1 Kings 3:27

1 Kings 3:27 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
• New International Version (NIV)Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then the king answered and said, "Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother."
• New King James Version (NKJV)So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.”

Context of 1 Kings 3:27

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.’ 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!’ So 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.

1 Kings 3:27 word by word

וַיַּ֨עַן הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ וַיֹּ֗אמֶר תְּנוּ־לָהּ֙ אֶת־הַיָּל֣וּד הַחַ֔י וְהָמֵ֖ת לֹ֣א תְמִיתֻ֑הוּ הִ֖יא אִמּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• answeredעָנָה‛ânâh · to answerH6030
• and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• her the livingחַיchay · aliveH2416
• childיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• and in no wiseמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• the motherאֵם'êm · motherH517

Commentaries on 1 Kings 3:27

• 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 3:27

• Arbitration
• Judge
• Parents
• Rulers
• Solomon
• Tact
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Affinity
• Divide
• Solomon
• Yearn
• Abishag
• Decision
• Israel, History of
• Kings, Books of
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Queen of Sheba

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