upon the plain.

Named in this songAhabJezebelElijahBeershebaElisha

About the passage

1 Kings 19: Beyond the fire, a voice and unfinished work

The triumph at Carmel is followed immediately by a royal death threat. Jezebel’s message drives Elijah south until he is alone in the wilderness asking to die. The first answer is physical rather than argumentative: sleep, food, water, then more food for a journey too great for him. At Horeb, Elijah describes covenant abandonment, murdered prophets, and his own isolation. Wind, earthquake, and fire pass before the “still small voice,” but the quiet encounter does not end in private consolation. Elijah repeats his complaint and receives instructions involving Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha, along with the correction that seven thousand in Israel have not bowed to Baal. His field of vision has been too small for the full account. The chapter ends at a plow. Elijah casts his mantle on Elisha, and Elisha turns the equipment of his former work into the means of a farewell meal before following.

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