And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.
Parallel translations
- WEB When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces. They said, “Yahweh, he is God! Yahweh, he is God!”
- BSB When all the people saw this, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
- NKJV Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”
- NASB When all the people saw this, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God!”
- NLT And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!”
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
Seeing the fire, all the people fall on their faces, confessing twice that Yahweh is God. The contest produces a clear verdict and confession.
Overview
The people's repeated cry, "Yahweh, he is God," is the climactic confession the whole event aimed at. Faced with undeniable evidence, the nation acknowledges the true God. Their response shows how God's self-revelation can break through unbelief and draw a wavering people to genuine worship.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Kgs 18:24And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
- 2 Chr 7:3And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
- 1 Kgs 18:21And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
- 1 Chr 21:16And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
- Acts 4:16Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.
- Judg 13:20For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
- John 5:35He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.
- Acts 2:37Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
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 18:39 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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