1 Kings 18:21

New Century Version

Elijah approached the people and said, "How long will you not decide between two choices? If the Lord is the true God, follow him, but if Baal is the true God, follow him!" But the people said nothing.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
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, follow him.” But the people didn’t answer him a word.

Hebrew Names Version
Eliyah came near to all the people, and said, How long go you limping between the two sides? if the LORD is God, follow him; but if Ba`al, then follow him. The people answered him not a word.

King James Version
And 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.

English Standard Version
And Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." And the people did not answer him a word.

New English Translation
Elijah approached all the people and said, "How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? If the Lord is the true God, then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!" But the people did not say a word.

Amplified Bible
Elijah approached all the people and said, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people [of Israel] did not answer him [so much as] a word.

New American Standard Bible
Then Elijah approached all the people and said, "How long are you going to struggle with the two choices? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him so much as a word.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Eliiah came vnto all the people, and said, How long halt ye betweene two opinions? If the Lord be God, followe him: but if Baal be he, then goe after him. And the people answered him not a worde.

Legacy Standard Bible
And Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you be limping between two opinions? If Yahweh is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word.

Contemporary English Version
Elijah stood in front of them and said, "How much longer will you try to have things both ways? If the Lord is God, worship him! But if Baal is God, worship him!" The people did not say a word.

Complete Jewish Bible
Eliyahu stepped forward before all the people and said, "How long are you going to jump back and forth between two positions? If Adonai is God, follow him; but if it's Ba‘al, follow him!" The people answered him not a word.

Darby Translation
Then Elijah drew near to all the people, and said, How long do ye halt between two opinions? if Jehovah be God, follow him; and if Baal, follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

Easy-to-Read Version
Elijah came to all the people and said, "You must decide what you are going to do. How long will you keep jumping from one side to the other? If the Lord is the true God, follow him. But if Baal is the true God, then follow him!" The people said nothing.

George Lamsa Translation
Then Elijah came near to all the people, and said, How long will you halt between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him, but if Baal is god, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

Good News Translation
Elijah went up to the people and said, "How much longer will it take you to make up your minds? If the Lord is God, worship him; but if Baal is God, worship him!" But the people didn't say a word.

Lexham English Bible
Elijah approached to all the people and said, "How long will you go limping over two opinions? If Yahweh is God, go after him; but if Baal, go after him." But the people did not answer him a word.

Literal Translation
And Elijah came near all the people and said, Until when are you limping over two opinions? If Jehovah is God, follow Him; and if Baal, follow him. But the people did not answer him a word.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then stepte Elias vnto all the people, & sayde: How longe halte ye on both ye sydes? Yf the LORDE be God, the walke after him: but yf Baal be he, the folowe him. And the people gaue him no answere.

American Standard Version
And Elijah came near unto all the people, and said, How long go ye limping between the two sides? if Jehovah be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

Bible in Basic English
And Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long will you go on balancing between two opinions? if the Lord is God, then give worship to him; but if Baal, give worship to him. And the people said not a word in answer.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Elias came vnto all the people, and said: how long halt ye betweene two opinions? If the Lorde be God, folowe him: but if Baal be he, then go after him. And the people aunswered him not one worde.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Elijah came near unto all the people, and said: 'How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.' And the people answered him not a word.

King James Version (1611)
And Eliiah came vnto all the people, and said, how long halt yee betweene two opinions? If the Lord bee God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him: and the people answered him not a word.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Eliu drew near to them all: and Eliu said to them, How long wilt ye halt on both feet? if the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him. And the people answered not a word.

English Revised Version
And Elijah came near 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.

Berean Standard Bible
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.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe Elie neiyede to al the puple of Israel, and seide, Hou long halten ye in to twey partis? If the Lord is God, sue ye hym; forsothe if Baal is God, sue ye hym. And the puple answeride not o word to hym.

