English Standard Version
1 Kings 20:18
18He said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive. Or if they have come out for war, take them alive."
1 Kings 20:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.
- New International Version (NIV)He said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them alive.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)So he said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; and if they have come out for war, take them alive.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Take them alive,” Ben-hadad commanded, “whether they have come for peace or for war.”
Context of 1 Kings 20:18
16And they went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings who helped him. 17The servants of the governors of the districts went out first. And Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, "Men are coming out from Samaria." He said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive. Or if they have come out for war, take them alive." 19So these went out of the city, the servants of the governors of the districts and the army that followed them. 20And each struck down his man. The Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them, but Ben-hadad king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen.
Read all of 1 Kings 201 Kings 20:18 word by word
וַיֹּ֛אמֶר אִם־לְשָׁל֥וֹם יָצָ֖אוּ תִּפְשׂ֣וּם חַיִּ֑ים וְאִ֧ם לְמִלְחָמָ֛ה יָצָ֖אוּ חַיִּ֥ים תִּפְשֽׂוּם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Kings 20:18
- 2 Samuel 2:16And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent's side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is at Gibeon.
- Ecclesiastes 9:11Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.
- Leviticus 26:8Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
- Judges 7:20Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!"
- 1 Samuel 14:13Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him.
- 2 Kings 7:6For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and of horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, "Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us."
- Psalms 33:16The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
- Psalms 46:6The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
- 1 Samuel 30:16And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
- 2 Kings 19:36Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh.
Commentaries on 1 Kings 20:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Take them alive - He was confident of victory. Do not slay them; bring them to me, they may give us some useful information.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-21Verses 12-21 The proud Syrians were beaten, and the despised Israelites were conquerors. The orders of the proud, drunken king disordered his troops, and prevented them from attacking the Israelites. Those that are most secure, are commonly least courageous. Ahab slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. God often makes one wicked man a scourge to another.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13-34Two separate battles took place, one in Samaria (1 Kings 20:13–25) and another at Aphek (1 Kings 20:26–34). The writer shared similar details for both: advice before the battle (1 Kings 20:13–14, 23–25), conditions before the battle (1 Kings 20:15–16, 26–28), Israel's victory despite being outnumbered (1 Kings 20:17–21, 29–30), and advice after the battle (1 Kings 20:22, 31).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-2113-21. behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab--Though the king and people of Israel had highly offended Him, God had not utterly cast them off. He still cherished designs of mercy towards them, and here, though unasked, gave them a signal proof of His interest in them, by a prophet's animating announcement that the Lord would that day deliver the mighty hosts of the enemy into his hand by means of a small, feeble, inadequate band. Conformably to the…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 20:18
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries