1 Kings 20:42

Contextual Overview

³¹His servants said to him, “Consider this: we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. So let’s put sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads, and let’s go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life.” ³¹ His servants said to him, See now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Yisra'el are merciful kings: let us, we pray you, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Yisra'el: peradventure he will save your life. ³¹ And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life. ³¹ And his servants said to him, "Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life." ³¹ His officers said to him, "We have heard that the kings of Israel are trustworthy. Let's dress in rough cloth to show our sadness, and wear ropes on our heads. Then we will go to the king of Israel, and perhaps he will let you live." ³¹ His advisers said to him, "Look, we have heard that the kings of the Israelite dynasty are kind. Allow us to put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and surrender to the king of Israel. Maybe he will spare our lives." ³¹But his servants said to him, "We have heard that the kings of the house (royal line) of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth around our loins and ropes on our necks [as symbols of submission], and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life." ³¹ But his servants said to him, "Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let's put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will let you live." ³¹ And his seruants sayd vnto him, Beholde nowe, we haue heard say that the Kings of the house of Israel are mercifull Kings: we pray thee, let vs put sacke cloth about our loynes, & ropes about our heads, & goe out to the King of Israel: it may be that he will saue thy life. ³¹Then his servants said to him, "Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are kings of lovingkindness, please let us put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will preserve your life."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Because: 1 Kings 20:34, 1 Kings 22:31-37, 1 Samuel 15:9-11

thy life shall go: 1 Kings 22:31-37, 2 Kings 6:24, 2 Kings 8:12, 2 Chronicles 18:33, 2 Chronicles 18:34

Reciprocal: Leviticus 20:4 - and kill Numbers 31:14 - wroth Joshua 6:21 - utterly 1 Samuel 28:18 - obeyedst 1 Kings 14:6 - for I am 1 Kings 19:10 - I only 1 Kings 20:32 - he is my brother 1 Kings 20:39 - thy life 1 Kings 22:8 - yet one man 1 Kings 22:23 - and the Lord 1 Kings 22:35 - died at even 2 Kings 10:30 - according to all that 2 Chronicles 18:7 - I hate him 2 Chronicles 18:30 - Fight ye 2 Chronicles 28:9 - he went out Proverbs 19:3 - foolishness Proverbs 28:4 - but Proverbs 29:1 - General Jeremiah 48:10 - Cursed

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he said unto him, thus saith the Lord,.... He spake not his own sense, and in his own words, but in the name of the Lord, for which he had authority, that it might have the greater weight with Ahab:

because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction; meaning Benhadad; or "the man of my anathema or curse" w; cursed of God for his blasphemy of him, and devoted by him to ruin on that account; or "of my net" x, being by his providence brought into a net or noose at Aphek, out of which he could not have escaped, had not Ahab let him go:

therefore thy life shall go for his life; as it shortly did, and that by the hand of a Syrian soldier, 1 Kings 22:34,

and thy people for his people; which was fulfilled by Hazael king of Syria, the sins of Israel rendering them deserving of the calamities they endured by his means, see 2 Kings 8:12.

w איש חרמי "vir anathematis mei", Montanus, Piscator. x "Vir retis mei"; so some in Vatablus.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A man whom I appointed to utter destruction - or to חרם chērem, i. e., a man on whom My curse had been laid (Leviticus 27:28 note).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 20:42. Thy life shall go for his life — This was fulfilled at the battle of Ramoth-gilead, where he was slain by the Syrians; see 1 Kings 22:34-35.