He said, “I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
1 Kings 19:12 After the earthquake a fire passed; but Yahweh was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a still small voice.
1 Kings 19:13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle, went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. Behold, a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
1 Kings 19:14 He said, “I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
1 Kings 19:15 Yahweh said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.
1 Kings 19:16 Anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi to be king over Israel; and anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah to be prophet in your place.
The verse centers on "said", "been", "very", "jealous", "yahweh", "armies", "children", and "israel". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "been", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 13's "When Elijah heard it he wrapped his..." into verse 15's "Yahweh said to him Go return on...", so "said" and "been" belong inside that flow. In 1 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "said" and "been" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.