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

38Then the prophet left and waited for the king by the road, disguising himself with a headband over his eyes. 39As the king was passing by, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a man turned aside and brought another man to me and said, ‘Guard this man! If by any means he is missing, then your life will be for his life, or else you will weigh out a talent of silver.’ Then as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” The king of Israel said to him, “So will your sentence be—you yourself have decided it.” 41Then he quickly took the headband away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42Then he said to him, “Thus says Adonai: ‘Because you have released out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life will be in place of his life and your people in place 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 20:34Then he said to him, “The cities which my father took from your father I will give back, and you may set up markets for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” “Then I will let you go with this covenant.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.
• 1 Kings 22:31Now the king of Aram had commanded his 32 chariot commanders saying, “Do no single combat with anyone, small or great—except the king of Israel.”
• 1 Samuel 15:9But Saul and the people spared Agag as well as the best of the sheep, the cattle, even the fatlings and the lambs, and all that was good, since they were not willing to utterly destroy them; everything that was worthless and feeble, they destroyed completely.
• 2 Kings 6:24Now it came to pass after this, that King Ben-hadad of Aram gathered all his army and marched against Samaria and besieged it.
• 2 Kings 8:12When Hazael asked, “Why is my lord weeping?” he answered, “Because I know the evil that you will inflict on the men of Israel: their strongholds you will set on fire, their young men you will slay with the sword, their little ones you will dash into pieces, and their pregnant ones you will rip open.”
• 2 Chronicles 18:33But a man drew his bow aimlessly and struck the king of Israel between the lower armor and the breastplate. The king said to the charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am 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