1 Kings 20:34

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible

And he said unto him - The cities which my father took from thy father, will I restore, and, bazaars, shalt thou make thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. So then, I, with this covenant, will let thee go. So he solemnised with him a covenant, and let him go.

Parallel Translations

Update Bible Version
And [Ben-hadad] said to him, The cities which my father took from your father I will restore; and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. And I, [said Ahab], will let you go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and let him go.

New Living Translation
Ben-hadad told him, "I will give back the towns my father took from your father, and you may establish places of trade in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." Then Ahab said, "I will release you under these conditions." So they made a new treaty, and Ben-hadad was set free.

English Revised Version
And [Ben–hadad] said unto him, The cities which my father took from thy father I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. And I, [said Ahab], will let thee go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and let him go.

New Century Version
Ben-Hadad said to him, "Ahab, I will give you back the cities my father took from your father. And you may put shops in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." Ahab said, "If you agree to this, I will allow you to go free." So the two kings made a peace agreement. Then Ahab let Ben-Hadad go free.

New English Translation
Ben Hadad said, "I will return the cities my father took from your father. You may set up markets in Damascus, just as my father did in Samaria." Ahab then said, "I want to make a treaty with you before I dismiss you." So he made a treaty with him and then dismissed him.

Webster's Bible Translation
And [Ben-hadad] said to him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then [said Ahab], I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.

World English Bible
[Ben-hadad] said to him, The cities which my father took from your father I will restore; and you shall make streets for you in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. I, [said Ahab], will let you go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and let him go.

Amplified Bible
Ben-hadad [tempting him] said to him, "I will restore the cities which my father took from your father; and you may set up bazaars (shops) of your own in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." Then, Ahab replied, "I will let you go with this covenant (treaty)." So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

English Standard Version
And Ben-hadad said to him, "The cities that my father took from your father I will restore, and you may establish bazaars for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." And Ahab said, "I will let you go on these terms." So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
`Which Benadab seide to hym, Y schal yelde the citees whiche my fadir took fro thi fadir, and make thou stretis to thee in Damask, as my fadir made in Samarie; and Y schal be boundun to pees, and Y schal departe fro thee. Therfor he made boond of pees, and delyuerede hym.

Berean Standard Bible
Ben-hadad said to him, "I will restore the cities my father took from your father; you may set up your own marketplaces in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." "By this covenant I release you," Ahab replied. So he made a treaty with him and sent him away.

Contemporary English Version
Benhadad said, "I'll give back the towns my father took from your father. And you can have shops in Damascus, just as my father had in Samaria." Ahab replied, "If you do these things, I'll let you go free." Then they signed a peace treaty, and Ahab let Benhadad go.

American Standard Version
And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities which my father took from thy father I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. And I, said Ahab, will let thee go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and let him go.

Bible in Basic English
And Ben-hadad said to him, The towns my father took from your father I will give back; and you may make streets for yourself in Damascus as my father did in Samaria. And as for me, at the price of this agreement you will let me go. So he made an agreement with him and let him go.

Complete Jewish Bible
Ben-Hadad said to him, "I will return the cities my father took from your father. Also you can set up markets for trade in Dammesek, as my father did in Shomron." "If you put this covenant in writing," said Ach'av, "I will set you free." So he made a covenant with him and set him free.

Darby Translation
And [Ben-Hadad] said to him, The cities that my father took from thy father I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thyself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. And I [said Ahab] will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.

Easy-to-Read Version
Ben-Hadad said to him, "Ahab, I will give you the towns that my father took from your father. And you can put shops in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." Ahab answered, "If you agree to this, I will let you go free." So the two kings made a peace agreement. Then King Ahab let King Ben-Hadad go free.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And [Ben-hadad] said unto him: 'The cities which my father took from thy father I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.' 'And I[, said Ahab,] will let thee go with this covenant.' So he made a covenant with him, and let him go.

King James Version (1611)
And Benhadad said vnto him, The cities which my father tooke from thy father, I will restore, and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then, said Ahab, I will send thee away with this couenant. So he made a couenant with him, and sent him away.

New Life Bible
Ben-hadad said to him, "I will return to you the cities which my father took from your father. And you will make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria." Ahab said, "I will let you go with this agreement." So he made an agreement with him and let him go.

New Revised Standard
Ben-hadad said to him, "I will restore the towns that my father took from your father; and you may establish bazaars for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." The king of Israel responded, "I will let you go on those terms." So he made a treaty with him and let him go.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Ben-hadad sayd vnto him, The cities, which my father tooke from thy father, I wil restore, & thou shalt make streetes for thee in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will let thee goe with this couenant. So he made a couenant with him, and let him goe.

George Lamsa Translation
And Bar-hadad said to him, The cities which my father took from your father, I will restore; and I will make a market place for you in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then Ahab said, I will send you away with a covenant. So he made a covenant with him and sent him away.