Young's Literal Translation
and Elijah cometh nigh unto all the people, and saith, `Till when are ye leaping on the two branches? -- if Jehovah [is] God, go after Him; and if Baal, go after him;' and the people have not answered him a word.

Update Bible Version
And Elijah came near to all the people, and said, How long do you go limping between the two sides? if Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Elijah came to all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD [is] God, follow him: but if Baal, [then] follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

World English Bible
Elijah came near to all the people, and said, How long go you limping between the two sides? if Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. The people answered him not a word.

New King James Version
And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people answered him not a word.

New Living Translation
Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, "How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!" But the people were completely silent.

New Life Bible
Elijah came near all the people and said, "How long will you be divided between two ways of thinking? If the Lord is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, then follow him." But the people did not answer him a word.

New Revised Standard
Elijah then came near to all the people, and said, "How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." The people did not answer him a word.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Elijah drew near unto all the people, and said - How long are ye limping on the two divided opinions? If, Yahweh, be GOD, follow, him, but, if, Baal, follow, him. But the people answered him, not a word.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Elias coming to all the people, said: How long do you halt between two sides? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word.

Revised Standard Version
And Eli'jah came near to all the people, and said, "How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Ba'al, then follow him." And the people did not answer him a word.

THE MESSAGE
Elijah challenged the people: "How long are you going to sit on the fence? If God is the real God, follow him; if it's Baal, follow him. Make up your minds!" Nobody said a word; nobody made a move.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word.

Contextual Overview

²¹ Elijah approached the people and said, "How long will you not decide between two choices? If the Lord is the true God, follow him, but if Baal is the true God, follow him!" But the people said nothing. ²² Elijah said, "I am the only prophet of the Lord here, but there are four hundred fifty prophets of Baal. ²³ Bring two bulls. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull and kill it and cut it into pieces. Then let them put the meat on the wood, but they are not to set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull, putting the meat on the wood but not setting fire to it. ²⁴ You prophets of Baal, pray to your god, and I will pray to the Lord . The god who answers by setting fire to his wood is the true God." All the people agreed that this was a good idea. ²⁵ Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "There are many of you, so you go first. Choose a bull and prepare it. Pray to your god, but don't start the fire." ²⁶ So they took the bull that was given to them and prepared it. They prayed to Baal from morning until noon, shouting "Baal, answer us!" But there was no sound, and no one answered. They danced around the altar they had built. ²⁷ At noon Elijah began to make fun of them. "Pray louder!" he said. "If Baal really is a god, maybe he is thinking, or busy, or traveling! Maybe he is sleeping so you will have to wake him!" ²⁸ The prophets prayed louder, cutting themselves with swords and spears until their blood flowed, which was the way they worshiped. ²⁹ The afternoon passed, and the prophets continued to act like this until it was time for the evening sacrifice. But no voice was heard; Baal did not answer, and no one paid attention. ³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, "Now come to me." So they gathered around him, and Elijah rebuilt the altar of the Lord , which had been torn down.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

How long: Deuteronomy 4:35, 2 Kings 17:41, Zephaniah 1:5, Matthew 6:24, Luke 6:13, Romans 6:16-22, 1 Corinthians 10:21, 1 Corinthians 10:22, 2 Corinthians 6:14-16, Revelation 3:15, Revelation 3:16

opinions: or, thoughts

if the Lord: 1 Kings 18:39, Exodus 5:1, Exodus 5:2, Joshua 24:15, Joshua 24:23, Joshua 24:24, 1 Samuel 7:3, 1 Chronicles 17:26, 2 Chronicles 33:13, Psalms 100:3

answered: Genesis 24:50, Genesis 44:16, Job 40:4, Job 40:5, Matthew 22:12, Matthew 22:34, Matthew 22:36, Romans 3:19, Romans 6:21

