1 Kings 4:20

1 Kings 4:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.
• New International Version (NIV)The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing.

Context of 1 Kings 4:20

18Ela's son Shimei had authority in Benjamin. 19Uri's son Geber had authority in Gilead. Gilead was the region where Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, had ruled. There was also one officer who had authority over the whole land. The people in Judah and Israel were too many to count. There were as many of them as the sand on the shore of the sea. They had enough to eat and to drink and they were happy. 21Solomon ruled over all the nations from the Euphrates river to the land of the Philistines, as far as Egypt's border. The people of these kingdoms paid taxes to Solomon. They served him all the days of his life. 22This is the food that Solomon and the people in his palace ate each day: 5,000 litres of flour. 10,000 litres of grain.

1 Kings 4:20 word by word

יְהוּדָ֤ה וְיִשְׂרָאֵל֙ רַבִּ֔ים כַּח֥וֹל אֲשֶׁר־עַל־הַיָּ֖ם לָרֹ֑ב אֹכְלִ֥ים וְשֹׁתִ֖ים וּשְׂמֵחִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• and Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• manyרַבrab · manyH7227
• as the sandחוֹלchôl · sandH2344
• by the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• in multitudeרֹבrôb · abundanceH7230
• eatingאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• and drinkingשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
• and making merryשָׂמֵחַώâmêach · gladH8056

Cross-references for 1 Kings 4:20

• 1 Kings 3:8I am here as your servant to lead the people that you have chosen for yourself. It is a great nation and it has too many people to count.
• Genesis 13:16I will make your descendants become very many. Like the dust of the ground, people will not be able to count them all.
• Genesis 15:5The Lord took Abram outside. He said to Abram, ‘Look up at the sky. Count the stars. They are too many for you to count!’ Then God said, ‘That is how many descendants you will have.’
• Genesis 22:17Because you have done this, I will bless you. I will make your descendants become so many that people cannot count them. They will be as many as the stars that are in the sky. They will be as many as the pieces of sand on the shore by the sea. Your descendants will win against their enemies and their enemies' cities.
• Proverbs 14:28A king who rules many people will receive great honour. But a ruler with only a few people will have nothing in the end.
• 1 Samuel 30:16So the Egyptian man took David to find the Amalekites. The men were sitting everywhere, all over the ground. They were having a party, eating and drinking. They were happy because they had taken so many things from the towns of the Philistines and from the people in Judah.
• 1 Chronicles 12:39The men stayed there with David for three days. Their relatives had prepared a lot of food for them. So they enjoyed a big feast together.
• Job 1:18That servant was still speaking, when a fourth servant arrived. He said to Job, ‘Your children were eating a feast at a party in the home of your oldest son.
• Psalms 72:3The mountains and the hills will bring peace, so that the people can live honest lives.
• Ecclesiastes 2:24So I decided what is best for us to do. We should be happy to eat and to drink. And we should enjoy our work. I realized that all these things are gifts from God.
• Isaiah 22:13But instead, you are happy and you dance! You kill cows and sheep for a feast! You eat lots of meat and you drink lots of wine. You say, ‘We will have a big feast today, because tomorrow we will be dead!’
• Micah 4:4Everyone will sit under his own vine and his own fig tree. Nobody will make them afraid any longer. The Lord Almighty has promised this.
• Zechariah 3:10“On that day”, says the Lord Almighty, “each of you will ask your friends to come. You will ask them to come and to sit under your own vines and fig trees.” ’
• Zechariah 9:15And the Lord Almighty will help his people. They will throw great stones at their enemies. When they go to war, they will shout loudly, like men who have drunk too much wine. They will be as full of joy as the priest's bowl is full of blood, when he pours it on the altar.
• Acts 2:46The whole group of believers met together every day in the yard of the temple. They shared their food and they ate meals together in each other's homes. They were very happy and they were honest with each other.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 4:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Eating and drinking, and making merry - They were very comfortable, very rich, very merry, and very corrupt. And this full feeding and dissipation led to a total corruption of manners.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20There is some doubt about the proper arrangement of the remainder of this chapter. The best alteration, if we alter the Hebrew order at all, would be to place 1 Kings 4:20-21 after 1 Kings 4:25. Many … - See 1 Kings 3:8 note; and compare Psalm 127:1-5, which is traditionally ascribed to Solomon, and which celebrates the populousness and security of Israel in his day.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-28Verses 20-28 Never did the crown of Israel shine so bright, as when Solomon wore it. He had peace on all sides. Herein, his kingdom was a type of the Messiah's; for to Him it is promised that he shall have the heathen for his inheritance, and that princes shall worship him. The spiritual peace, and joy, and holy security, of all the faithful subjects of the Lord Jesus, were typified by that of Israel. The kingdom of God is not, as Solomon's was, meat and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-21God promised Abraham land (Genesis 15:18–21; 17:8; 22:17). This promise came true with Solomon's blessing. The lands that David and Solomon (2 Chronicles 8:3) conquered stayed loyal to Solomon. They sent him tribute money and served him throughout his long reign.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 4:20

• Rulers
• Solomon
• Tax

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Judah
• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Region
• Solomon
• Abishag
• Deer
• Genealogy
• Horse
• Kings, Books of

Commentaries on 1 Kings 4

• 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