So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together to Mount Carmel.
Parallel translations
- KJV So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
- BSB So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.
- NKJV So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel.
- NASB So Ahab sent orders among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel.
- NLT So Ahab summoned all the people of Israel and the prophets to Mount Carmel.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Ahab summons all Israel and the false prophets to Mount Carmel as Elijah directed. The great assembly gathers for the contest.
Overview
Ahab's compliance shows that even a hostile king must yield to the word spoken through God's prophet. The gathering of the whole nation sets the stage for a decisive, public demonstration. God arranges circumstances so that His self-revelation will be seen by all and leave no excuse for continued idolatry.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- 1 Kgs 22:9Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, “Quickly get Micaiah the son of Imlah.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 18:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.