EasyEnglish Bible 2018
1 Kings 3:25
25Then the king commanded, ‘Cut the child who is alive into two pieces. Give one piece to one woman and the other piece to the other woman.’
1 Kings 3:25 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
- New International Version (NIV)He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.”
Context of 1 Kings 3:25
23Then the king said, ‘One of you says, “My son is alive and your son is dead.” But the other one says, “No! Your son is dead and my son is alive.” ’ 24So the king said, ‘Bring a sword to me!’ So they brought a sword to the king. Then the king commanded, ‘Cut the child who is alive into two pieces. Give one piece to one woman and the other piece to the other woman.’ 26Then the mother of the child who was alive spoke to the king. She loved her son very much. So she said to the king, ‘My lord, please do not kill the baby! Instead, give him to the other woman.’ But the other woman said, ‘Neither of us should have him. Cut him in two pieces!’ 27So King Solomon said, ‘Do not kill the child! Give him to the first woman. She is his mother.’
Read all of 1 Kings 31 Kings 3:25 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ גִּזְר֛וּ אֶת־הַיֶּ֥לֶד הַחַ֖י לִשְׁנָ֑יִם וּתְנ֤וּ אֶֽת־הַחֲצִי֙ לְאַחַ֔ת וְאֶֽת־הַחֲצִ֖י לְאֶחָֽת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Kings 3:25
- 1 Kings 3:28Everybody in Israel heard about what the king had decided. So they respected the king's authority. They realized that God had given him wisdom to judge fairly.
- Proverbs 25:8If you see something bad happen, do not quickly go and tell a judge. Your neighbour may show that you are wrong. Then you will be ashamed. You will not know what to do.
Commentaries on 1 Kings 3:25
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25Divide the living child in two - This was apparently a very strange decision, and such as nothing could vindicate had it been carried into execution; but Solomon saw that the only way to find out the real mother was by the affection and tenderness which she would necessarily show to her offspring. He plainly saw that the real mother would rather relinquish her claim to her child than see it hewn in pieces before her eyes, while it was probable the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-28Verses 16-28 An instance of Solomon's wisdom is given. Notice the difficulty of the case. To find out the true mother, he could not try which the child loved best, and therefore tried which loved the child best: the mother's sincerity will be tried, when the child is in danger. Let parents show their love to their children, especially by taking care of their souls, and snatching them as brands out of the burning. By this and other instances of the wisdom…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-28Solomon's decision about the true mother of the living baby shows his wisdom in legal matters. First Kings 4–10 show his wisdom in all parts of his rule.Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 3:25
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Kings 3
- 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
- EGW Writings
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