Good News Translation
Benhadad said to him, "I will restore to you the towns my father took from your father, and you may set up a commercial center for yourself in Damascus, just as my father did in Samaria." Ahab replied, "On these terms, then, I will set you free." He made a treaty with him and let him go.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said to him: The cities which my father took from thy father, I will restore: and do thou make thee streets in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria and having made a league, I will depart from thee. So he made a league with him, and let him go.

Revised Standard Version
And Ben-ha'dad said to him, "The cities which my father took from your father I will restore; and you may establish bazaars for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Sama'ria." And Ahab said, "I will let you go on these terms." So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he said vnto him: The cities which my father toke from thy father, I will restore agayne, and thou shalt make streates for thee in Damasco, as my father dyd in Samaria: And I wil make an appoyntment with thee, & send the away. And so he made an appoyntment with him, and sent him away.

Christian Standard Bible®
Then Ben-hadad said to him, “I restore to you the cities that my father took from your father, and you may set up marketplaces for yourself in Damascus, like my father set up in Samaria.”

Hebrew Names Version
[Ben-Hadad] said to him, The cities which my father took from your father I will restore; and you shall make streets for you in Dammesek, as my father made in Shomron. I, [said Ach'av], will let you go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and let him go.

King James Version
And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.

Lexham English Bible
Ben-Hadad said to him, "The cities which my father took from your father I shall return. You may set up streets with stalls for yourself in Damascus just as my father set up in Samaria." Then Ahab said, "On these terms I will let you go," So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

Literal Translation
And he said to him, The cities that my father took from your father, I give back. And you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria. Then I will let you go with a covenant. And he cut a covenant with him and senthim away.

Young's Literal Translation
And he saith unto him, `The cities that my father took from thy father, I give back, and streets thou dost make for thee in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria;' -- `and I, with a covenant, send thee away;' and he maketh with him a covenant, and sendeth him away.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and sayde vnto him: The cities that my father toke from thy father, wyl I geue the agayne. And make thou stretes for thyselfe at Damasco, as my father did at Samaria, so wyl I let the go with a bonde of peace. And he made a couenaunt with him, and let him go.

THE MESSAGE
Ahab said, "I am prepared to return the cities that my father took from your father. And you can set up your headquarters in Damascus just as my father did in Samaria; I'll send you home under safe conduct." Then he made a covenant with him and sent him off.

New American Standard Bible
And Ben-hadad said to him, "The cities which my father took from your father I will restore, and you can make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria." Ahab said, "And I will let you go with this covenant." So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

New King James Version
So Ben-Hadad said to him, "The cities which my father took from your father I will restore; and you may set up marketplaces for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." Then Ahab said, "I will send you away with this treaty." So he made a treaty with him and sent him away.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Ben-hadad said to him, "The cities which my father took from your father I will restore, and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria." Ahab said, "And I will let you go with this covenant." So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

Legacy Standard Bible
And Ben-hadad said to him, "The cities which my father took from your father I will return, and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria." Ahab said, "And I will let you go with this covenant." So he cut a covenant with him and let him go.

Contextual Overview

³¹ And his servants said unto him, Lo! we pray thee, we have heard, of the kings of the house of Israel, that, kings known for lovingkindness, they are. Let us, we pray thee, put sackcloth upon our loins, and ropes about our head, and let us go forth unto the king of Israel, peradventure he will save alive thy soul. ³² So they girded sackcloth upon their loins, and put ropes about their heads, and came in unto the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant, Ben-hadad, saith, - Let my soul live, I pray thee. And he said, - Is he yet alive? My brother, he is. ³³ Now, the men, could divine, so they hastened to let him confirm the word of his own accord, and they said, - Thy brother, is Ben-hadad! He said therefore, - Go fetch him. So Ben-hadad came forth unto him, and he made him come up unto him on his chariot. ³⁴ And he said unto him - The cities which my father took from thy father, will I restore, and, bazaars, shalt thou make thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. So then, I, with this covenant, will let thee go. So he solemnised with him a covenant, and let him go. ³⁵ And, a certain man of the sons of the prophets, said unto his neighbour, by the word of Yahweh - Smite me, I pray thee. But the man refused to smite him. ³⁶ So he said to him - Because thou hast not hearkened unto the voice of Yahweh, lo! when thou art departing from me, there shall smite thee a lion. And when he departed from beside him, a lion found him, and smote him. ³⁷ Then found he another man, and said, - Smite me, I pray thee. So the man smote him - kept on smiting and wounding. ³⁸ Then the prophet departed, and waited for the king, by the way, - and disguised himself with his turban over his eyes. ³⁹ And so it was, when, the king, was passing, he, cried out unto the king, - and said - Thy servant, went out in the midst of the battle, and lo! a man, turned aside and brought unto me a man, and said - Keep this man, if he be, missing, then shall, thy life, go for, his life, or, a talent of silver, shalt thou weigh out. ⁴⁰ And so it was, as thy servant was busy here and there, that, he, was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him - Such, is thy judgment, thou thyself, hast decided it.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

