1 Kings 20:40

1 Kings 20:40 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
• New International Version (NIV)While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.” “That is your sentence,” the king of Israel said. “You have pronounced it yourself.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone." The king of Israel said to him, "So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it."
• New King James Version (NKJV)While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” Then the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.”

Context of 1 Kings 20:40

38Then the prophet went and waited for the king on the road. He disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39As the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant marched out into the middle of the battle. Suddenly, a man turned aside and brought someone to me and said, ‘Guard this man! If he is ever missing, it will be your life in place of his life, or you will weigh out seventy-five pounds of silver.’ But while your servant was busy here and there, he disappeared.” The king of Israel said to him, “That will be your sentence; you yourself have decided it.” 41He quickly removed the bandage from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets. 42The prophet said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you released from your hand the man I had set apart for destruction, it will be your life in place of his life and your people in place of his people.’”

1 Kings 20:40 word by word

וַיְהִ֣י עַבְדְּךָ֗ עֹשֵׂ֥ה הֵ֛נָּה וָהֵ֖נָּה וְה֣וּא אֵינֶ֑נּוּ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֵלָ֧יו מֶֽלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל כֵּ֥ן מִשְׁפָּטֶ֖ךָ אַתָּ֥ה חָרָֽצְתָּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And as thy servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• was busyעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• here and there, he was goneאַ֫יִן'ayin · nothingH369
• And the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• thy judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justice: judgementH4941
• thyself hast decidedחָרַץchârats · to decideH2782

Cross-references for 1 Kings 20:40

• 1 Kings 20:34Then Ben-hadad said to him, “I restore to you the cities that my father took from your father, and you may set up marketplaces for yourself in Damascus, like my father set up in Samaria.” Ahab responded, “On the basis of this treaty, I release you.” So he made a treaty with him and released him.
• 1 Kings 22:31Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone at all except the king of Israel.”
• 1 Samuel 15:9Saul and the troops spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and choice animals, as well as the young rams and the best of everything else. They were not willing to destroy them, but they did destroy all the worthless and unwanted things.
• 2 Kings 6:24Some time later, King Ben-hadad of Aram brought all his military units together and marched up and laid siege to Samaria.
• 2 Kings 8:12and Hazael asked, “Why is my lord weeping?” He replied, “Because I know the evil you will do to the people of Israel. You will set their fortresses on fire. You will kill their young men with the sword. You will dash their children to pieces. You will rip open their pregnant women.”
• 2 Chronicles 18:33But a man drew his bow without taking special aim and struck the king of Israel through the joints of his armor. So he said to the charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”

Commentaries on 1 Kings 20:40

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 31-43Verses 31-43 This encouragement sinners have to repent and humble themselves before God; Have we not heard, that the God of Israel is a merciful God? Have we not found him so? That is gospel repentance, which flows from an apprehension of the mercy of God, in Christ; there is forgiveness with him. What a change is here! The most haughty in prosperity often are most abject in adversity; an evil spirit will thus affect a man in both these conditions. There…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 35-43Ahab showed mercy to Ben-hadad, which displeased God. An unnamed prophet used symbolic actions to show this disapproval. God's prophets often used symbols to deliver his messages (Isaiah 20; Jeremiah 27:1–7; Ezekiel 4:1–3, 9–17; 5:1–4). By sparing an untrustworthy enemy, Ahab brought judgment on himself and his people instead of relying more on the Lord.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 20:40

• Parables
• Self-Condemnation
• Symbols and Similitudes

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Ahab
• Mark
• Micaiah
• Israel, Kingdom of

Commentaries on 1 Kings 20

• 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
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary