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Saturday, July 26th, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Easy-to-Read Version

1 Kings 18:30

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 Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Ahab;   Carmel;   High Places;   Prayer;   Revivals;   Thompson Chain Reference - Awakenings and Religious Reforms;   Awakenings, Religious;   Elijah;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Carmel;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Altar;   Carmel;   Prophecy, prophet;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Destroy, Destruction;   Miracle;   Offerings and Sacrifices;   Persecution;   Prayer;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Altar;   Hospitality;   Zeal;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - High Places;   Israel;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Altar;   Baal;   Cattle;   Elijah;   False Prophet;   False Worship;   Fertility Cult;   Gods, Pagan;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Mountain;   Prayer;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ahab;   Carmel;   Haggai;   Prophecy, Prophets;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Ahab ;   Baal, Baalim ;   Carmel ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Mount carmel;   Obadiah;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Carmel;   Elijah;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Car'mel;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Altar;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Carmel;   Elijah;   Repair;  

Devotionals:

- Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life - Devotion for July 25;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near me.” So all the people approached him. Then he repaired the Lord’s altar that had been torn down:
Hebrew Names Version
Eliyah said to all the people, Come near to me; and all the people came near to him. He repaired the altar of the LORD that was thrown down.
King James Version
And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
English Standard Version
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down.
New Century Version
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Now come to me." So they gathered around him, and Elijah rebuilt the altar of the Lord , which had been torn down.
New English Translation
Elijah then told all the people, "Approach me." So all the people approached him. He repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down.
Amplified Bible
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people approached him. And he repaired and rebuilt the [old] altar of the LORD that had been torn down [by Jezebel].
New American Standard Bible
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come forward to me." So all the people came forward to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD which had been torn down.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And Eliiah said vnto all the people, Come to me. And all the people came to him. And he repayred the altar of the Lorde that was broken downe.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of Yahweh which had been pulled down.
Contemporary English Version
Elijah told everyone to gather around him while he repaired the Lord 's altar.
Complete Jewish Bible
Then Eliyahu said to all the people, "Come here to me." All the people came up to him, as he set about repairing the altar of Adonai that had been broken down.
Darby Translation
Then Elijah said to all the people, Draw near to me. And all the people drew near to him. And he repaired the altar of Jehovah which was broken down.
George Lamsa Translation
And Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.
Good News Translation
Then Elijah said to the people, "Come closer to me," and they all gathered around him. He set about repairing the altar of the Lord which had been torn down.
Lexham English Bible
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me," so all the people came closer to him. He repaired the altar of Yahweh that had been destroyed.
Literal Translation
And Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near to him; and he healed the altar of Jehovah that had been broken down.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde Elias vnto all the people: Come hither all ye people vnto me. And whan all ye people came to him, he repayred ye altare of the LORDE yt was broken,
American Standard Version
And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me; and all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of Jehovah that was thrown down.
Bible in Basic English
Then Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me; and all the people came near. And he put up again the altar of the Lord which had been broken down.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Elias said vnto all the folke: Come to me. And all the people came to him: And he repaired the aulter of the Lord that was broken.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Elijah said unto all the people: 'Come near unto me'; and all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was thrown down.
King James Version (1611)
And Eliiah said vnto all the people, Come neere vnto me. And all the people came neere vnto him. And he repaired the Altar of the Lord that was broken downe.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Eliu said to the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near to him.
English Revised Version
And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me; and all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was thrown down.
Berean Standard Bible
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people approached him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Elie seide to al the puple, Come ye to me. And whanne the puple cam to him, he arrayede the auter of the Lord, that was distried.
Young's Literal Translation
And Elijah saith to all the people, `Come nigh unto me;' and all the people come nigh unto him, and he repaireth the altar of Jehovah that is broken down;
Update Bible Version
And Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me; and all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of Yahweh that was thrown down.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD [that was] broken down.
World English Bible
Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me; and all the people came near to him. He repaired the altar of Yahweh that was thrown down.
New King James Version
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.
New Living Translation
Then 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.
New Life Bible
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him. And he built again the altar of the Lord which had been torn down.
New Revised Standard
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come closer to me"; and all the people came closer to him. First he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down;
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Elijah unto all the people: Draw near unto, me. And all the people drew near unto, him. Then repaired he the broken-down altar of Yahweh; yea Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, -
Douay-Rheims Bible
Elias said to all the people: Come ye unto me. And the people coming near unto him, he repaired the altar of the Lord, that was broken down:
Revised Standard Version
Then Eli'jah said to all the people, "Come near to me"; and all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been thrown down;
THE MESSAGE
Then Elijah told the people, "Enough of that—it's my turn. Gather around." And they gathered. He then put the altar back together for by now it was in ruins. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes of Jacob, the same Jacob to whom God had said, "From now on your name is Israel." He built the stones into the altar in honor of God . Then Elijah dug a fairly wide trench around the altar. He laid firewood on the altar, cut up the ox, put it on the wood, and said, "Fill four buckets with water and drench both the ox and the firewood." Then he said, "Do it again," and they did it. Then he said, "Do it a third time," and they did it a third time. The altar was drenched and the trench was filled with water.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD which had been torn down.

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

he repaired: 1 Kings 19:10, 1 Kings 19:14, 2 Chronicles 33:16, Romans 11:3

the altar of the Lord: This altar of Jehovah was probably built in the time of the judges; and it was even known among the heathen by the name of the altar of Carmel. Both Tacitus and Suetonius mention an altar on mount Carmel, which Vespasian went to consult: there was no temple nor statue, but simply an altar, venerable for its antiquity.

Reciprocal: Leviticus 17:8 - that offereth Judges 13:19 - took 1 Samuel 6:14 - offered 1 Samuel 7:9 - a sucking 1 Samuel 7:17 - he built

Cross-References

Genesis 18:8
Abraham brought the meat and some milk and cheese and set them down in front of the three men. Then he stood near the men, ready to serve them while they sat under the tree and ate.
Genesis 18:9
Then the men said to Abraham, "Where is your wife Sarah?" Abraham said, "She is there, in the tent."
Genesis 18:11
Abraham and Sarah were very old. Sarah was past the right age for women to have children.
Genesis 18:16
Then the men got up to leave. They looked toward Sodom and began walking in that direction. Abraham walked with them to send them on their way.
Genesis 18:28
What if there are five less than fifty? Will you destroy a whole city because of just five people?" The Lord said, "If I find forty-five good people there, I will not destroy the city."
Genesis 18:29
Abraham spoke again. He said, "And if you find only forty good people there, will you destroy the city?" The Lord said, "If I find forty good people, I will not destroy the city."
Genesis 44:18
Then Judah went to Joseph and said, "Sir, please let me speak plainly with you. Please don't be angry with me. I know that you are like Pharaoh himself.
Judges 6:39
Then Gideon said to God, "Don't be angry with me. Let me ask just one more thing. Let me test you one more time with the sheepskin. This time let the sheepskin be dry, while the ground around it gets wet with dew."
Job 40:4
"I am not worthy to speak! What can I say to you? I cannot answer you! I will put my hand over my mouth.
Psalms 9:12
He punishes murderers and remembers those who are in need. When suffering people cry for help, he does not ignore them.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Elijah said unto all the people, come near unto me,.... And observe what I do, and what will be done at my request:

and all the people came near unto him; left the prophets of Baal to themselves, and took no more notice of them, but attended to what the prophet should say and do:

and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down; which had been set up when high places and altars were allowed of, while the tabernacle was unsettled, and the temple not built; this is supposed to have been erected in the times of the judges; though, according to a tradition of the Jews d, it was built by Saul, see 1 Samuel 15:12 but had been thrown down by the idolatrous Israelites, who demolished such as were erected to the name of the Lord everywhere, and built new ones for their idols, 1 Kings 19:10. Benjamin of Tudela e says, that on the top of Mount Carmel is now to be seen the place of the altar Elijah repaired, which is four cubits round.

d Jarchi & Kimchi in loc. e ltinerar. p. 37.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 30. He repaired the altar of the Lord — There had been an altar of Jehovah in that place, called, even among the heathens, the altar of Carmel, probably built in the time of the judges, or, as the rabbins imagine, by Saul. Tacitus and Suetonius mention an altar on Mount Carmel, which Vespasian went to consult; there was no temple nor statue, but simply an altar that was respectable for its antiquity. "Est Judaeam inter Syriamque Carmelus; ita vocant montem Deumque: nec simulachrum Deo, aut templum situm tradidere majores: aram tantum, et reverentiam." - TACIT. Hist. lib. ii., c. 78. A priest named Basilides officiated at that altar, and assured Vespasian that all his projects would be crowned with success.

Suetonius speaks to this purpose: "Apud Judaeam Carmeli Dei oraculum consulentem ita confirmavere sortes, ut quicquid cogitaret volveretque animo quamlibet magnum, id esse proventurum pollicerentur." SUET. in Vespas. cap. 5. The mount, the absence of a temple, no image, but a simple altar, very ancient, and which was held in reverence on account of the true answers which had been given there, prove that this was originally the altar of Jehovah: though in the time of Vespasian it seems to have been occupied by a heathen priest, and devoted to lying vanities.


 
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