Bible Strands
1 Kings 18:39
When all the people saw this, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Israelite crowd observes the fire consume Elijah’s offering and the surrounding water, then prostrate themselves in direct response. (1 Kings 18:38–39)
The words — וַ/יִּפְּל֖וּ (va/i.yi.pe.Lu) means “and they fell,” coupled with עַל\־ פְּנֵי/הֶ֑ם (‘al- pe.nei-Hem), literally “on their faces,” denoting the physical posture of submission.
The thread — The crowd’s proclamation “The LORD, He is God!” directly answers the earlier challenge in 1 Kings 18:21 and mirrors the temple dedication response recorded in 2 Chronicles 7:3.
Why it lands — The text records a public acknowledgment of divine authority following a visible sign, requiring the reader to cease religious hesitation and commit to the one who demonstrates power.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 18:24 Then 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.”
- 2 Chronicles 7:3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD: “For He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.”
- 1 Kings 18:21 Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word.
- Judges 13:20 When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground.
- 1 Chronicles 21:16 When David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem, David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.
- John 5:35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were willing for a season to bask in his light.
- Acts 2:37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
- Acts 4:16 “What shall we do with these men?” they asked. “It is clear to everyone living in Jerusalem that a remarkable miracle has occurred through them, and we cannot deny it.