Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, November 28th, 2024
the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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Read the Bible

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible

1 Kings 20:11

And the king of Israel responded and said: Tell him, - Let not, him that girdeth, boast himself like him, that looseneth.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Confidence;   False Confidence;   Pride;   Proverbs;   Sarcasm;   Thompson Chain Reference - Benhadad;   Sarcasm;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Samaria, Ancient;   Syria;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Ben-Hadad;   Harness;   Samaria;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Ben-hadad;   Samaria, samaritans;   Syria;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Armour;   Proverb;   Samaria;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ben-Hadad;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ben-Hadad;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Benhadad ;   Samaria ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Samaria;   Smith Bible Dictionary - A'hab;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Harness;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Arms;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Games;   Samaria, City of;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Arms - armor;   Benhadad;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - War;  

Parallel Translations

Update Bible Version
And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Don't let him that girds on [his armor] boast himself as he that puts it off.
New Living Translation
The king of Israel sent back this answer: "A warrior putting on his sword for battle should not boast like a warrior who has already won."
English Revised Version
And the king of Israel answered and said, tell him, Let not him that girdeth on [his armour] boast himself as he that putteth it off.
New Century Version
Ahab answered, "Tell Ben-Hadad, ‘The man who puts on his armor should not brag. It's the man who lives to take it off who has the right to brag.'"
New English Translation
The king of Israel replied, "Tell him the one who puts on his battle gear should not boast like one who is taking it off."
Webster's Bible Translation
And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell [him], Let not him that girdeth on [his harness] boast himself as he that putteth it off.
World English Bible
The king of Israel answered, Tell him, Don't let him who girds on [his armor] boast himself as he who puts it off.
Amplified Bible
The king of Israel answered, "Tell him, 'A man who puts on [his armor to go to battle] should not boast like the man who takes it off [after the battle has been won].'"
English Standard Version
And the king of Israel answered, "Tell him, ‘Let not him who straps on his armor boast himself as he who takes it off.'"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the kyng of Israel answeride, and seide, Seie ye to hym, A gird man, `that is, he that goith to batel, haue not glorie euenli as a man vngird.
Berean Standard Bible
And the king of Israel replied, "Tell him: 'The one putting on his armor should not boast like one taking it off.'"
Contemporary English Version
Ahab then answered, "Benhadad, don't brag before the fighting even begins. Wait and see if you live through it."
American Standard Version
And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his armor boast himself as he that putteth it off.
Bible in Basic English
And the king of Israel said in answer, Say to him, The time for loud talk is not when a man is putting on his arms, but when he is taking them off.
Complete Jewish Bible
The king of Isra'el answered, "Tell him: ‘He who is putting on his armor shouldn't boast as if he were taking it off!'"
Darby Translation
And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell [him], Let not him that girdeth on boast himself as he that putteth off!
Easy-to-Read Version
King Ahab answered, "Tell Ben-Hadad that the man who puts on his armor should not boast as much as the man who lives long enough to take it off."
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the king of Israel answered and said: 'Tell him: Let not him that girdeth on his armour boast himself as he that putteth it off.'
King James Version (1611)
And the king of Israel answered, and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harnesse, boast himselfe, as he that putteth it off.
New Life Bible
The king of Israel answered and said, "Tell him, ‘Let not him who dresses in battle-clothes talk with pride like him who takes them off.'"
New Revised Standard
The king of Israel answered, "Tell him: One who puts on armor should not brag like one who takes it off."
Geneva Bible (1587)
And the King of Israel answered, and sayd, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth his harneis, boast himselfe, as he that putteth it off.
George Lamsa Translation
And the king of Israel answered and said, Let him talk; nevertheless, the one who ties a knot is not more able than the one who can untie it.
Good News Translation
King Ahab answered, "Tell King Benhadad that a real soldier does his bragging after a battle, not before it."
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the king of Israel answering, said: Tell him: Let not the girded boast himself as the ungirded.
Revised Standard Version
And the king of Israel answered, "Tell him, 'Let not him that girds on his armor boast himself as he that puts it off.'"
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the king of Israel aunswered, and sayd: Tell him, let not him that putteth on his harnesse boast him selfe, as he that putteth it of.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the men of his city, the elders, and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezabel sent to them, and as it had been written in the letters which she sent to them.
Christian Standard Bible®
The king of Israel answered, “Say this: ‘Don’t let the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off.’”
Hebrew Names Version
The king of Yisra'el answered, Tell him, Don't let him who girds on [his armor] boast himself as he who puts it off.
King James Version
And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.
Lexham English Bible
The king of Israel answered and said, "Tell him, ‘Let not him who girds on his armor boast as one who takes off his armor.'"
Literal Translation
And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him , Do not let him that girds on boast himself like one who loosens his armor .
Young's Literal Translation
And the king of Israel answereth and saith, `Speak ye: let not him who is girding on boast himself as him who is loosing [his armour].'
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But ye kynge of Israel answered, & sayde: Tell him, Let not him yt putteth on ye harnes, make his boast like him yt hath put it of
THE MESSAGE
The king of Israel countered, "Think about it—it's easier to start a fight than end one."
New American Standard Bible
Then the king of Israel replied, "Tell him, 'He who straps on his weapons had better not boast like one who takes them off.'"
New King James Version
So the king of Israel answered and said, "Tell him, "Let not the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off."'
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then the king of Israel replied, "Tell him, 'Let not him who girds on his armor boast like him who takes it off.'"
Legacy Standard Bible
Then the king of Israel answered and said, "Speak to him, ‘Let not him who girds on his armor boast like him who takes it off.'"

