1 Kings 20:21

1 Kings 20:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
• New International Version (NIV)The king of Israel advanced and overpowered the horses and chariots and inflicted heavy losses on the Arameans.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and struck the Syrians with a great blow.
• New Living Translation (NLT)However, the king of Israel destroyed the other horses and chariots and slaughtered the Arameans.

Context of 1 Kings 20:21

19Then these young leaders of the provinces went out of the city with the army which followed them. 20And each one killed his man; so the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them; and Ben-Hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the cavalry. Then the king of Israel went out and attacked the horses and chariots, and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter. 22And the prophet came to the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself; take note, and see what you should do, for in the spring of the year the king of Syria will come up against you.” 23Then the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. Therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them in the plain, surely we will be stronger than they.

1 Kings 20:21 word by word

וַיֵּצֵא֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַיַּ֥ךְ אֶת־הַסּ֖וּס וְאֶת־הָרָ֑כֶב וְהִכָּ֥ה בַאֲרָ֖ם מַכָּ֥ה גְדוֹלָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• went outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• and smoteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• the horsesסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
• and chariotsרֶ֫כֶבrekeb · chariotH7393
• the Syriansאֲרָם'ărâm · SyriaH758
• with a greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• slaughterמַכָּהmakkâh makkeh · woundH4347

People and places in 1 Kings 20:21

• Israel
• Syria

Cross-references for 1 Kings 20:21

• 1 Kings 20:28Then a man of God came and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys,” therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”
• 1 Kings 14:23For they also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree.
• 1 Samuel 4:8Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.
• 2 Kings 19:12Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?
• 2 Chronicles 32:13Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands in any way able to deliver their lands out of my hand?
• Psalms 50:21These things you have done, and I kept silent; You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you, And set them in order before your eyes.
• Psalms 121:1I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help?
• Isaiah 42:8I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 20:21

• 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. 20-22Horses and chariots were important in ancient battles. Ahab's defeat of most of Ben-hadad's forces was crucial to prevent future attacks. However, God's prophet warned that the king of Aram would come back. in the spring: Late spring and early summer were common times for war in the ancient Near East. Armies could rely on good weather and grain from the early harvest.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 20:21

• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Prophecy

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Ahab
• Mark
• Samaria
• Benhadad
• Israel, Kingdom of
• Samaria, City of

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