Elijah said to them: Since the words of Elijah are imperative, it may be more appropriate to translate the verb said in this context as “commanded” (New International Version, New Living Translation) or “ordered” (Good News Translation).

They seized them: This expression may be subject to misunderstanding if one of the pronouns is not translated by a noun or noun phrase. Translators may say “they seized the prophets of Baal” or “the people arrested them.” New Century Version replaces both pronouns by translating “The people captured all the prophets.”

The brook Kishon flowed westward through the Esdraelon Plain and then toward the northwest through the narrow pass between Mount Carmel and the hills of Galilee.

Killed them: It is possible that Elijah himself killed the prophets of Baal (so New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible), but the sense may also be that he “had them killed.” Killed translates a Hebrew verb meaning “to slaughter,” and this verb is often used of slaughtering animals for sacrifice. Some translations say he “slaughtered them” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), but a better rendering may be “he slit their throats” (New American Bible, Peregrino, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). By killing all of the prophets of Baal, Elijah was acting in agreement with the law of Deut 13.12-18, which required the death of persons leading others to worship idols.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .