1 Kings 20:28

1 Kings 20:28 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
• New International Version (NIV)The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And a man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, "Thus says the Lord, 'Because the Syrians have said, "The Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys," therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.'"
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then a man of God came and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys,” therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”

Context of 1 Kings 20:28

26The next spring, King Ben-Hadad brought together the men for his army. The Syrian army marched to Aphek to fight against the Israelites. 27King Ahab brought together the Israelite army and he gave them food and weapons. Then they marched out to fight against the Syrian army. The Israelite soldiers stood there in two groups. They looked like two small groups of goats! The Syrian soldiers were so many that they covered all the land around. God's servant, the prophet, went to the king of Israel. He said to the king, ‘This is what the Lord says: “The Syrians think that the Lord is a god who lives only in the hills. They think that he has no authority in the valleys. But I will give you power over all their great army. Then you will know that I am the Lord” ’ 29For seven days, the two armies stayed in their camps where they could see each other. On the seventh day, the battle started. The Israelites killed 100,000 Syrian soldiers on that one day. 30The other soldiers ran back to Aphek. When they went into the city, the city wall fell on 27,000 of them. King Ben-Hadad also ran into the city. He hid in a room at the back of a house.

1 Kings 20:28 word by word

וַיִּגַּ֞שׁ אִ֣ישׁ הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים וַיֹּאמֶר֮ אֶל־מֶ֣לֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ וַיֹּ֜אמֶר כֹּֽה־אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֗ה יַ֠עַן אֲשֶׁ֨ר אָמְר֤וּ אֲרָם֙ אֱלֹהֵ֤י הָרִים֙ יְהוָ֔ה וְלֹֽא־אֱלֹהֵ֥י עֲמָקִ֖ים ה֑וּא וְ֠נָתַתִּי אֶת־כָּל־הֶהָמ֨וֹן הַגָּ֤דוֹל הַזֶּה֙ בְּיָדֶ֔ךָ וִֽידַעְתֶּ֖ם כִּֽי־אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And there cameנָגַשׁnâgash · to approach: approachH5066
• a manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• and spakeאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• Because the Syriansאֲרָם'ărâm · SyriaH758
• of the hillsהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
• of the valleysעֵ֫מֶק‛êmeq · valleyH6010
• therefore will I deliverנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• all this greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• multitudeהָמוֹןhâmôn hâmôn · crowdH1995
• into thine handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• and ye shall knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045

Cross-references for 1 Kings 20:28

• Psalms 18:25Lord, if people are faithful to you, then you are faithful to them. If people do nothing that is bad, they can trust you to do nothing bad to them.
• Isaiah 24:18Anyone who runs away from the sound of the terror will fall into the deep hole. The trap will catch anyone who climbs out of the big hole. God has opened the windows of the sky. He has caused the foundations of the earth to shake.
• Jeremiah 48:44Anyone who runs away from danger, will fall into a deep hole. And a trap will catch anyone who climbs out of the deep hole. Yes, the time will soon come when I will punish Moab's people.
• Amos 2:14You might try to run away. But nobody will get free. Even the fastest runner will not get free. The strong people will not be strong enough to stop me. The soldiers will not be able to save their lives.
• Amos 5:19Nobody will escape! It will be like a man who runs away from a lion, but then he meets a bear! When he goes into his house to be safe, he puts his hand on a wall and a snake bites him!
• Amos 9:3They might try to hide on the top of Mount Carmel. But I will find them and I will take them from there. They might try to hide from me deep down in the sea. But I will command the great sea snake to bite them.
• Luke 13:4And you remember what happened to those 18 people in Siloam. A high building fell down and it killed them. Perhaps you think that they had done more bad things than the other people in Jerusalem.
• 1 Kings 20:10Then Ben-Hadad sent men with another message to Ahab. He said, ‘I promise that my soldiers will completely destroy Samaria! There will be nothing left! There will not even be enough dirt to fill the hands of each of my soldiers. I pray that the gods will punish me very much if that does not happen!’
• Daniel 4:37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise the King of heaven as a great God. He always does what is right and fair. When people are proud, he can cause them to become humble.
• 1 Kings 22:25Micaiah answered him, ‘One day, you will know which of us has spoken the truth. That will be the day that you go to hide in a room at the back of a house.’
• 2 Chronicles 18:24Micaiah answered him, ‘One day, you will know which of us has spoken the truth. That will be the day that you go to hide in a room at the back of a house.’

Commentaries on 1 Kings 20:28

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28Because the Syrians have said - God resents their blasphemy, and is determined to punish it. They shall now be discomfited in such a way as to show that God's power is every where, and that the multitude of a host is nothing against him.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 28A man of God - Evidently not the prophet who had spoken to Ahab the year before 1 Kings 20:13, 1 Kings 20:22. He probably dwelt in the neighborhood of Samaria. Now that Ahab and his army had marched out into the Trans-Jordanic territory, another prophet, a native probably of that region, announced God‘s will to them.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-30Verses 22-30 Those about Benhadad advised him to change his ground. They take it for granted that it was not Israel, but Israel's gods, that beat them; but they speak very ignorantly of Jehovah. They supposed that Israel had many gods, to whom they ascribed limited power within a certain district; thus vain were the Gentiles in their imaginations concerning God. The greatest wisdom in worldly concerns is often united with the most contemptible folly in…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 27-30Even though the Arameans had more soldiers, Israel won a great victory with God's help. Everyone learned that "nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37; see Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27). When God supports you, the enemy will retreat (Psalm 56:9) and suffer heavy losses (Deuteronomy 32:30–31; 2 Kings 19:32–36). Israel could face their enemies without fear (Psalms 3:6; 27:1–3). God's promise to Israel through the prophet showed that this battle was for both…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 20:28

• Aphek
• Infidelity
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Presumption
• Prophecy
• War

In the dictionaries

• God
• Israel
• man of God
• Ahab
• Mark
• Benhadad
• Israel, Kingdom of
• Pentateuch
• Joash
• I am Yahweh

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