God’s Word Translation
1 Kings 18:19
19Order all Israel to gather around me on Mount Carmel. And bring the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
1 Kings 18:19 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.
- New International Version (NIV)Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
Context of 1 Kings 18:19
17When he saw Elijah, Ahab said, “Is that you, you troublemaker of Israel?” 18Elijah answered, “I haven’t troubled Israel. You and your father’s family have done it by disobeying the Lord’s commands and following the various Baal gods. Order all Israel to gather around me on Mount Carmel. And bring the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.” 20Ahab sent word to all the Israelites and brought the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21Elijah stood up in front of all the people and asked them, “How long will you try to have it both ways? If the Lord is God, follow him; if Baal is God, follow him.” The people didn’t say a word.
Read all of 1 Kings 181 Kings 18:19 word by word
וְעַתָּ֗ה שְׁלַ֨ח קְבֹ֥ץ אֵלַ֛י אֶת־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶל־הַ֣ר הַכַּרְמֶ֑ל וְאֶת־נְבִיאֵ֨י הַבַּ֜עַל אַרְבַּ֧ע מֵא֣וֹת וַחֲמִשִּׁ֗ים וּנְבִיאֵ֤י הָֽאֲשֵׁרָה֙ אַרְבַּ֣ע מֵא֔וֹת אֹכְלֵ֖י שֻׁלְחַ֥ן אִיזָֽבֶל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Now therefore sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- gatherקָבַץqâbats · to gatherH6908
- to me all Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- unto mountהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
- Carmelכַּרְמֶלkarmel · (Mount) CarmelH3760
- and the prophetsנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
- of Baalבַּעַלba‛al · BaalH1168
- fourאַרְבַּע'arba‛ 'arbâ‛âh · fourH702
- hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
- and fiftyחֲמִשִּׁיםchămishshîym · fiftyH2572
- of the grovesאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
- which eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- at Jezebel’sאִיזֶבֶל'îyzebel · JezebelH348
- tableשֻׁלְחָןshûlchân · tableH7979
Cross-references for 1 Kings 18:19
- 1 Kings 18:42Ahab got up to eat and drink. Elijah went to the top of Carmel and bowed down on the ground to pray.
- Joshua 19:26Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. The border touches Carmel and Shihor Libnath in the west.
- 1 Samuel 15:12Early in the morning he got up to meet Saul. Samuel was told, “Saul went to Carmel to set up a monument in his honor. Then he left there and went to Gilgal.”
- 2 Kings 2:25He left that place, went to Mount Carmel, and returned to Samaria.
- Jeremiah 46:18“As I live,” declares the king, whose name is the Lord of Armies, “someone who is like Mount Tabor among the mountains will come. Someone who is like Mount Carmel by the sea will come.
- Amos 1:2He said: The Lord roars from Zion, and his voice thunders from Jerusalem. The pastures of the shepherds are turning brown, and the top of ⌞Mount⌟ Carmel is dried up.
- Amos 9:3Even if they hide on top of Mount Carmel, I will look for them and take them from there. Even if they hide from me at the bottom of the sea, I will command a sea snake to bite them.
- 1 Kings 22:6So the king of Israel called 400 prophets together. He asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth in Gilead or not?” “Go,” they said. “The Lord will hand over Ramoth to you.”
- 2 Peter 2:1False prophets were among God’s people ⌞in the past⌟, as false teachers will be among you. They will secretly bring in their own destructive teachings. They will deny the Lord, who has bought them, and they will bring themselves swift destruction.
- Revelation 19:20The beast and the false prophet who had done miracles for the beast were captured. By these miracles the false prophet had deceived those who had the brand of the beast and worshiped its statue. Both of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
- 1 Kings 15:13He also removed his grandmother Maacah from the position of queen mother because she made a statue of the repulsive goddess Asherah. Asa cut the statue down and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
- 1 Kings 16:33Ahab made poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah. He did more to make the Lord God of Israel furious than all the kings of Israel who came before him.
- 2 Kings 13:6But they didn’t turn away from the sins that Jeroboam and his dynasty led Israel to commit. They continued to commit those sins. In addition, the pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah remained standing in Samaria.
- 1 Kings 19:1Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including how he had executed all the prophets.
- 2 Kings 9:22When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Is everything alright, Jehu?” Jehu answered, “How can everything be alright as long as your mother continues her idolatry and witchcraft?”
- Revelation 2:20But I have something against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. She teaches and misleads my servants to sin sexually and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
Commentaries on 1 Kings 18:19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19Gather to me all Israel - The heads of tribes and families; the rulers of the people. The prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty - the prophets of the groves four hundred - The king and queen had different religious establishments; the king and his servants worshipped Baal, the supreme lord and master of the world, the sun. For this establishment four hundred and fifty priests were maintained. The queen and her women worshipped אשרה Asherah, Astarte, or…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19Carmel (Joshua 12:22 note) was chosen by the prophet as the scene of the gathering to which he invited, or rather summoned, Ahab. Its thick jungles of copse and numerous dwarf-oaks and olives, would furnish abundant wood for his intended sacrifice. Here was a perennial fountain; and here again an ancient “altar of the Lord” 1 Kings 18:30, belonging probably to the old times of non-idolatrous high-place worship - perhaps an erection of one of the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-20Verses 17-20 One may guess how people stand affected to God, by observing how they stand affected to his people and ministers. It has been the lot of the best and most useful men, like Elijah, to be called and counted the troublers of the land. But those who cause God's judgments do the mischief, not he that foretells them, and warns the nation to repent.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-20Mount Carmel is on a ridge that separates the coastal plain of Palestine. The site was famous for Canaanite idol worship, and an altar to the Lord was also built there earlier (1 Kings 18:30). It was a natural place for the contest with Baal. The Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Old Testament) might suggest that the prophets of Asherah were present at the contest on Mount Carmel, but the Hebrew text does not confirm this (compare 1 Kings 18:22).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. gather ... the prophets of Baal ... the prophets of the groves--From the sequel it appears that the former only came. The latter, anticipating some evil, evaded the king's command. which eat at Jezebel's table--that is, not at the royal table where she herself dined, but they were maintained from her kitchen establishment (see on 1Sa 20:25 and 1Ki 4:22). They were the priests of Astarte, the Zidonian goddess.Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 18:19
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries