1 Kings 18:40 (DBY)

Passage

And Elijah said to them, Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape! And they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the torrent of Kishon, and slaughtered them there.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 18:38 And the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

1 Kings 18:39 And all the people saw [it], and they fell on their faces and said, Jehovah, he is God! Jehovah, he is God!

1 Kings 18:40 And Elijah said to them, Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape! And they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the torrent of Kishon, and slaughtered them there.

1 Kings 18:41 And Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.

1 Kings 18:42 And Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed down on the earth, and put his face between his knees.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "elijah", "said", "seize", "prophets", "baal", "escape", and "seized". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "elijah" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 39's "And all the people saw it and..." into verse 41's "And Elijah said to Ahab Go up...", so "elijah" and "said" 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 "elijah" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.