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 Lord’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39When all the people saw it, they fell facedown and said, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!” Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let even one of them escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon and slaughtered them there. 41Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a rainstorm.” 42So Ahab went to eat and drink, but Elijah went up to the summit of Carmel. He bent down on the ground 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 10:25When he finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guards and officers, “Go in and kill them. Don’t let anyone out.” So they struck them down with the sword. Then the guards and officers threw the bodies out and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal.
• Judges 5:21The river Kishon swept them away, the ancient river, the river Kishon. March on, my soul, in strength!
• Deuteronomy 13:5That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has urged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slavery, to turn you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to walk. You must purge the evil from you.
• Deuteronomy 18:20But the prophet who presumes to speak a message in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods — that prophet must die.’
• Jeremiah 48:10The one who does the Lord’s business deceitfully is cursed, and the one who withholds his sword from bloodshed is cursed.
• Zechariah 13:2On that day” — this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies — “I will remove the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will banish the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.
• Revelation 19:20But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with it the false prophet, who had performed the signs in its presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image with these signs. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
• Revelation 20:10The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, 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