1 Kings 21:27

1 Kings 21:27 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
• New International Version (NIV)When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning.

Context of 1 Kings 21:27

25There certainly was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife incited him. 26He acted very repulsively in following idols, in accordance with everything the Amorites had done, whom the Lord expelled [from the land] before the sons of Israel. Now when Ahab heard these words [of Elijah], he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly (mourning). 28Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29“Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil (catastrophe) in his lifetime, but in his son’s days I will bring evil upon his house.”

1 Kings 21:27 word by word

וַיְהִי֩ כִשְׁמֹ֨עַ אַחְאָ֜ב אֶת־הַדְּבָרִ֤ים הָאֵ֙לֶּה֙ וַיִּקְרַ֣ע בְּגָדָ֔יו וַיָּֽשֶׂם־שַׂ֥ק עַל־בְּשָׂר֖וֹ וַיָּצ֑וֹם וַיִּשְׁכַּ֣ב בַּשָּׂ֔ק וַיְהַלֵּ֖ךְ אַֽט׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it came to pass, when Ahabאַחְאָב'ach'âb 'echâb · AhabH256
• heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• those wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• that he rentקָרַעqâra‛ · to tearH7167
• his clothesבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
• and putשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
• sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
• upon his fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
• and fastedצוּםtsûm · to fastH6684
• and layשָׁכַבshâkab · to lie down: lay downH7901
• and wentהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• softlyאַט'aţ · softlyH328

Cross-references for 1 Kings 21:27

• Genesis 37:34So Jacob tore his clothes [in grief], put on sackcloth and mourned many days for his son.
• 2 Kings 6:30When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes—now he was still walking along on the wall—and the people looked [at him], and he had on sackcloth underneath [his royal robe] next to his skin.
• 2 Kings 18:37Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the [royal] household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph the secretary, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn [in grief and despair] and told him what the Rabshakeh had said.
• Jonah 3:6When word reached the king of Nineveh [of Jonah’s message from God], he rose from his throne, took off his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in the dust [in repentance].
• 2 Samuel 12:17The elders of his household stood by him [in the night] to lift him up from the ground, but he was unwilling [to get up] and would not eat food with them.
• Job 16:15I have sewed sackcloth over my skin [as a sign of mourning] And have defiled my horn (symbol of strength) in the dust.
• Isaiah 22:12Therefore in that day the Lord God of hosts called you to weeping, to mourning, To shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth [in humiliation].
• Isaiah 58:5Is a fast such as this what I have chosen, a day for a man to humble himself [with sorrow in his soul]? Is it only to bow down his head like a reed And to make sackcloth and ashes as a bed [pretending to have a repentant heart]? Do you call this a fast and a day pleasing to the Lord?
• Joel 1:13Clothe yourselves with sackcloth And lament (cry out in grief), O priests; Wail, O ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth [and pray without ceasing], O ministers of my God, For the grain offering and the drink offering Are withheld from the house of your God.
• Isaiah 38:15“What shall I say? For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it; I will wander aimlessly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 21:27

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 27He rent his clothes - He was penetrated with sorrow, and that evidently unfeigned. Put sackcloth upon his flesh - He humbled himself before God and man. And fasted - He afflicted his body for his soul's benefit. Lay in sackcloth - Gave the fullest proof that his repentance was real. And went softly - Walked barefooted; so the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic. The Vulgate has demisso capite, "with his head hanging down." Houbigant translates went groaning…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 27The repentance of Ahab resembles that of the Ninevites Jonah 3:5. It has the same outward signs - fasting and sackcloth - and it has much the same inward character. It springs, not from love, nor from hatred of sin, but from fear of the consequences of sin. It is thus, although sincere and real while it lasts, shallow and exceedingly short-lived. God, however, to mark His readiness to receive the sinner who turns to Him, accepted the imperfect offering…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-29Verses 17-29 Blessed Paul complains that he was sold under sin, Ro 7:14, as a poor captive against his will; but Ahab was willing, he sold himself to sin; of choice, and as his own act and deed, he loved the dominion of sin. Jezebel his wife stirred him up to do wickedly. Ahab is reproved, and his sin set before his eyes, by Elijah. That man's condition is very miserable, who has made the word of God his enemy; and very desperate, who reckons the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 27-29Ahab was a complicated person. He was rightly criticized for his evil actions, but he did repent when a prophet delivered a message of rebuke (1 Kings 21:27). Because Ahab repented, the Lord sent Elijah to delay the terrible punishment meant for Ahab and instead place it on his equally wicked sons (2 Kings 1:17; 9:24–26; 10:1–11).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 27-2927-29. Ahab ... rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly--He was not obdurate, like Jezebel. This terrible announcement made a deep impression on the king's heart, and led, for a while, to sincere repentance. Going softly, that is, barefoot, and with a pensive manner, within doors. He manifested all the external signs, conventional and natural, of the deepest sorrow. He was wretched, and so…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 21:27

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Elijah
• Fasting
• Repentance
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Ahab
• Abominably
• Blaspheme
• Dress
• Fast
• Lay
• Lick
• Provocation
• Stoning
• Witness

Commentaries on 1 Kings 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings