1 Kings 20:40

1 Kings 20:40 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
• New International Version (NIV)While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.” “That is your sentence,” the king of Israel said. “You have pronounced it yourself.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone." The king of Israel said to him, "So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it."
• New King James Version (NKJV)While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” Then the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.”

Context of 1 Kings 20:40

38The prophet placed a bandage over his eyes to disguise himself and then waited beside the road for the king. 39As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Sir, I was in the thick of battle, and suddenly a man brought me a prisoner. He said, ‘Guard this man; if for any reason he gets away, you will either die or pay a fine of seventy-five pounds of silver!’ But while I was busy doing something else, the prisoner disappeared!” “Well, it’s your own fault,” the king replied. “You have brought the judgment on yourself.” 41Then the prophet quickly pulled the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 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 20:40 word by word

וַיְהִ֣י עַבְדְּךָ֗ עֹשֵׂ֥ה הֵ֛נָּה וָהֵ֖נָּה וְה֣וּא אֵינֶ֑נּוּ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֵלָ֧יו מֶֽלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל כֵּ֥ן מִשְׁפָּטֶ֖ךָ אַתָּ֥ה חָרָֽצְתָּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And as thy servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• was busyעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• here and there, he was goneאַ֫יִן'ayin · nothingH369
• And the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• thy judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justice: judgementH4941
• thyself hast decidedחָרַץchârats · to decideH2782

Cross-references for 1 Kings 20:40

• 1 Kings 20:34Ben-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 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!”
• 1 Samuel 15:9Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.
• 2 Kings 6:24Some time later, however, King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army and besieged Samaria.
• 2 Kings 8:12“What’s the matter, my lord?” Hazael asked him. Elisha replied, “I know the terrible things you will do to the people of Israel. You will burn their fortified cities, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women!”
• 2 Chronicles 18:33An Aramean soldier, however, randomly shot an arrow at the Israelite troops and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. “Turn the horses and get me out of here!” Ahab groaned to the driver of the chariot. “I’m badly wounded!”

Commentaries on 1 Kings 20:40

• 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. 35-43Ahab showed mercy to Ben-hadad, which displeased God. An unnamed prophet used symbolic actions to show this disapproval. God's prophets often used symbols to deliver his messages (Isaiah 20; Jeremiah 27:1–7; Ezekiel 4:1–3, 9–17; 5:1–4). By sparing an untrustworthy enemy, Ahab brought judgment on himself and his people instead of relying more on the Lord.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 20:40

• Parables
• Self-Condemnation
• Symbols and Similitudes

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Ahab
• Mark
• Micaiah
• Israel, Kingdom 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