1 Kings 20:28

1 Kings 20:28 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
• New International Version (NIV)The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And a man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, "Thus says the Lord, 'Because the Syrians have said, "The Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys," therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.'"
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then 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.’ ”

Context of 1 Kings 20:28

26The following spring he called up the Aramean army and marched out against Israel, this time at Aphek. 27Israel then mustered its army, set up supply lines, and marched out for battle. But the Israelite army looked like two little flocks of goats in comparison to the vast Aramean forces that filled the countryside! Then the man of God went to the king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says: The Arameans have said, ‘The Lord is a god of the hills and not of the plains.’ So I will defeat this vast army for you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” 29The two armies camped opposite each other for seven days, and on the seventh day the battle began. The Israelites killed 100,000 Aramean foot soldiers in one day. 30The rest fled into the town of Aphek, but the wall fell on them and killed another 27,000. Ben-hadad fled into the town and hid in a secret room.

1 Kings 20:28 word by word

וַיִּגַּ֞שׁ אִ֣ישׁ הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים וַיֹּאמֶר֮ אֶל־מֶ֣לֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ וַיֹּ֜אמֶר כֹּֽה־אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֗ה יַ֠עַן אֲשֶׁ֨ר אָמְר֤וּ אֲרָם֙ אֱלֹהֵ֤י הָרִים֙ יְהוָ֔ה וְלֹֽא־אֱלֹהֵ֥י עֲמָקִ֖ים ה֑וּא וְ֠נָתַתִּי אֶת־כָּל־הֶהָמ֨וֹן הַגָּ֤דוֹל הַזֶּה֙ בְּיָדֶ֔ךָ וִֽידַעְתֶּ֖ם כִּֽי־אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And there cameנָגַשׁnâgash · to approach: approachH5066
• a manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• and spakeאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• Because the Syriansאֲרָם'ărâm · SyriaH758
• of the hillsהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
• of the valleysעֵ֫מֶק‛êmeq · valleyH6010
• therefore will I deliverנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• all this greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• multitudeהָמוֹןhâmôn hâmôn · crowdH1995
• into thine handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• and ye shall knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045

Cross-references for 1 Kings 20:28

• Psalms 18:25To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity.
• Isaiah 24:18Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap, and those who escape the trap will be caught in a snare. Destruction falls like rain from the heavens; the foundations of the earth shake.
• Jeremiah 48:44“Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap, and those who escape the trap will step into a snare. I will see to it that you do not get away, for the time of your judgment has come,” says the Lord.
• Amos 2:14Your fastest runners will not get away. The strongest among you will become weak. Even mighty warriors will be unable to save themselves.
• Amos 5:19In that day you will be like a man who runs from a lion— only to meet a bear. Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand against a wall in his house— and he’s bitten by a snake.
• Amos 9:3Even if they hide at the very top of Mount Carmel, I will search them out and capture them. Even if they hide at the bottom of the ocean, I will send the sea serpent after them to bite them.
• Luke 13:4And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem?
• 1 Kings 20:10Then Ben-hadad sent this message to Ahab: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if there remains enough dust from Samaria to provide even a handful for each of my soldiers.”
• Daniel 4:37“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.”
• 1 Kings 22:25And Micaiah replied, “You will find out soon enough when you are trying to hide in some secret room!”
• 2 Chronicles 18:24And Micaiah replied, “You will find out soon enough when you are trying to hide in some secret room!”

Commentaries on 1 Kings 20:28

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28Because the Syrians have said - God resents their blasphemy, and is determined to punish it. They shall now be discomfited in such a way as to show that God's power is every where, and that the multitude of a host is nothing against him.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 28A man of God - Evidently not the prophet who had spoken to Ahab the year before 1 Kings 20:13, 1 Kings 20:22. He probably dwelt in the neighborhood of Samaria. Now that Ahab and his army had marched out into the Trans-Jordanic territory, another prophet, a native probably of that region, announced God‘s will to them.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-30Verses 22-30 Those about Benhadad advised him to change his ground. They take it for granted that it was not Israel, but Israel's gods, that beat them; but they speak very ignorantly of Jehovah. They supposed that Israel had many gods, to whom they ascribed limited power within a certain district; thus vain were the Gentiles in their imaginations concerning God. The greatest wisdom in worldly concerns is often united with the most contemptible folly in…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 27-30Even though the Arameans had more soldiers, Israel won a great victory with God's help. Everyone learned that "nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37; see Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27). When God supports you, the enemy will retreat (Psalm 56:9) and suffer heavy losses (Deuteronomy 32:30–31; 2 Kings 19:32–36). Israel could face their enemies without fear (Psalms 3:6; 27:1–3). God's promise to Israel through the prophet showed that this battle was for both…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 27-3127-31. like two little flocks of kids--Goats are never seen in large flocks, or scattered, like sheep; and hence the two small but compact divisions of the Israelite force are compared to goats, not sheep. Humanly speaking, that little handful of men would have been overpowered by numbers. But a prophet was sent to the small Israelite army to announce the victory, in order to convince the Syrians that the God of Israel was omnipotent everywhere, in the…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 20:28

• Aphek
• Infidelity
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Presumption
• Prophecy
• War

In the dictionaries

• God
• Israel
• man of God
• Ahab
• Mark
• Benhadad
• Israel, Kingdom of
• Pentateuch
• Joash
• I am Yahweh

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