1 Kings 18:28

1 Kings 18:28 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.
• New International Version (NIV)So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them.

Context of 1 Kings 18:28

26So they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made. 27About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!” So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. 29They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response. 30Then Elijah called to the people, “Come over here!” They all crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down.

1 Kings 18:28 word by word

וַֽיִּקְרְאוּ֙ בְּק֣וֹל גָּד֔וֹל וַיִּתְגֹּֽדְדוּ֙ כְּמִשְׁפָּטָ֔ם בַּחֲרָב֖וֹת וּבָֽרְמָחִ֑ים עַד־שְׁפָךְ־דָּ֖ם עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they criedקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call outH7121
• aloudגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• aloudקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
• and cutגָּדַדgâdad · to cutH1413
• themselves after their mannerמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justice: customH4941
• with knivesחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• and lancetsרֹ֫מַחrômach · spearH7420
• till the bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• gushed outשָׁפַךְshâphak · to pour: pourH8210

Cross-references for 1 Kings 18:28

• Leviticus 19:28“Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the Lord.
• Deuteronomy 14:1“Since you are the people of the Lord your God, never cut yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead.
• Micah 6:7Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins?
• Mark 5:5Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.
• Mark 9:22The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”

Commentaries on 1 Kings 18:28

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28They cried aloud - The poor fools acted as they were bidden. And cut themselves after their manner - This was done according to the rites of that barbarous religion; if the blood of the bullock would not move him they thought their own blood might; and with it they smeared themselves and their sacrifice. This was not only the custom of the idolatrous Israelites, but of the Syrians, Persians, Greeks, Indians, and in short of all the heathen world.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 28Elijah‘s scorn roused the Baal-priests to greater exertions. At length, when the frenzy had reached its height, knives were drawn, and the blood spirted forth from hundreds of self-inflicted wounds, while an ecstasy of enthusiasm seized many, and they poured forth incoherent phrases, or perhaps an unintelligible jargon, which was believed to come from divine inspiration, and constituted one of their modes of prophecy. The practice of inflicting gashes on…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. 28-29shouted … cut themselves … raving: This behavior was typical in ancient pagan religions, but their actions received no response. There is only one true God (Deuteronomy 4:35; 6:4; Isaiah 44:8), and all other hopes will fail (Isaiah 45:22).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 18:28

• Ahab
• Carmel
• Elijah
• Idol
• Idolatry
• Knife
• Prayer
• Revivals

In the dictionaries

• Ahab
• Answer
• Baal
• Carmel
• Cut
• Either
• Follow
• Halt
• Lord
• Quotations

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