1 Kings 18:28 (WEB)

Passage

They cried aloud, and cut themselves in their way with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 18:26 They took the bull which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, “Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice, and nobody answered. They leaped about the altar which was made.

1 Kings 18:27 At noon, Elijah mocked them, and said, “Cry aloud; for he is a god. Either he is deep in thought, or he has gone somewhere, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he sleeps and must be awakened.”

1 Kings 18:28 They cried aloud, and cut themselves in their way with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them.

1 Kings 18:29 When midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the evening offering; but there was no voice, no answer, and nobody paid attention.

1 Kings 18:30 Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me!”; and all the people came near to him. He repaired Yahweh’s altar that had been thrown down.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "cried", "aloud", "themselves", "knives", "lances", "until", "blood", and "gushed". 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 "At noon Elijah mocked them and said..." into verse 29's "When midday was past they prophesied until...", 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.