Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Hear me, Yahweh, hear me, that this people may know that you, Yahweh, are God, and that you have turned their heart back again.”
- KJV Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
- NKJV Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”
- NASB Answer me, Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that You, Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back.”
- NLT O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”
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
Elijah prays that God would answer so the people would know He is God and that He is turning their hearts back. The goal is the nation's repentance.
Overview
Elijah's aim is not merely a miracle but the spiritual restoration of Israel's wayward hearts. He recognizes that only God can turn hearts back to Himself, a work of sovereign grace. This points forward to the gospel truth that genuine conversion is God's gift, drawing rebels back to the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Dan 9:17–19So now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of Your servant. For Your sake, O Lord, cause Your face to shine upon Your desolate sanctuary.
- Luke 1:16–17Many of the sons of Israel he will turn back to the Lord their God.
- Ezek 36:25–27I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- 1 Kgs 18:24Then you may call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people answered, “What you say is good.”
- Mal 4:5–6Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
- Luke 11:8I tell you, even though he will not get up to provide for him because of his friendship, yet because of the man’s persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
- Isa 37:17–20Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see. Listen to all the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God.
- 2 Chr 32:19–20They spoke against the God of Jerusalem as they had spoken against the gods of the peoples of the earth—the work of human hands.
- Gen 32:24So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
- 2 Chr 14:11Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You.”
- 1 Kgs 18:36At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command.
- Jer 31:18–19I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me severely, like an untrained calf. Restore me, that I may return, for You are the LORD my God.
- Gen 32:28Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”
- Gen 32:26Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
- 1 Kgs 18:29Midday passed, and they kept on raving until the time of the evening sacrifice. But there was no response; no one answered, no one paid attention.
- Jas 5:16–17Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 18:37 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
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