1 Kings 18:28 (DBY)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

1 Kings 18:26 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.

1 Kings 18:27 And it came to pass at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, Cry aloud; for he is a god; for he is meditating, or gone aside, or he is on a journey; perhaps he sleeps, and will awake.

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

1 Kings 18:29 And it came to pass when midday was past, that they prophesied until the [time] of the offering up of the oblation; but there was neither voice, nor any that answered, nor any attention.

1 Kings 18:30 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "cried", "aloud", "themselves", "after", "manner", "swords", "spears", 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.