Contextual Overview

1 Now, Ben-hadad, king of Syria, had gathered together all his forces, and, thirty-two kings, were with him, and horses and chariots, - then came he up, and laid siege to Samaria, and made war against it. 2 And he sent messengers unto Ahab king of Israel, into the city, and said to him, - Thus, saith Ben-hadad, 3 Thy silver and thy gold, are, mine, and, thy wives and thy sons, the goodliest, are, mine. 4 Then responded the king of Israel, and said, According to thy word, my lord O king! thine, am I, and all that I have. 5 And the messengers came back again, and said, Thus, speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, - Because I sent unto thee, saying, Thy silver and thy gold and thy wives and thy sons, to me, shalt thou give, 6 Therefore, about this time to-morrow, will I send my servants unto thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants, - and it shall be, that, all the delight of thine eyes, shall they put in their hand, and take away. 7 Then called the king of Israel, for all the elders of the land, and said - Mark, I pray you, and see, how this man is seeking, mischief, - for he had sent unto me, for my wives, and for my sons, and for my silver, and for my gold, and I refused him not. 8 And all the elders and all the people said unto him, - Do not thou hearken, neither do thou consent. 9 So he said unto the messengers of Ben-hadad - Say ye to my lord the king, - All that thou didst send for, to thy servant at the first, will I do, but, this thing, I cannot do. And the messengers departed, and took him back word. 10 Then Ben-hadad sent unto him and said, - So, let the gods do to me, and, so, let them add, - if the dust of Samaria suffice by handfuls, for all the people who are at my feet.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Let not him: etc. This was no doubt a proverbial mode of expression. Jonathan renders it: "Let not him who girds himself, and goes down to battle, boast as one who has conquered and returned from it." 1 Samuel 14:6, 1 Samuel 14:12, 1 Samuel 14:13, 1 Samuel 17:44-47, Proverbs 27:1, Ecclesiastes 9:11, Isaiah 10:15, Isaiah 10:16, Matthew 26:33-35, Matthew 26:75

harness: The word harness is an obsolete word for armour, derived from the French harnois. See note on Exodus 13:18.

Reciprocal: Judges 4:10 - at his Judges 8:6 - General Judges 8:24 - because Judges 9:29 - would to God 2 Samuel 2:31 - three hundred 1 Kings 20:16 - Benhadad 2 Kings 3:21 - put on armour Job 41:8 - General Psalms 10:5 - he puffeth Proverbs 14:16 - the fool Isaiah 8:9 - gird Jeremiah 9:23 - neither Daniel 3:19 - he spake Matthew 26:40 - What Luke 14:31 - General Romans 1:30 - boasters Romans 11:18 - Boast not 1 Corinthians 13:4 - vaunteth not itself

Cross-References

Genesis 12:12
so will it come to pass when the Egyptians behold thee, that they will say, His wife, this! and will slay me while thee, they preserve alive.
Genesis 20:1
And Abraham brake up from thence, towards the land of the South, and fixed his dwelling between Kadesh and Shur, so he sojourned in Gerar.
Genesis 20:4
Now, Abimelech, had not come near unto her, - so he said, O My Lord! a nation even a righteous one, wilt thou slay?
Genesis 22:12
Then he said, Do not put forth thy hand unto the young man, neither do to him - anything at all, - for, now, know I that one who reverest God, thou art, when thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only one, from me.
Genesis 26:7
Then asked the men of the place as to his wife, and he said, My sister, is she, - For he feared to say My wife, lest said he the men of the place should slay me on account of Rebekah, for fair to Nook on, she is.
Genesis 42:18
And Joseph said unto them on the third day, This, do and live, - God himself, do, I, revere.
Nehemiah 5:15
whereas, the former pashas, who were before me, suffered themselves to be a burden upon the people, and took from them in bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver, even, their young men, bare rule over the people, - but, I, did not so, because of the fear of God.
Job 1:1
A man, there was - in the land of Uz, Job, his name, - and that man was blameless and upright, and one who revered God, and avoided evil.
Job 28:28
And said to the son of earth, Lo! the reverence of the Lord, that, is wisdom, and, to avoid evil, is understanding.
Psalms 14:4
Are all the workers of iniquity, without knowledge? devouring my people as they devour food! Upon Yahweh, have they not called.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Ver. 11 And the king of Israel answered and said,.... Very mildly and very wisely:

tell him, let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off; that is, he that prepares for the battle as he that has got the victory; the sense is, let no man triumph before the battle is over and the victory won; the events of war are uncertain; the battle is not always to the strong.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Ahab’s reply has the air of a proverb, with which Orientals always love to answer a foe.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 20:11. Let not him that girdeth on — This was no doubt a proverbial mode of expression. Jonathan translates, "Tell him, Let not him who girds himself and goes down to the battle, boast as he who has conquered and returned from it."


 
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