him, and he said to him: What dost thou here,
Elias?

19:10. And he answered: With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God
of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they
have thrown down thy altars, they have slain thy prophets with the
sword, and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away.

I alone am left... Viz., of the prophets in the kingdom of Israel, or of
the ten tribes; for in the kingdom of Juda religion was at that time in
a very flourishing condition under the kings Asa and Josaphat. And even
in Israel there remained several prophets, though not then known to
Elias. See chap. 20.13, 28, 35.

19:11. And he said to him: Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the
Lord: and behold the Lord passeth, and a great and strong wind before
the Lord, overthrowing the mountains, and breaking the rocks in pieces:
but the Lord is not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake: but
the Lord is not in the earthquake.

19:12. And after the earthquake, a fire: but the Lord is not in the
fire. And after the fire, a whistling of a gentle air.

19:13. And when Elias heard it, he covered his face with his mantle, and
coming forth, stood in the entering in of the cave, and behold a voice
unto him, saying: What dost thou here, Elias? And he answered:

19:14. With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: because
the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have destroyed
thy altars, they have slain thy prophets with the sword; and I alone am
left, and they seek my life to take it away.

19:15. And the Lord said to him: Go, and return on thy way, through the
desert, to Damascus: and when thou art come thither, thou shalt anoint
Hazael to be king over Syria;

19:16. And thou shalt anoint Jehu, the son of Namsi, to be king over
Israel: and Eliseus, the son of Saphat, of Abelmeula, thou shalt anoint
to be prophet in thy room.

19:17. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall escape the sword
of Hazael, shall be slain by Jehu: and whosoever shall escape the sword
of Jehu, shall be slain by Eliseus.

Shall be slain by Eliseus... Eliseus did not kill any of the idolaters
with the material sword: but he is here joined with Hazael and Jehu, the
great instruments of God in punishing the idolatry of Israel, because he
foretold to the former his exaltation to the kingdom of Syria, and the
vengeance he would execute against Israel, and anointed the latter by
one