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.
• New International Version (NIV)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.”
• 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.”

Context of 1 Kings 20:32

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. 31Ben-hadad’s officers said to him, “Sir, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. So let’s humble ourselves by wearing burlap around our waists and putting ropes on our heads, and surrender to the king of Israel. Then perhaps he will let you live.” 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!” 33The men took this as a good sign and quickly picked up on his words. “Yes,” they said, “your brother Ben-hadad!” “Go and get him,” the king of Israel told them. And when Ben-hadad arrived, Ahab invited him up into his chariot. 34Ben-hadad told him, “I will give back the towns my father took from your father, and you may establish places of trade in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” Then Ahab said, “I will release you under these conditions.” So they made a new treaty, and Ben-hadad was set free.

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 to King Asa’s request and sent the commanders of his army to attack the towns of Israel. They conquered the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Kinnereth, and all the land of Naphtali.
• 2 Chronicles 16:4Ben-hadad agreed to King Asa’s request and sent the commanders of his army to attack the towns of Israel. They conquered the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all the store cities in Naphtali.
• 1 Kings 20:42The prophet said to him, “This is what the Lord says: Because you have spared the man I said must be destroyed, now you must die in his place, and your people will die instead of his people.”
• 1 Kings 22:31Meanwhile, the king of Aram had issued these orders to his thirty-two chariot commanders: “Attack only the king of Israel. Don’t bother with anyone else!”
• 2 Chronicles 18:30Meanwhile, the king of Aram had issued these orders to his chariot commanders: “Attack only the king of Israel! Don’t bother with anyone else.”
• Isaiah 8:12“Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.
• Isaiah 26:10Your kindness to the wicked does not make them do good. Although others do right, the wicked keep doing wrong and take no notice of the Lord’s majesty.

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