Christian Standard Bible
1 Kings 20:8
8All the elders and all the people said to him, “Don’t listen or agree.”
1 Kings 20:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.
- New International Version (NIV)The elders and the people all answered, “Don’t listen to him or agree to his demands.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And all the elders and all the people said to him, "Do not listen or consent."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen or consent.”
Context of 1 Kings 20:8
6But at this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your palace and your servants’ houses. They will lay their hands on and take away whatever is precious to you.’” 7Then the king of Israel called for all the elders of the land and said, “Recognize that this one is only looking for trouble, for he demanded my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, and I didn’t turn him down.” All the elders and all the people said to him, “Don’t listen or agree.” 9So he said to Ben-hadad’s messengers, “Say to my lord the king, ‘Everything you demanded of your servant the first time, I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’” So the messengers left and took word back to him. 10Then Ben-hadad sent messengers to him and said, “May the gods punish me and do so severely if Samaria’s dust amounts to a handful for each of the people who follow me.”
Read all of 1 Kings 201 Kings 20:8 word by word
וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ אֵלָ֛יו כָּל־הַזְּקֵנִ֖ים וְכָל־הָעָ֑ם אַל־תִּשְׁמַ֖ע וְל֥וֹא תֹאבֶֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Kings 20:8
- 1 Kings 19:2So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods punish me and do so severely if I don’t make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow!”
- Acts 23:12When it was morning, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
- 2 Samuel 17:12Then we will attack David wherever we find him, and we will descend on him like dew on the ground. Not even one will be left—neither he nor any of the men with him.
- 2 Kings 19:23You have mocked the Lord through your messengers. You have said, ‘With my many chariots I have gone up to the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars, its choice cypress trees. I came to its farthest outpost, its densest forest.
- Isaiah 10:13For he said: I have done this by my own strength and wisdom, for I am clever. I abolished the borders of nations and plundered their treasures; like a mighty warrior, I subjugated the inhabitants.
- Isaiah 37:24You have mocked the Lord through your servants. You have said, “With my many chariots I have gone up to the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars, its choice cypress trees. I came to its distant heights, its densest forest.
- Exodus 11:8All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Get out, you and all the people who follow you. After that, I will get out.” And he went out from Pharaoh’s presence fiercely angry.
- Judges 4:10Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.
Commentaries on 1 Kings 20:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Hearken not unto him - The elders had every thing at stake, and they chose rather to make a desperate defense than tamely to yield to such degrading and ruinous conditions.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8“The people” had no distinct place in the ordinary Jewish or Israelite constitution; but they were accustomed to signify their approbation or disapprobation of the decisions of the elders by acclamations or complaints (Joshua 9:18; Judges 11:11, etc.).Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-9When Ben-hadad's second group made even bigger demands (see 1 Samuel 11:1–2), Ahab realized Ben-hadad wanted war. Ahab agreed to the first demand but refused the second. my lord the king: Ahab spoke to Ben-hadad politely, showing he was willing to accept the Aramean king's rule. He might have hoped his polite response would prevent a fight.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-122-12. Thus said Ben-hadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine--To this message sent him during the siege, Ahab returned a tame and submissive answer, probably thinking it meant no more than an exaction of tribute. But the demand was repeated with greater insolence; and yet, from the abject character of Ahab, there is reason to believe he would have yielded to this arrogant claim also, had not the voice of his subjects been raised against it. Ben-hadad's…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 20:8
In the dictionaries
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
Christian Standard Bible — © 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Commentaries