God’s Word Translation
1 Kings 20:18
18He said, “Take them alive, whether they have come out to make peace or to fight.”
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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)He said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive. Or 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.”
Context of 1 Kings 20:18
16They attacked at noon, when Benhadad was in his tent getting drunk with the 32 kings who were his allies. 17The young officers of the district governors went out first. Benhadad had sent men ⌞to watch the city⌟. They informed him that some men had come out of Samaria. He said, “Take them alive, whether they have come out to make peace or to fight.” 19The young officers of the district governors led an attack, and the troops followed them. 20Each officer killed his opponent. The Arameans fled, and Israel pursued them. King Benhadad of Aram escaped on a horse with the cavalry.
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 2:16Each one grabbed his opponent by the head, stuck his sword into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together. Therefore, that place in Gibeon is called the Field of Enemies.
- Ecclesiastes 9:11I saw something else under the sun. The race isn’t ⌞won⌟ by fast runners, or the battle by heroes. Wise people don’t necessarily have food. Intelligent people don’t necessarily have riches, and skilled people don’t necessarily receive special treatment. But time and unpredictable events overtake all of them.
- Leviticus 26:8Five of you will chase a hundred of them, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand of them. You will defeat your enemies,
- Judges 7:20The three companies also blew their rams’ horns and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hands and the rams’ horns in their right hands so that they could blow them. They shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”
- 1 Samuel 14:13Jonathan climbed up ⌞the cliff⌟, and his armorbearer followed him. Jonathan struck down the Philistines. His armorbearer, who was behind him, finished killing them.
- 2 Kings 7:6(The Lord had made the Aramean army hear what sounded like chariots, horses, and a large army. The Aramean soldiers said to one another, “The king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!”
- Psalms 33:16No king achieves a victory with a large army. No warrior rescues himself by his own great strength.
- Psalms 46:6Nations are in turmoil, and kingdoms topple. The earth melts at the sound of ⌞God’s⌟ voice.
- 1 Samuel 30:16The Egyptian led him ⌞to them⌟. They were spread out all over the land, eating, and drinking. They were celebrating because they had taken so much loot from Philistine territory and from the land of Judah.
- 2 Kings 19:36Then King Sennacherib of Assyria left. He went home to Nineveh and stayed there.
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries