1 Kings 18:28 (KJV)

Passage

And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 18:26 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.

1 Kings 18:27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.

1 Kings 18:28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.

1 Kings 18:29 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.

1 Kings 18:30 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "cried", "aloud", "themselves", "after", "manner", "knives", "lancets", and "till". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "cried" and "aloud", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 27's "And it came to pass at noon..." into verse 29's "And it came to pass when midday...", so "cried" and "aloud" belong inside that flow. In 1 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "cried" and "aloud" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.