VERSE STUDY • KJV

1 Kings 20:35-42

³⁵ And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. ³⁶ Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. ³⁷ Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded [him]. ³⁸ So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face. ³⁹ And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. ⁴⁰ And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So [shall] thy judgment [be]; thyself hast decided [it]. ⁴¹ And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he [was] of the prophets. ⁴² And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of [thy] hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.

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KJV King James Version

³⁵ And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. ³⁶ Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. ³⁷ Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded [him]. ³⁸ So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face. ³⁹ And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. ⁴⁰ And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So [shall] thy judgment [be]; thyself hast decided [it]. ⁴¹ And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he [was] of the prophets. ⁴² And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of [thy] hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.

BSB Berean Standard Bible

³⁵ Meanwhile, by the word of the LORD, one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, “Strike me, please!” But the man refused to strike him. ³⁶ Then the prophet said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, as soon as you depart from me a lion will kill you.” And when he left, a lion found him and killed him. ³⁷ Then the prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please!” So the man struck him and wounded him, ³⁸ and the prophet went and waited on the road for the king, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes. ³⁹ As the king passed by, he cried out to the king: “Your servant had marched out into the middle of the battle, when suddenly a man came over with a captive and told me, ‘Guard this man! If he goes missing for any reason, your life will be exchanged for his life, or you will weigh out a talent of silver.’ ⁴⁰ But while your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.” And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you have pronounced it on yourself.” ⁴¹ Then the prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. ⁴² And the prophet said to the king, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have let slip from your hand the man I had devoted to destruction, your life will be exchanged for his life, and your people for his people.’”

WEB World English Bible

³⁵ A certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by the word of Yahweh, “Please strike me!” The man refused to strike him. ³⁶ Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh, behold, as soon as you are departed from me, a lion shall kill you.” As soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and killed him. ³⁷ Then he found another man, and said, “Please strike me.” The man struck him, smiting and wounding him. ³⁸ So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes. ³⁹ As the king passed by, he cried to the king; and he said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Guard this man! If by any means he be missing, then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’ ⁴⁰ As your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” The king of Israel said to him, “So your judgment shall be; you yourself have decided it.” ⁴¹ He hurried, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized that he was of the prophets. ⁴² He said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.’”

ASV American Standard Version

³⁵ And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his fellow by the word of Jehovah, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. ³⁶ Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of Jehovah, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. ³⁷ Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, smiting and wounding him. ³⁸ So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes. ³⁹ And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king; and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. ⁴⁰ And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it. ⁴¹ And he hasted, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. ⁴² And he said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.

YLT Young’s Literal Translation

³⁵ And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour by the word of Jehovah, ‘Smite me, I pray thee;’ and the man refuseth to smite him, ³⁶ and he saith to him, ‘Because that thou hast not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, lo, thou art going from me, and the lion hath smitten thee;’ and he goeth from him, and the lion findeth him, and smiteth him. ³⁷ And he findeth another man, and saith, ‘Smite me, I pray thee;’ and the man smiteth him, smiting and wounding, ³⁸ and the prophet goeth and standeth for the king on the way, and disguiseth himself with ashes on his eyes. ³⁹ And it cometh to pass—the king is passing by—that he hath cried unto the king, and saith, ‘Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle, and lo, a man hath turned aside and bringeth in unto me a man, and saith, Keep this man; if he be at all missing, then hath thy life been for his life, or a talent of silver thou dost weigh out; ⁴⁰ and it cometh to pass, thy servant is working hither and thither, and he is not!’ and the king of Israel saith unto him, Right is thy judgment; thou hast determined it.’ ⁴¹ And he hasteth and turneth aside the ashes from off his eyes, and the king of Israel discerneth him, that he is of the prophets, ⁴² and he saith unto him, ‘Thus said Jehovah, Because thou hast sent away the man I devoted, out of thy hand, even thy life hath been for his life, and thy people for his people;’

Surrounding context — 1 Kings 20

32 So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and [put] ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, [Is] he yet alive? he [is] my brother.

33 Now the men did diligently observe whether [any thing would come] from him, and did hastily catch [it]: and they said, Thy brother Benhadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.

34 And [Benhadad] 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.

35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.

36 Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.

37 Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded [him].

38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.

39 And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

40 And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So [shall] thy judgment [be]; thyself hast decided [it].

41 And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he [was] of the prophets.

42 And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of [thy] hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.

43 And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.

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