Tree of Life Version
1 Kings 20:18
18He said, “Whether they are coming out for peace, take them alive, or whether they are coming out for battle, take them alive.”
1 Kings 20:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.
- New International Version (NIV)He said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them alive.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)He said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive. Or if they have come out for war, take them alive."
- New King James Version (NKJV)So he said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; and if they have come out for war, take them alive.”
Context of 1 Kings 20:18
16They marched out at noon, while Ben-Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths—he and the 32 kings allied with him. 17The young men of the rulers of the provinces marched out first. Ben-Hadad sent out scouts, who reported to him saying, “There are men coming out from Samaria.” He said, “Whether they are coming out for peace, take them alive, or whether they are coming out for battle, take them alive.” 19Now when the young men of the rulers of the provinces marched out of the city, with the army following them, 20each man struck down his foe. Then the Arameans fled and Israel pursued them, but King Ben-Hadad of Aram escaped on a horse with horsemen.
Read all of 1 Kings 201 Kings 20:18 word by word
וַיֹּ֛אמֶר אִם־לְשָׁל֥וֹם יָצָ֖אוּ תִּפְשׂ֣וּם חַיִּ֑ים וְאִ֧ם לְמִלְחָמָ֛ה יָצָ֖אוּ חַיִּ֥ים תִּפְשֽׂוּם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Kings 20:18
- 2 Samuel 2:16Then each grasped his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side; so they all fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.
- Ecclesiastes 9:11I further observed under the sun: The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the mighty, nor does bread come to the wise, or wealth to the discerning, or favor to the skillful; for time and chance befall them all.
- Leviticus 26:8Five of you will chase 100 and 100 of you will chase 10,000, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
- Judges 7:20When the three columns blew the shofarot and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the shofarot in their right hands to blow, and they shouted, “A sword for Adonai and for Gideon!”
- 1 Samuel 14:13So Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer behind him. Then they fell before Jonathan, his armor-bearer behind him finishing them off.
- 2 Kings 7:6For Adonai had caused the army of the Arameans to hear a noise of chariots and a noise of horses—indeed a noise of a huge army. So they said one to another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians to assault us.”
- Psalms 33:16No king is saved by his great army, no warrior is delivered by great strength.
- Psalms 46:6God is in the midst of her, she will not be shaken. God will help her when morning dawns.
- 1 Samuel 30:16So he led him down, and behold, they were scattered over all the area, eating, drinking and feasting because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
- 2 Kings 19:36So King Sennacherib of Assyria withdrew, went away, and returned home, and stayed in Nineveh.
Commentaries on 1 Kings 20:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Take them alive - He was confident of victory. Do not slay them; bring them to me, they may give us some useful information.Read the comment
- 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. 13-34Two separate battles took place, one in Samaria (1 Kings 20:13–25) and another at Aphek (1 Kings 20:26–34). The writer shared similar details for both: advice before the battle (1 Kings 20:13–14, 23–25), conditions before the battle (1 Kings 20:15–16, 26–28), Israel's victory despite being outnumbered (1 Kings 20:17–21, 29–30), and advice after the battle (1 Kings 20:22, 31).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 20:18
In the dictionaries
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
Tree of Life Version — © 2015 The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
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