1 Kings 18:40

1 Kings 18:40 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
• New International Version (NIV)Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape." And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.

Context of 1 Kings 18:40

38Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood, and even the stones and the dust; it also licked up the water in the trench. 39When all the people saw it, they fell face downward; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” They seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and [as God’s law required] killed them there. 41Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of the roar of an abundance of rain.” 42So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he crouched down to the earth and put his face between his knees,

1 Kings 18:40 word by word

וַיֹּאמֶר֩ אֵלִיָּ֨הוּ לָהֶ֜ם תִּפְשׂ֣וּ׀ אֶת־נְבִיאֵ֣י הַבַּ֗עַל אִ֛ישׁ אַל־יִמָּלֵ֥ט מֵהֶ֖ם וַֽיִּתְפְּשׂ֑וּם וַיּוֹרִדֵ֤ם אֵלִיָּ֙הוּ֙ אֶל־נַ֣חַל קִישׁ֔וֹן וַיִּשְׁחָטֵ֖ם שָֽׁם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Elijahאֵלִיָּה'êlîyâh 'êlîyâhû · ElijahH452
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto them, Takeתָּפַשׂtâphaώ · to captureH8610
• the prophetsנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
• of Baalבַּעַלba‛al · BaalH1168
• let not oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• of them escapeמָלַטmâlaţ · to escapeH4422
• brought them downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• to the brookנַ֫חַלnachal nachlâh nachălâh · torrent: valleyH5158
• Kishonקִישׁוֹןqîyshôn · KishonH7028
• and slewשָׁחַטshâchaţ · to slaughterH7819

Cross-references for 1 Kings 18:40

• 2 Kings 10:25Then it came about, as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guards and to the royal officers, “Go in and kill them; let no one come out.” And they killed them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the royal officers threw their bodies out, and went to the inner room of the house of Baal.
• Judges 5:21The torrent Kishon swept the enemy away, The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength.
• Deuteronomy 13:5But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to draw you away from the way in which the Lord your God has commanded you to walk. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
• Deuteronomy 18:20But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods—that prophet shall die.’
• Jeremiah 48:10Cursed is the one who does the work of the Lord negligently, And cursed is the one who restrains his sword from blood [in executing the judgment of the Lord].
• Zechariah 13:2“In that day,” declares the Lord of hosts, “I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the [false] prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.
• Revelation 19:20And the beast (Antichrist) was seized and overpowered, and with him the false prophet who, in his presence, had performed [amazing] signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were hurled alive into the lake of fire which blazes with brimstone.
• Revelation 20:10And the devil who had deceived them was hurled into the lake of fire and burning brimstone (sulfur), where the beast (Antichrist) and false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 18:40

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 40Let not one of them escape - They had committed the highest crime against the state and the people by introducing idolatry, and bringing down God's judgments upon the land; therefore their lives were forfeited to that law which had ordered every idolater to be slain. It seems also that Ahab, who was present, consented to this act of impartial justice.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 40Elijah required the people to show their conviction by acts - acts which might expose them to the anger of king or queen, but which once committed would cause them to break with Baal and his worshippers forever. Elijah is said to have slain the “prophets of Baal,” because the people killed them by his orders. Why they were brought down to the torrent-bed of Kishon to be killed, is difficult to explain. Perhaps the object of Elijah was to leave the bodies…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-40Verses 21-40 Many of the people wavered in their judgment, and varied in their practice. Elijah called upon them to determine whether Jehovah or Baal was the self-existent, supreme God, the Creator, Governor, and Judge of the world, and to follow him alone. It is dangerous to halt between the service of God and the service of sin, the dominion of Christ and the dominion of our lusts. If Jesus be the only Saviour, let us cleave to him alone for every…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-46The prophet Elijah's work was closely tied to his spiritual growth. Elijah challenged Israel's interest in Baal, the Canaanite storm god. During this conflict, Elijah saw God's power and support, unlike Baal's weakness. This was shown in Elijah's contest with Baal's prophets on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:1–46). After fleeing from Jezebel, God renewed Elijah's mission at Mount Sinai (1 Kings 19:1–18). Elijah's mission was finished by his successor, Elisha (1…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 21-4021-40. Elijah said unto all the people, How long halt ye?--They had long been attempting to conjoin the service of God with that of Baal. It was an impracticable union and the people were so struck with a sense of their own folly, or dread of the king's displeasure, that they "answered not a word." Elijah proposed to decide for them the controversy between God and Baal by an appeal, not to the authority of the law, for that would have no weight, but by a…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 18:40

• Ahab
• Baal
• Carmel
• Elijah
• Intolerance, Religious
• Kishon
• Massacre
• Prayer
• Revivals
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Baal
• Elijah
• Ahab
• Answer
• Carmel
• Cut
• Either
• Follow
• Halt
• Kishon

Commentaries on 1 Kings 18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings