1 Kings20
English Standard Version
Tap any underlined word for the original Hebrew or Greek.
1 the of his . were with him, and and . And he and closed in and against it.
2 And he into the to of and to him, :
3 Your and your are mine; your and also are mine.
4 And the of , As you , my , O , I am yours, and I have.
5 The came and , : I to you, , to me your and your , your and your .
6 I will my to you about this , your and the of your and lay hands on and .
7 Then the of the of the and , , , and man is , he to me for my and my , and for my and my , and I did him.
8 And the and the to him, Do .
9 So he to the of , my the , you of your I will , but I . And the and him .
10 to him and , The to me and , the of shall for for the me.
11 And the of , him, him who straps on his himself as he who takes it .
12 When Ben-hadad as he was with the in the , he to his , Take your . And they took their the .
13 And , to of and , the Lord, Have you ? , I will it into your this , and you shall I am the Lord.
14 And , By ? He , the Lord, By the of the of the . Then he , shall the ? He , You.
15 Then he the of the of the , and they were . And them he the , .
16 And they at , while was himself in the , he and the who him.
17 The of the of the . And scouts, and they , are .
18 He , they have for , them . Or they have for , them .
19 So these the , the of the of the and the them.
20 And his . The , and them, but of on a with .
21 And the of and the and , and the with a .
22 Then the to the of and to him, , yourself, and well you have to , in the the of will you.
23 And the of the of to him, Their are of the , and they were we. let us against them in the , and we shall be they.
24 And : the , his , and in their ,
25 and an like the that you have , for , and for . Then we will them in the , and we shall be they. And he to their and .
26 In the , the and to to .
27 And the of were and were and them. The of them like of , but the the .
28 And a of and to the of , the Lord, the have , The Lord is a of the but he is a of the , therefore I will into your , and you shall I am the Lord.
29 And they . Then on the the was . And the of of the in .
30 And the into the of , and the who were . also and an in the .
31 And his to him, , we have the of the of are . Let us around our and on our and to the of . he will your .
32 So they around their and put on their and to the of and , Your , , let me . And he , Does he ? He is my .
33 Now the were for a sign, and they it up him and , Yes, your . Then he , and him. Then to him, and he caused him to into the .
34 And Ben-hadad to him, The my your I will , and you may for yourself in , my in . And Ahab said, I will let you on these . So he a with him and let him .
35 And a of the of the to his at the of the Lord, me, . But the to him.
36 Then he to him, you have the of the Lord, , as soon as you have me, a shall . And as soon as he had , a him and him down.
37 Then he and , me, . And the him— and him.
38 So the and for the by the , himself with a his .
39 And as the , he to the and , Your into the of the , and , a and a to me and , ; by any he is , your shall be his , or else you shall a of .
40 And as your was and , he was . The of to him, shall your be; you yourself have it.
41 Then he to the his , and the of him of the .
42 And he to him, the Lord, you have let of your the whom I had , therefore your shall be his , and your his .
43 And the of to his and and to .
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1 Kings 20Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for 1 Kings 20. The full AI study guide (summary, themes, context) has its own page.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Benhadad besieges Samaria. (1–11). Benhadad's defeat. (12–21). The Syrians again defeated. (22–30). Ahab makes peace with Benhadad. (31–43).
vv1-11
Benhadad sent Ahab a very insolent demand. Ahab sent a very disgraceful submission; sin brings men into such straits, by putting them out of the Divine protection. If God do not rule us, our enemies shall: guilt dispirits men, and makes them cowards. Ahab became desperate. Men will part with their most pleasant things, those they most love, to save their lives; yet they lose their souls rather than part with any pleasure or interest to prevent it. Here is one of the wisest sayings that ever Ahab spake, and it is a good lesson to all. It is folly to boast of any day to come, since we know not what it may bring forth. Apply it to our spiritual conflicts. Peter fell by self-confidence. Happy is the man who is never off his watch.
vv12-21
The proud Syrians were beaten, and the despised Israelites were conquerors. The orders of the proud, drunken king disordered his troops, and prevented them from attacking the Israelites. Those that are most secure, are commonly least courageous. Ahab slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. God often makes one wicked man a scourge to another.
vv22-30
Those about Benhadad advised him to change his ground. They take it for granted that it was not Israel, but Israel's gods, that beat them; but they speak very ignorantly of Jehovah. They supposed that Israel had many gods, to whom they ascribed limited power within a certain district; thus vain were the Gentiles in their imaginations concerning God. The greatest wisdom in worldly concerns is often united with the most contemptible folly in the things of God.
Key Words
בֶּן־הֲדַד: Ben-Hadad, the name of several Syrian kings
מֶלֶךְ: a king
אֲרָם: Aram or Syria, and its inhabitants; also the name of the son of Shem, a grandson of Nahor, and of an Israelite
קָבַץ: to grasp, i.e. collect
כֹּל: properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
חַיִל: probably a force, whether of men, means or other resources; an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength
סוּס: a horse (as leaping); also a swallow (from its rapid flight)
רֶכֶב: a vehicle; by implication, a team; by extension, cavalry; by analogy a rider, i.e. the upper millstone
עָלָה: to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount); used in a great variety of senses, primary and secondary, literal and figurative
צוּר: to cramp, i.e. confine (in many applications, literally and figuratively, formative or hostile)
Cross References
1 Kings 20Ahab's call of Ben-hadad as 'brother' is directly linked to his prophetic condemnation for sparing him.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Direct parallel of a prophet's associate slain by a lion for disobeying the word of the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Like David with Nathan, Ahab is trapped into pronouncing his own judgment through a parabolic story.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Saul's failure to destroy Agag parallels Ahab sparing Ben-hadad, both drawing divine rejection.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Identifies the prior Syrian incursions under Ben-hadad's father that initiated the ongoing conflict.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
A similar boast of demolishing a city and distributing its dust among a massive army.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Illuminates 'at the return of the year' as the spring season when kings go out to battle.
Supported by JFB
The same Hebrew phrasing describes Ahab's sullen resentment ('heavy and displeased') after being rebuked.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Contrasts Goliath's arrogant pre-battle boasting with Ahab's wise proverb against premature triumph.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The direct connection between the Syrian insult ('gods of the hills') and God's reason for intervention.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Shows the bitter irony: the spared Ben-hadad orders his captains to target only Ahab in battle.
Supported by JFB
Details the disguise with ashes/bandage that the prophet used to conceal his identity from Ahab.
Supported by Matthew Poole
God selects the weak 'young men' of the provinces to confound the mighty Syrian host.
Supported by JFB
Illustrates the folly of Ben-hadad's drunken carousing on the eve of his sudden military defeat.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB