1 Kings 18:26 - Forerunner Commentary

1 Kings 18:26

24 Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who ^aanswers by fire, He is God.” So all the people answered and said,¹ “It is well spoken.”

25 Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”

26 So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was ^ano voice; no one answered. Then they² leaped about the altar which they had made.

27 And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry¹ aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.”

28 So they cried aloud, and ^acut themselves, as was their custom, with¹ knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them.

29 And when midday was past, ^athey prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was ^bno voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. ^aAnd he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.

31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, ^a“Israel shall be your name.”

32 Then with the stones he built an altar ^ain the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.

33 And he ^aput the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and ^bpour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.”

34 Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time.

35 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled ^athe trench with water.

36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord ^aGod of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, ^blet it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that ^cI have done all these things at Your word.

37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”

38 Then ^athe fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.

39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, ^a“The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”

40 And Elijah said to them, ^a“Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook ^bKishon and ^cexecuted them there.

The Drought Ends

41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”

42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; ^athen he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,

Verse Comparison: 1 Kings 18:26

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American Standard Version
And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped about the altar which was made.

Amplified® Bible
So they took the bull given them, dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, O Baal, hear {and} answer us! But there was no voice; no one answered. And they leaped upon {or} limped about the altar they had made.

Contemporary English Version
They chose their bull, then they got it ready and prayed to Baal all morning, asking him to start the fire. They danced around the altar and shouted, "Answer us, Baal!" But there was no answer.

Darby English Version
And they took the bullock which had been given them, and sacrificed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, O Baal, answer us! But there was no voice, and none answered. And they leaped about the altar that had been made.

Good News Bible
They took the bull that was brought to them, prepared it, and prayed to Baal until noon. They shouted, "Answer us, Baal!" and kept dancing around the altar they had built. But no answer came.

King James Version
And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.

New American Standard Bible
Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, "O Baal, answer us. But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made."

New International Version
So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

New King James Version
So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
Then they took the ox which they gave them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, "O Baal, answer us." But they could hear no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made.

Revised Standard Version
And they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Ba'al from morning until noon, saying, "O Ba'al, answer us!" But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped about the altar which they had made.

Young's Literal Translation
And they take the bullock that `one' gave to them, and prepare, and call in the name of Baal from the morning even till the noon, saying, `O Baal, answer us!' and there is no voice, and there is none answering; and they leap on the altar that one had made.

New English Translation
So they took a bull, as he had suggested,¹ and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us.” But there was no sound and no answer. They jumped² around on the altar they had made.³

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