EasyEnglish Bible 2018
1 Kings 3:26
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!’
1 Kings 3:26 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.
- New International Version (NIV)The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, "Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death." But the other said, "He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.”
Context of 1 Kings 3:26
24So the king said, ‘Bring a sword to me!’ So they brought a sword to the king. 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.’ Then 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.’ 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.
Read all of 1 Kings 31 Kings 3:26 word by word
וַתֹּ֣אמֶר הָאִשָּׁה֩ אֲשֶׁר־בְּנָ֨הּ הַחַ֜י אֶל־הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ כִּֽי־נִכְמְר֣וּ רַחֲמֶיהָ֮ עַל־בְּנָהּ֒ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר׀ בִּ֣י אֲדֹנִ֗י תְּנוּ־לָהּ֙ אֶת־הַיָּל֣וּד הַחַ֔י וְהָמֵ֖ת אַל־תְּמִיתֻ֑הוּ וְזֹ֣את אֹמֶ֗רֶת גַּם־לִ֥י גַם־לָ֛ךְ לֹ֥א יִהְיֶ֖ה גְּזֹֽרוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then spakeאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
- whose the livingחַיchay · aliveH2416
- childבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- unto the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- for her bowelsרַחֲמִיםracham · compassionH7356
- yearnedכָּמַרkâmar · to grow warmH3648
- Oבִּיbîy · pleaseH994
- my lordאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
- giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- childיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
- and in no wiseמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- divideגָּזַרgâzar · to cutH1504
Cross-references for 1 Kings 3:26
- Genesis 43:30Joseph loved Benjamin very much. He quickly went out of the room because he wanted to weep. Joseph went into his own room and he wept there.
- Isaiah 49:15The Lord replies, ‘Can a mother forget the baby who drinks milk at her breast? Can she refuse to be kind to the child that she has given birth to? Perhaps those mothers might forget their children. But I would not ever forget you, Zion.
- Jeremiah 31:20But Israel's people are my own dear children. I still love them, even when I have to speak against them. I can never forget them. I only want to help them. I will certainly be kind to them.’ That is what the Lord says.
- Hosea 11:8Israel, I cannot leave you alone. I cannot let you belong to someone else. I cannot destroy you, as I did to Admah and Zeboiim. I now realize that I love you too much. I could never destroy you completely.
- Philippians 1:8God knows that I very much want to be with all of you. I love you very much, just like Christ Jesus himself loves you.
- Philippians 2:1You belong to Christ, and he makes you brave. His love makes you strong. You are able to help one another because his Spirit is in you. You can be kind to each other, and you can forgive each other.
- 1 John 3:17When another believer has trouble, we need to be kind to him. Maybe you have all the things that you need to live. If you see another believer who needs things like that, you should help him. If you refuse to be kind to him, it shows that you do not belong to God. You do not love people in the way that God loves them.
- Psalms 39:3It was like a fire inside me! As I thought more about it, I just had to say something! So I said this:
- Romans 1:31They do not understand what is right. They do not do what they have promised to do. They do not love anyone and they are not kind to anyone.
- 2 Timothy 3:3They will not be kind to other people, but they will like to quarrel. They will tell lies to hurt other people. They will be unable to control themselves properly. They will be cruel and they will hate anything that is good.
Commentaries on 1 Kings 3:26
- 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 3:26
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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