And he saith, `I have been very zealous for Jehovah, God of Hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, Thine altars they have thrown down, and Thy prophets they have slain by the sword, and I am left, I, by myself, and they seek my life--to take it.'
1 Kings 19:12 and after the shaking a fire: --not in the fire <FI>is<Fi> Jehovah; and after the fire a voice still small;
1 Kings 19:13 and it cometh to pass, at Elijah's hearing <FI>it<Fi> , that he wrappeth his face in his robe, and goeth out, and standeth at the opening of the cave, and lo, unto him <FI>is<Fi> a voice, and it saith, `What--to thee, here, Elijah?'
1 Kings 19:14 And he saith, `I have been very zealous for Jehovah, God of Hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, Thine altars they have thrown down, and Thy prophets they have slain by the sword, and I am left, I, by myself, and they seek my life--to take it.'
1 Kings 19:15 And Jehovah saith unto him, `Go turn back on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus, and thou hast gone in, and anointed Hazael for king over Aram,
1 Kings 19:16 and Jehu son of Nimshi thou dost anoint for king over Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat, of Abel-Meholah, thou dost anoint for prophet in thy stead.
The verse centers on "saith", "been", "very", "zealous", "jehovah", "hosts", "sons", and "israel". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "saith" and "been", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 13's "and it cometh to pass at Elijah's..." into verse 15's "And Jehovah saith unto him Go turn...", so "saith" 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 "saith" and "been" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.