New English Translation
1 Kings 20:8
8All the leaders and people said to him, “Do not give in or agree to his demands.”
1 Kings 20:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.
- New International Version (NIV)The elders and the people all answered, “Don’t listen to him or agree to his demands.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And all the elders and all the people said to him, "Do not listen or consent."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen or consent.”
Context of 1 Kings 20:8
6But now at this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you and they will search through your palace and your servants’ houses. They will carry away all your valuables.” 7The king of Israel summoned all the leaders of the land and said, “Notice how this man is looking for trouble. Indeed, he demanded my wives, sons, silver, and gold, and I did not resist him.” All the leaders and people said to him, “Do not give in or agree to his demands.” 9So he said to the messengers of Ben Hadad, “Say this to my master, the king, ‘I will give you everything you demanded at first from your servant, but I am unable to agree to this latest demand.’” So the messengers went back and gave their report. 10Ben Hadad sent another message to him, “May the gods judge me severely if there is enough dirt left in Samaria for my soldiers to scoop up in their hands.”
Read all of 1 Kings 201 Kings 20:8 word by word
וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ אֵלָ֛יו כָּל־הַזְּקֵנִ֖ים וְכָל־הָעָ֑ם אַל־תִּשְׁמַ֖ע וְל֥וֹא תֹאבֶֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Kings 20:8
- 1 Kings 19:2Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this warning, “May the gods judge me severely if by this time tomorrow I do not take your life as you did theirs!”
- Acts 23:12When morning came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul.
- 2 Samuel 17:12We will come against him wherever he happens to be found. We will descend on him like the dew falls on the ground. Neither he nor any of the men who are with him will be spared alive – not one of them!
- 2 Kings 19:23Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, ‘With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars, and its best evergreens. I invaded its most remote regions, its thickest woods.
- Isaiah 10:13For he says: “By my strong hand I have accomplished this, by my strategy that I devised. I invaded the territory of nations, and looted their storehouses. Like a mighty conqueror, I brought down rulers.
- Isaiah 37:24Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, ‘With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best evergreens. I invaded its most remote regions, its thickest woods.
- Exodus 11:8All these your servants will come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you,’ and after that I will go out.” Then Moses went out from Pharaoh in great anger.
- Judges 4:10Barak summoned men from Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. Ten thousand men followed him; Deborah went up with him as well.
Commentaries on 1 Kings 20:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Hearken not unto him - The elders had every thing at stake, and they chose rather to make a desperate defense than tamely to yield to such degrading and ruinous conditions.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8“The people” had no distinct place in the ordinary Jewish or Israelite constitution; but they were accustomed to signify their approbation or disapprobation of the decisions of the elders by acclamations or complaints (Joshua 9:18; Judges 11:11, etc.).Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-9When Ben-hadad's second group made even bigger demands (see 1 Samuel 11:1–2), Ahab realized Ben-hadad wanted war. Ahab agreed to the first demand but refused the second. my lord the king: Ahab spoke to Ben-hadad politely, showing he was willing to accept the Aramean king's rule. He might have hoped his polite response would prevent a fight.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-122-12. Thus said Ben-hadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine--To this message sent him during the siege, Ahab returned a tame and submissive answer, probably thinking it meant no more than an exaction of tribute. But the demand was repeated with greater insolence; and yet, from the abject character of Ahab, there is reason to believe he would have yielded to this arrogant claim also, had not the voice of his subjects been raised against it. Ben-hadad's…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 20:8
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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries