1 Kings 20:23

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible

And, the servants of the king of Syria, said unto him, - Gods of the mountains, are their gods, for this cause, prevailed they against us, - but, only let us fight with them in the plain, and verily we shall prevail against them.

Parallel Translations

Update Bible Version
And the slaves of the king of Syria said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

New Living Translation
After their defeat, Ben-hadad's officers said to him, "The Israelite gods are gods of the hills; that is why they won. But we can beat them easily on the plains.

English Revised Version
And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

New Century Version
Meanwhile the officers of Ben-Hadad king of Aram said to him, "The gods of Israel are mountain gods. Since we fought in a mountain area, Israel won. Let's fight them on the flat land, and then we will win.

New English Translation
Now the advisers of the king of Syria said to him: "Their God is a god of the mountains. That's why they overpowered us. But if we fight them in the plains, we will certainly overpower them.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their gods [are] gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

World English Bible
The servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

Amplified Bible
Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Israel's god is a god of the hills; that is why they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.

English Standard Version
And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Sotheli the seruauntis of the kyng of Sirie seiden to hym, The Goddis of hillis ben the Goddis of the sones of Israel, therfor thei ouercamen vs; but it is betere that we fiyte ayens hem in feeldi placis, and we schulen geet hem.

Berean Standard Bible
Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they prevailed over us. Instead, we should fight them on the plains; surely then we will prevail.

Contemporary English Version
Meanwhile, Benhadad's officials went to him and explained: Israel's gods are mountain gods. We fought Israel's army in the hills, and that's why they defeated us. But if we fight them on flat land, there's no way we can lose.

American Standard Version
And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

Bible in Basic English
Then the king of Aram's servants said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; that is why they were stronger than we: but if we make an attack on them in the lowlands, we will certainly be stronger than they.

Complete Jewish Bible
Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their God is a God of the hills; that's why they were stronger than we were. But if we fight them on level ground, we will certainly be stronger than they are.

Darby Translation
And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their gods are gods of the mountains; therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them on the plateau, shall we not be stronger than they?

Easy-to-Read Version
King Ben-Hadad's officers said to him, "The gods of Israel are mountain gods. We fought in a mountain area, so the Israelites won. If we fight them on level ground, we will win.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the servants of the king of Aram said unto him: 'Their God is a God of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

King James Version (1611)
And the seruants of the King of Syria said vnto him, Their gods are gods of the hilles, therefore they were stronger then wee: but let vs fight against them in the plaine, and surely we shall be stronger then they.

New Life Bible
Now the servants of the king of Syria said to him, "Israel's gods are gods of the mountains. So they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and for sure we will be stronger than they.

New Revised Standard
The servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then the seruants of the King of Aram said vnto him, Their gods are gods of the moutaines, and therefore they ouercame vs: but let vs fight against them in the playne, and doubtlesse we shal ouercome them.

George Lamsa Translation
And the servants of the king of Aram said to him, Their god is a god of the mountains; this is why they triumphed over us; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall triumph over them.

Good News Translation
King Benhadad's officials said to him, "The gods of Israel are mountain gods, and that is why the Israelites defeated us. But we will certainly defeat them if we fight them in the plains.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But the servants of the king of Syria said to him: Their gods are gods of the hills, therefore they have overcome us: but it is better that we should fight against them in the plains, and we shall overcome them.

Revised Standard Version
And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the seruauntes of the king of Syria sayde vnto him: The gods of the hilles are their gods, and therefore they had the better of vs: but let vs fight against them in the playne, and [for what ye will] we shall haue the better of them.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the Lord spoke of Jezabel, saying, The dogs shall devour her within the fortification of Jezrael.

Christian Standard Bible®
Now the king of Aram’s servants said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hill country. That’s why they were stronger than we were. Instead, we should fight with them on the plain; then we will certainly be stronger than they are.

Hebrew Names Version
The servants of the king of Aram said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

King James Version
And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

Lexham English Bible
The servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we. Let us fight with them in the plain; surely we will be stronger than they.

Literal Translation
And the king of Syria's servants said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; on account of this they were stronger than us; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely, we shall be stronger than them,

Young's Literal Translation
And the servants of the king of Aram said unto him, `Gods of hills [are] their gods, therefore they were stronger than we; and yet, we fight with them in the plain -- are we not stronger than they?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For the kynge of ye Syrians seruauntes sayde vnto him: Their goddes are goddes of the mountaynes, therfore haue they gotten the victory. But let vs fyghte with them on the playne, and thou shalt se that we shal ouercome them.

THE MESSAGE
Meanwhile the advisors to the king of Aram said, "Their god is a god of the mountains—we don't stand a chance against them there. So let's engage them on the plain where we'll have the advantage. Here's the strategy: Remove each sheik from his place of leadership and replace him with a seasoned officer. Then recruit a fighting force equivalent in size to the army that deserted earlier—horse for horse, chariot for chariot. And we'll fight them on the plain—we're sure to prove stronger than they are." It sounded good to the king; he did what they advised.

New American Standard Bible
Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the mountains; for that reason they were stronger than we. But let us fight them in the plain, and we will certainly be stronger than they.

New King James Version
Then the servants of the king of Syria said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hills. Therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them in the plain, surely we will be stronger than they.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.

Contextual Overview

²² Then drew near the prophet, unto the king of Israel, and said unto him - Go strengthen thyself, and mark and see, what thou wilt do, - for, at the return of the year, is, the king of Syria, coming up against thee. ²³ And, the servants of the king of Syria, said unto him, - Gods of the mountains, are their gods, for this cause, prevailed they against us, - but, only let us fight with them in the plain, and verily we shall prevail against them. ²⁴ But, this thing, do, - set aside the kings, every man out of his place, and put governors in their stead; ²⁵ and, thou, must number thee a force, like the force which thou hast lost, both horse for horse and chariot for chariot, and, if we fight with them in the plain, verily we shall prevail against them. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so. ²⁶ And so it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, - and came up to Aphek, to fight with Israel; ²⁷ and, the sons of Israel, were numbered, and provisioned, and went to meet them, - and the sons of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, whereas, the Syrians, filled the land. ²⁸ Then approached the man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said - Thus, saith Yahweh - Because the Syrians have said - A god of the mountains, is Yahweh, but, not a god of the vales, is he, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude, into thy hand, so shalt thou know, that, I, am Yahweh. ²⁹ So they encamped, these, over against, those, seven days, - and it came to pass, on the seventh day, that the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel smote the Syrians, a hundred thousand footmen, in one day. ³⁰ And they who were left fled to Aphek, into the city, and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand men who were left, - and, Ben-hadad, fled, and came into the city, into a chamber within a chamber.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Their gods: It was the general belief in the heathen world, that each district had its tutelary and protecting deity, who could do nothing out of his own province. 1 Kings 20:28, 1 Kings 14:23, 1 Samuel 4:8, 2 Kings 19:12, 2 Chronicles 32:13-19, Psalms 50:21, Psalms 50:22, Psalms 121:1, Psalms 121:2, Isaiah 42:8

Reciprocal: Numbers 23:13 - unto 1 Kings 20:31 - his servants 2 Kings 5:13 - his servants 2 Kings 6:8 - took Jeremiah 23:23 - General

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him,.... His ministers of state, his privy counsellors:

their gods are gods of the hills, therefore they were stronger than we; and beat them in the last battle; this notion they might receive from what they had heard of Jehovah delivering the law on Mount Sinai to Moses, and of the miraculous things done lately on Mount Carmel, as well as of their worship being in high places, especially at Jerusalem, the temple there being built on an hill, as was Samaria itself, near to which they had their last defeat; and this notion of topical deities very much obtained among the Heathens in later times, some of which they supposed presided over rivers, others over woods, and others over hills and mountains e: so Nemestinus the god of woods, Collina the goddess of hills, and Vallina of valleys f; and Arnobins g makes mention of the god Montinus, and Livy h of the god Peninus, who had his name from a part of the Alps, so called where he was worshipped; and there also the goddess Penina was worshipped; and Lactantius i speaks of the gods of the mountains the mother of Maximilian was a worshipper of; and even Jupiter had names from mountains, as Olympius, Capitolinus, c. and such was the great god Pan, called mountainous Pan k:

but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they and prevail over them, and conquer them.

e "Dii fumus agrestes, et qui dominemur in altis montibus.----" Ovid. Fast. l. 3. f Vid. D. Herbert de Cherbury de Relig. Gent. c. 12. p. 198, 112. g Adv. Gentes, l. 4. h Hist. l. 21. c. 38. i De Mort. Persecutor. c. 11. p. 22. Vid. Ovid. Metamorph. l. 1. Fab. 8. ver. 320. "Et numina montis adorant". See Ep. 4. ver. 171. k Sophoclis Oedipus Tyr. ver. 1110.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Their gods are gods of the hills - The local power and influence of deities was a fixed principle of the ancient polytheism. Each country was considered to have its own gods; and wars were regarded as being to a great extent struggles between the gods of the nations engaged in them. This is apparent throughout the Assyrian inscriptions. Compare also 2 Kings 18:33-35; 2 Kings 19:12. The present passage gives an unusual modification of this view. The suggestion of the Syrian chiefs may have been a mere politic device - they being really anxious, “an military grounds,” to encounter their enemy on the plain, where alone their chariots would be of much service. In the plain the Israelites had always fought at a disadvantage, and had proved themselves weaker than on the hills (see Judges 1:19, Judges 1:27, Judges 1:34).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 23. Their gods are gods of the hills — It is very likely that the small Israelitish army availed itself of the heights and uneven ground, that they might fight with greater advantage against the Syrian cavalry, for Ben-hadad came up against Samaria with horses and chariots, 1 Kings 20:1. These therefore must be soon thrown into confusion when charging in such circumstances; indeed, the chariots must be nearly useless.

Let us fight against them in the plain — There our horses and chariots will all be able to bear on the enemy, and there their gods, whose influence is confined to the hills, will not be able to help them. It was a general belief in the heathen world that each district had its tutelary and protecting deity, who could do nothing out of his own sphere.