Darby Bible
1 Kings 20:31
31And his servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will save thy life.
1 Kings 20:31 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life.
- New International Version (NIV)His officials said to him, “Look, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Let us go to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And his servants said to him, "Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then his servants said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please, let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.”
Context of 1 Kings 20:31
29And they encamped one over against the other seven days; and it came to pass that on the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel smote of the Syrians a hundred thousand footmen in one day. 30And the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men of them that were left. And Ben-Hadad fled, and came into the city, [from] chamber to chamber. And his servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will save thy life. 32And they girded sackcloth on their loins, and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-Hadad says, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother. 33And the men took it as a good omen, and hastened to catch what came from him, and they said, Thy brother Ben-Hadad. ...And he said, Go, bring him. And Ben-Hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
Read all of 1 Kings 201 Kings 20:31 word by word
וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֵלָיו֮ עֲבָדָיו֒ הִנֵּֽה־נָ֣א שָׁמַ֔עְנוּ כִּ֗י מַלְכֵי֙ בֵּ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל כִּֽי־מַלְכֵ֥י חֶ֖סֶד הֵ֑ם נָשִׂ֣ימָה נָּא֩ שַׂקִּ֨ים בְּמָתְנֵ֜ינוּ וַחֲבָלִ֣ים בְּרֹאשֵׁ֗נוּ וְנֵצֵא֙ אֶל־מֶ֣לֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אוּלַ֖י יְחַיֶּ֥ה אֶת־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃Read the interlinear
- servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
- Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- putשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
- sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
- loinsמׇתְנַ֫יִםmôthen · loinH4975
- ropesחֶ֫בֶלchebel chêbel · MahalabH2256
- headsרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
- goיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- perhapsאוּלַי'ûlay 'ûlay · perhapsH194
- lifeנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
People and places in 1 Kings 20:31
Cross-references for 1 Kings 20:31
- Proverbs 25:13As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, [so] is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.
- Luke 16:8And the lord praised the unrighteous steward because he had done prudently. For the sons of this world are, for their own generation, more prudent than the sons of light.
- 2 Kings 10:15And he departed thence, and found Jehonadab the son of Rechab [coming] to meet him; and he greeted him, and said to him, Is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab said, It is. — If it be, give [me] thy hand. — And he gave [him] his hand; and [Jehu] took him up to him into the chariot,
- Acts 8:31And he said, How should I then be able unless some one guide me? And he begged Philip to come up and sit with him.
Commentaries on 1 Kings 20:31
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31Put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads - Let us show ourselves humbled in the deepest manner, and let us put ropes about our necks, and go submitting to his mercy, and deprecating his wrath. The citizens of Calais are reported to have acted nearly in the same way when they surrendered their city to Edward III., king of England, in 1346. See at the end, 1 Kings 20:43; (note).Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 31And ropes upon our heads - “Ropes about our necks” is probably meant. They, as it were, put their lives at Ahab‘s disposal, who, if he pleased, might hang them at once.Read the comment
- 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. 31sackcloth … ropes: Ben-hadad's officers knew the kings of Israel were often merciful. They advised approaching Ahab with signs of humble repentance (Joel 1:13; Jonah 3:5–9) and submission (Job 12:18; Lamentations 1:14). Ancient Near Eastern art often shows captured enemies with ropes around their necks. Assyrian kings bragged about piercing the lips or cheeks of their captives with ropes.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 27-3127-31. like two little flocks of kids--Goats are never seen in large flocks, or scattered, like sheep; and hence the two small but compact divisions of the Israelite force are compared to goats, not sheep. Humanly speaking, that little handful of men would have been overpowered by numbers. But a prophet was sent to the small Israelite army to announce the victory, in order to convince the Syrians that the God of Israel was omnipotent everywhere, in the…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 20:31
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
Darby Bible — 1889 — Public Domain
Commentaries