The cities: 1 Kings 15:20, 2 Chronicles 16:4

So he made a covenant: One of the conditions of this covenant, we learn, was, that Ahab should have "streets (chutzoth) in Damascus;" a proposal better relished by Ahab then understood by the generality of commentators. This, however, is well illustrated by Mr. Harmer, from William of Tyre, the great historian of the Crusades; from whom it appears that it was customary to give those nations which were engaged in them, churches, streets, and great jurisdiction therein, in those places which they assisted to conquer. The Genoese and Venetians had each a street in Acon, or Acre, in which they had their own jurisdiction, with liberty to have an oven, mill, baths, weights, and measures, etc. 1 Kings 20:42, 1 Kings 22:31, 2 Chronicles 18:30, Isaiah 8:12, Isaiah 26:10

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 11:1 - Make 1 Samuel 15:8 - Agag 1 Kings 11:24 - to Damascus 1 Kings 15:18 - Benhadad 1 Kings 22:1 - General 2 Kings 6:8 - the king 2 Kings 8:7 - Benhadad Amos 3:12 - in Damascus in a couch

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And [Benhadad] said unto him,.... The word Benhadad is not in the original text, and some, as Osiander and others, have thought they are the words of Ahab last spoken of; which seems most likely, who not only took Benhadad into his chariot, but in his great and superabundant kindness, though the conqueror, said to him what follows:

the cities which my father took from thy father I will restore; that is, those cities which Omri, the father of Ahab, had taken from the father of Benhadad; for as Omri was a prince of might and valour, 1 Kings 16:16, it is more probable that he took cities from the king of Syria, than that the king of Syria should take any from him, and which Ahab in his circumstances weakly promises to restore:

and thou shall make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria; which confirms it that it is Ahab, and not Benhadad, that is speaking; for Benhadad's father never had any power nor residence in Samaria, whereas Omri, the father of Ahab, had, he built it, and made it his royal seat; and, in like manner, Ahab promises Benhadad that he should have his palace at Damascus, the metropolis of Syria, and exercise power there, and over all Syria; whereby Ahab renounced all right he had to the kingdom, and any of the cities of it: for by "streets" are not meant those literally so called, for the making of which there was no reason; nor markets to take a toll from, as some, supposing them to be the words of Benhadad; nor courts of judicature, to oblige them to pay it who refused it, as others; nor fortresses to keep them in awe; but a royal palace, as a learned critic t has observed, for Benhadad to reside in; this Ahab gave him power to erect, and added:

and I will send thee away with this covenant; or promise now made:

so he made a covenant with him; confirmed the above promises:

and sent him away; free, to enjoy his crown and kingdom, for which folly and weakness Ahab is reproved by a prophet, 1 Kings 20:42.

t Vallandi Dissert. ad 1. Reg. xx. 33, 34. Subsect. 2. sect. 4.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Ben-hadad, secure of his life, suggests terms of peace as the price of his freedom. He will restore to Ahab the Israelite cities taken from Omri by his father, among which Ramoth Gilead was probably the most important 1 Kings 22:3; and he will allow Ahab the privilege of making for himself “streets,” or rather squares, in Damascus, a privilege which his own father had possessed with respect to Samaria. Commercial advantages, rather than any other, were probably sought by this arrangement.

So he made a covenant with him ... - Ahab, without “inquiring of the Lord,” at once agreed to the terms offered; and, without even taking any security for their due observance, allowed the Syrian monarch to depart. Considered politically, the act was one of culpable carelessness and imprudence. Ben-hadad did not regard himself as bound by the terms of a covenant made when he was a prisoner - as his after conduct shows 1 Kings 22:3. Ahab’s conduct was even more unjustifiable in one who held his crown under a theocracy. “Inquiry at the word of the Lord” was still possible in Israel 1Ki 22:5, 1 Kings 22:8, and would seem to have been the course that ordinary gratitude might have suggested.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 34. Thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus — It appears that it was customary for foreigners to have a place assigned to them, particularly in maritime towns, where they might deposit and vend their merchandise. This was the very origin of European settlements in Asiatic countries: "The people gave an inch to those strangers; and in consequence they took an ell." Under the pretense of strengthening the place where they kept their wares, to prevent depredations, they built forts, and soon gave laws to their entertainers. In vain did the natives wish them away; they had got power, and would retain it; and at last subjected these countries to their own dominion.

It was customary also, in the time of the crusades, to give those nations which were engaged in them streets, churches, and post dues, in those places which they assisted to conquer. The Genoese and Venetians had each a street in Accon, or St. Jean d'Acre, in which they had their own jurisdiction; with oven, mill, bagnio, weights, and measures. - See William of Tyre, and Harmer's Observations.

He made a covenant with him — According to the words recited above, putting him under no kind of disabilities whatsoever.