1 Kings 20:32

1 Kings 20:32 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben–hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So they tied sackcloth around their waists and put ropes on their heads and went to the king of Israel and said, "Your servant Ben-hadad says, 'Please, let me live.'" And he said, "Does he still live? He is my brother."
• New King James Version (NKJV)So they wore sackcloth around their waists and put ropes around their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’ ” And he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)So they put on burlap and ropes, and they went to the king of Israel and begged, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please let me live!’” The king of Israel responded, “Is he still alive? He is my brother!”

Context of 1 Kings 20:32

30The rest of them escaped to the city of Aphek, where the wall collapsed on twenty-seven thousand of them. And Ben-Hadad fled to the city and hid in an inner room. 31His officials said to him, “Look, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Let us go to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.” Wearing sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-Hadad says: ‘Please let me live.’ ” The king answered, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.” 33The men took this as a good sign and were quick to pick up his word. “Yes, your brother Ben-Hadad!” they said. “Go and get him,” the king said. When Ben-Hadad came out, Ahab had him come up into his chariot. 34“I will return the cities my father took from your father,” Ben-Hadad offered. “You may set up your own market areas in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” Ahab said, “On the basis of a treaty I will set you free.” So he made a treaty with him, and let him go.

1 Kings 20:32 word by word

וַיַּחְגְּרוּ֩ שַׂקִּ֨ים בְּמָתְנֵיהֶ֜ם וַחֲבָלִ֣ים בְּרָאשֵׁיהֶ֗ם וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ אֶל־מֶ֣לֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ עַבְדְּךָ֧ בֶן־הֲדַ֛ד אָמַ֖ר תְּחִֽי־נָ֣א נַפְשִׁ֑י וַיֹּ֛אמֶר הַעוֹדֶ֥נּוּ חַ֖י אָחִ֥י הֽוּא׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• So they girdedחָגַרchâgar · to girdH2296
• sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
• on their loinsמׇתְנַ֫יִםmôthen · loinH4975
• ropesחֶ֫בֶלchebel chêbel · cordH2256
• on their headsרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• and cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Thy servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• Ben–hadadבֶּן־הֲדַדben-hădad · Ben-hadadH1130
• I pray thee, let me liveנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
• I pray thee, let me liveחָיָהchâyâh · to liveH2421
• he yet aliveחַיchay · aliveH2416
• my brotherאָח'âch · brother: compatriotH251

Cross-references for 1 Kings 20:32

• 1 Kings 15:20Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. He conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maakah and all Kinnereth in addition to Naphtali.
• 2 Chronicles 16:4Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim and all the store cities of Naphtali.
• 1 Kings 20:42He said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have set free a man I had determined should die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.’ ”
• 1 Kings 22:31Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”
• 2 Chronicles 18:30Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”
• Isaiah 8:12“Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.
• Isaiah 26:10But when grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the Lord.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 20:32

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 32Thy servant Ben-hadad - See the vicissitude of human affairs! A little before he was the haughtiest of all tyrants, and Ahab calls him his lord; now, so much is he humbled, that he will be glad to be reputed Ahab's slave!Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 32Ben-hadad is now as humble as Ahab had been a year before 1 Kings 20:9. He professes himself the mere “slave” of his conqueror.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 31-43Verses 31-43 This encouragement sinners have to repent and humble themselves before God; Have we not heard, that the God of Israel is a merciful God? Have we not found him so? That is gospel repentance, which flows from an apprehension of the mercy of God, in Christ; there is forgiveness with him. What a change is here! The most haughty in prosperity often are most abject in adversity; an evil spirit will thus affect a man in both these conditions. There…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 32-33my brother: Ahab spoke to Ben-hadad in a polite way, showing respect for the Aramean king's authority and Ahab's wish for good relations. Ahab invited Ben-hadad into his chariot to warmly welcome him and to show that he should see Ahab as his equal. In the ancient Near East, kings spoke to each other as brothers to express friendship, good relations, or formal equality.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 32-3432-34. put ropes on their heads--Captives were dragged by ropes round their necks in companies, as is depicted on the monuments of Egypt. Their voluntary attitude and language of submission flattered the pride of Ahab, who, little concerned about the dishonor done to the God of Israel by the Syrian king, and thinking of nothing but victory, paraded his clemency, called the vanquished king "his brother," invited him to sit in the royal chariot, and…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 20:32

• Cord
• Diplomacy
• Kindness
• Magnanimity
• Rope
• Sackcloth

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Ahab
• Captive
• Mark
• Alliance
• Benhadad
• Dress
• Israel, Kingdom of
• Loins

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