1 Kings 20:27

1 Kings 20:27 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.
• New International Version (NIV)When the Israelites were also mustered and given provisions, they marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped opposite them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the people of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went against them. The people of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Syrians filled the country.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the children of Israel were mustered and given provisions, and they went against them. Now the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, while the Syrians filled the countryside.

Context of 1 Kings 20:27

25And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so. 26And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben–hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country. 28And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith Yhwh, Because the Syrians have said, Yhwh 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 Yhwh. 29And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day.

1 Kings 20:27 word by word

וּבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל הָתְפָּקְדוּ֙ וְכָלְכְּל֔וּ וַיֵּלְכ֖וּ לִקְרָאתָ֑ם וַיַּחֲנ֨וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל נֶגְדָּ֗ם כִּשְׁנֵי֙ חֲשִׂפֵ֣י עִזִּ֔ים וַאֲרָ֖ם מִלְא֥וּ אֶת־הָאָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear

• And the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• were numberedפָּקַדpâqad · to reckon: listH6485
• and were all presentכּוּלkûl · to sustainH3557
• and wentיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• againstקִרְאָהqir'âh · befallH7125
• pitchedחָנָהchânâh · to campH2583
• before them like twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• little flocksחָשִׂףchâώiph · little flockH2835
• of kidsעֵז‛êz · goatH5795
• but the Syriansאֲרָם'ărâm · SyriaH758
• filledמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390
• the countryאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776

Cross-references for 1 Kings 20:27

• Joshua 6:15And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times.
• 1 Samuel 17:16And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
• Psalms 10:16Yhwh is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.
• 2 Samuel 10:18And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their army, who died there.
• 2 Chronicles 13:17And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.
• 2 Chronicles 20:23For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
• 2 Chronicles 28:6For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; because they had forsaken Yhwh God of their fathers.
• Isaiah 37:36Then the angel of Yhwh went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 20:27

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 27Were all present - The marginal rendering is adopted by almost all critics. Like two little flocks of kids - The word translated “little flocks” does not occur elsewhere in Scripture. It seems to mean simply “flocks.” Compare the Septuagint, who render ̔́ ́ ́ ̓͂ hōsei duo poimnia aigōn f0.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 20:27

• Aphek
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Prophecy
• Self-Delusion

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Children of Israel
• Ahab
• Mark
• Benhadad
• Cattle
• Goat
• Israel, Kingdom of
• Joash

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