Reciprocal: Exodus 10:3 - How long Numbers 16:6 - General Deuteronomy 6:4 - the Lord Judges 6:25 - even 1 Kings 18:36 - Lord God 1 Kings 22:28 - Hearken 2 Kings 17:33 - They feared 2 Kings 21:3 - he reared Psalms 50:1 - even Psalms 82:2 - How Psalms 118:27 - God Proverbs 28:4 - but Isaiah 43:9 - that they may Jeremiah 7:9 - and burn Hosea 7:8 - a cake Hosea 10:2 - Their heart is divided Hosea 12:10 - have also Matthew 27:17 - Whom Mark 7:14 - when John 10:24 - How John 10:27 - and they 2 Corinthians 6:15 - what concord 2 Corinthians 6:16 - what James 1:8 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 11:5
The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people had built.

Genesis 11:7
Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not be able to understand each other."

Genesis 18:1
Later, the Lord again appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre. Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day.

Genesis 18:24
What if there are fifty good people in that city? Will you still destroy it? Surely you will save the city for the fifty good people living there.

Exodus 3:8
and I have come down to save them from the Egyptians. I will bring them out of that land and lead them to a good land with lots of room—a fertile land. It is the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

Exodus 33:5
This was because the Lord had said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stubborn people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I would destroy you. So take off all your jewelry, and I will decide what to do with you.'"

Deuteronomy 8:2
Remember how the Lord your God has led you in the desert for these forty years, taking away your pride and testing you, because he wanted to know what was in your heart. He wanted to know if you would obey his commands.

Deuteronomy 13:3
But you must not listen to those prophets or dreamers. The Lord your God is testing you, to find out if you love him with your whole being.

Joshua 22:22
"The Lord is God of gods! The Lord is God of gods! God knows, and we want you to know also. If we have done something wrong, you may kill us.

Job 34:22
There is no dark place or deep shadow where those who do evil can hide from him.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Elijah came unto all the people,.... Assembled at Mount Carmel:

and said, how long halt ye between two opinions? sometimes inclining to the one, and sometimes to the other: as a lame man in walking, his body moves sometimes to one side, and sometimes to another; or "leap ye upon two branches" r, like a bird that leaps or hops from one branch to another, and never settles long; or rather it denotes the confusion of their thoughts, being like branches of trees twisted and implicated; thus upbraiding them with their inconstancy and fickleness; what their two opinions were, may be learnt from the next clause:

if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him; for there is but one God, one infinite, immense, and incomprehensible being; one that is omnipotent, all sufficient, good, and perfect; there cannot be more, and therefore but one to be followed, served, and worshipped:

and the people answered him not a word: through conviction and confusion, his reasoning being unanswerable; or not knowing which to choose at present; or fearing they should be drawn into a snare, should they name any; either incur the displeasure of the king, who was for Baal, or of the prophet, who was for the Lord, at whose word rain was withheld, and might be given, which they were desirous of.

r פסחים על שתי הסעפים "transilietis super duos ramoe, Malvenda; vos transilientes super ambos ramos", Piscator.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The people were mute. They could not but feel the logical force of Elijah’s argument; but they were not prepared at once to act upon it. They wished to unite the worship of Yahweh with that of Baal - to avoid breaking with the past and completely rejecting the old national worship, yet at the same time to have the enjoyment of the new rites, which were certainly sensuous, and probably impure.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 18:21. How long halt ye between two opinions? — Literally, "How long hop ye about upon two boughs?" This is a metaphor taken from birds hopping about from bough to bough, not knowing on which to settle. Perhaps the idea of limping through lameness should not be overlooked. They were halt, they could not walk uprightly; they dreaded Jehovah, and therefore could not totally abandon him; they feared the king and queen, and therefore thought they must embrace the religion of the state. Their conscience forbade them to do the former; their fear of man persuaded them to do the latter, but in neither were they heartily engaged; and at this juncture their minds seemed in equipoise, and they were waiting for a favourable opportunity to make their decision. Such an opportunity now, through the mercy of God, presented itself.