1 Kings 18:24

Easy-to-Read Version

Prophets of Baal, pray to your god, and I will pray to the Lord . Whichever god answers the prayer and starts the fire is the true God." All the people agreed that this was a good idea.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The God who answers with fire, he is God.”

Hebrew Names Version
Call you on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, let him be God. All the people answered, It is well spoken.

King James Version
And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord : and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.

English Standard Version
And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord , and the God who answers by fire, he is God." And all the people answered, "It is well spoken."

New Century Version
You prophets of Baal, pray to your god, and I will pray to the Lord . The god who answers by setting fire to his wood is the true God." All the people agreed that this was a good idea.

New English Translation
Then you will invoke the name of your god, and I will invoke the name of the Lord . The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God." All the people responded, "This will be a fair test."

Amplified Bible
"Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the god who answers by fire, He is God." And all the people answered, "It is well spoken."

New American Standard Bible
"Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God." And all the people replied, "That is a good idea."

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then call ye on the name of your god, & I will call on the name of the Lorde: and then the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered, and sayde, It is well spoken.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh, and the God who answers by fire, He is God." And all the people answered and said, "That is a good word."

Contemporary English Version
The prophets of Baal will pray to their god, and I will pray to the Lord . The one who answers by starting the fire is God. "That's a good idea," everyone agreed.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then, you, call on the name of your god; and I will call on the name of Adonai ; and the God who answers with fire, let him be God!" All the people answered, "Good idea! Agreed!"

Darby Translation
And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of Jehovah; and the god that answers by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, The word is good.

George Lamsa Translation
And you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD my God; and the God who answers by fire, he is God. And all the people answered and said, You have spoken well.

Good News Translation
Then let the prophets of Baal pray to their god, and I will pray to the Lord , and the one who answers by sending fire—he is God." The people shouted their approval.

Lexham English Bible
Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh, and it shall be that the god who answers by fire, he is God." Then all the people answered and said, "The word is good!"

Literal Translation
And you shall call on the name of your god; and I, I will call on the name of Jehovah; and it shall be, the god who answers by fire, he is the God. And all the people answered and said, The word is good.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
call ye then vpo the name of yor god, & I wil call vpo the name of the LORDE: loke which God now answereth with fyre, let the same be God. And all the people answered & sayde: That is righte.

American Standard Version
And call ye on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Jehovah; and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.

Bible in Basic English
And do you make prayers to your god, and I will make a prayer to the Lord: and it will be clear that the one who gives an answer by fire is God. And all the people in answer said, It is well said.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And call ye on the name of your gods, & I wyl call on the name of the Lorde: and then the God that aunswereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people aunswered and saide, It is wel spoken.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And call ye on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God.' And all the people answered and said: 'It is well spoken.'

King James Version (1611)
And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the Name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered, and said, It is well spoken.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And do ye call loudly on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord my God, and it shall come to pass that the God who shall answer by fire, he is God. And all the people answered and said, The word which thou hast spoken is good.

English Revised Version
And call ye on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.

Berean Standard Bible
Then you may call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers by fire, He is God." And all the people answered, "What you say is good."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Clepe ye the name of youre goddis, and Y schal clepe the name of my God; and the God that herith bi fier, be he God. And al the puple answeride, and seide, The resoun is best, `which resoun Elie spak.

Young's Literal Translation
and ye have called in the name of your god, and I -- I call in the name of Jehovah, and it hath been, the god who answereth by fire -- He [is] the God.' And all the people answer and say, `Good [is] the word.'

Update Bible Version
And you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh; and the God that answers by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.

Webster's Bible Translation
And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.

World English Bible
Call you on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh; and the God who answers by fire, let him be God. All the people answered, It is well spoken.

New King James Version
Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God." So all the people answered and said, "It is well spoken."

New Living Translation
Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord . The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God!" And all the people agreed.

New Life Bible
Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The God Who answers by fire, He is God." All the people answered and said, "That is a good idea."

New Revised Standard
Then you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the Lord ; the god who answers by fire is indeed God." All the people answered, "Well spoken!"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then shall ye call on the name of your god, and, I, will call on the name of Yahweh, and it shall be, the God that respondeth by fire, he, is GOD. And all the people responded - Well spoken!

Douay-Rheims Bible
Call ye on the names of your gods, and I will call on the name of my Lord: and the God that shall answer by fire, let him be God. And all the people answering, said: A very good proposal.

