3Elijah was afraid, and fled for his life; he took his servant and went to Beersheba in Judah.
Leaving the servant there, 4Elijah walked a whole day into the wilderness. He stopped and sat down in the shade of a tree and wished he would die. “It's too much, LORD,” he prayed. “Take away my life; I might as well be dead!”
5He lay down under the tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said, “Wake up and eat.” 6He looked round, and saw a loaf of bread and a jar of water near his head. He ate and drank, and lay down again. 7The LORD's angel returned and woke him up a second time, saying, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.” 8Elijah got up, ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to walk forty days to Sinai, the holy mountain. 9There he went into a cave to spend the night.
Suddenly the LORD spoke to him, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”
10He answered, “LORD God Almighty, I have always served you — you alone. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed all your prophets. I am the only one left — and they are trying to kill me!”
11“Go out and stand before me on top of the mountain,” the LORD said to him. Then the LORD passed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks — but the LORD was not in the wind. The wind stopped blowing, and then there was an earthquake — but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12After the earthquake, there was a fire — but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the soft whisper of a voice.