Revised Standard Version
And you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, he is God." And all the people answered, "It is well spoken."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, He is God." And all the people said, "That is a good idea."

Contextual Overview

²¹ Elijah came to all the people and said, "You must decide what you are going to do. How long will you keep jumping from one side to the other? If the Lord is the true God, follow him. But if Baal is the true God, then follow him!" The people said nothing. ²² So Elijah said, "I am the only prophet of the Lord here, but there are 450 prophets of Baal. ²³ So bring us two bulls. Let the prophets of Baal have one bull. Let them kill it, cut it into pieces, and then put the meat on the wood. But don't start the fire. I will do the same with the other bull, and I will not start the fire either. ²⁴ Prophets of Baal, pray to your god, and I will pray to the Lord . Whichever god answers the prayer and starts the fire is the true God." All the people agreed that this was a good idea. ²⁵ Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "There are many of you, so you go first. Choose a bull and prepare it, but don't start your fire." ²⁶ So the prophets took the bull that was given to them and prepared it. They started praying to Baal and prayed until noon. They said, "Baal, please answer us!" But there was no sound. No one answered. Then they began jumping around on the altar they had built. ²⁷ At noon Elijah began to make fun of them. He said, "If Baal really is a god, maybe you should pray louder! Maybe he is busy. Maybe he is thinking about something, or maybe he stepped out for a moment! He could be sleeping! Maybe you should pray louder and wake him up!" ²⁸ So the prophets prayed louder. They cut themselves with swords and spears. (This was the way they worshiped.) They cut themselves until they were bleeding all over. ²⁹ The afternoon passed but the fire still had not started. The prophets were out of control and continued to act this way until the time came for the evening sacrifice. But nothing happened—there was no answer from Baal. There was no sound. There was no one listening. ³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, "Now come here." So they gathered around Elijah. The Lord 's altar had been torn down, so Elijah repaired it.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

answereth by fire: 1 Kings 18:38, Leviticus 9:24, Judges 6:21, 1 Chronicles 21:26, 2 Chronicles 7:1, 2 Chronicles 7:3

and said: 2 Samuel 14:19

It is well spoken: Heb. the word is good, Isaiah 39:8

Reciprocal: Genesis 4:4 - had Genesis 4:26 - Enos 1 Kings 18:26 - no voice 1 Kings 18:37 - Hear me 1 Kings 18:39 - The Lord Psalms 108:6 - and answer me Jeremiah 27:18 - they

Cross-References

Genesis 18:13
Then the Lord said to Abraham, "Sarah laughed and said she was too old to have a baby.

Genesis 18:14
But is anything too hard for the Lord ? I will come again in the spring, just as I said I would, and your wife Sarah will have a son."

Genesis 18:32
Then Abraham said, "Lord, please don't be angry with me, but let me bother you this one last time. If you find ten good people there, what will you do?" The Lord said, "If I find ten good people in the city, I will not destroy it."

Isaiah 1:9
If the Lord All-Powerful had not allowed a few people to live, we would have been destroyed completely like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And that almost happened!

Jeremiah 5:1
The Lord says, "Walk the streets of Jerusalem. Look around and think about these things. Search the public squares of the city. See if you can find one good person, one who does honest things and who searches for the truth. If you find one good person, I will forgive Jerusalem.

Acts 27:24
The angel said, ‘Paul, don't be afraid! You must stand before Caesar. And God has given you this promise: He will save the lives of all those sailing with you.'

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And call ye on the name of your gods,.... The Baalim, the many lords and gods they served:

and I will call on the name of the Lord; the one true Jehovah and God of Israel, whom I serve:

and the God that answereth by fire; by causing fire to come down upon the sacrifice, and consume it:

let him be God; accounted, owned, and acknowledged as the true God, and so afterwards worshipped as such:

and all the people answered and said, it is well spoken; they thought it a very reasonable proposal, a very good method to determine the controversy, and come at the truth, and know who was the true God, and who not.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The God that answereth by fire - God had frequently before consumed offerings with supernatural fire Leviticus 9:24; Judges 6:21. The Baal-worshippers were no doubt in the habit of attributing thunder and lightning to their gods - the great Nature-power - and thus had no excuse for declining Elijah’s challenge.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 24. The God that answereth by fire — Elijah gave them every advantage when he granted that the God who answered by fire should be acknowledged as the true God; for as the Baal who was worshipped here was incontestably Apollo, or the sun, he was therefore the god of fire, and had only to work in his own element.