1 Kings 20:39
New International Version
As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and someone came to me with a captive and said, ‘Guard this man. If he is missing, it will be your life for his life, or you must pay a talent of silver.’

New Living Translation
As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Sir, I was in the thick of battle, and suddenly a man brought me a prisoner. He said, ‘Guard this man; if for any reason he gets away, you will either die or pay a fine of seventy-five pounds of silver!’

English Standard Version
And as the king passed, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a soldier turned and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’

Berean Standard Bible
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.’

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
Now as the king passed by, he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and there, a man came over and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’

New American Standard Bible
And as the king passed by, he cried out to the king and 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 for any reason he goes missing, then your life shall be forfeited in place of his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’

NASB 1995
As the king passed by, he cried to the king and 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 for any reason he is missing, then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’

NASB 1977
And as the king passed by, he cried to the king and 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 for any reason he is missing, then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’

Legacy Standard Bible
Now it happened that as the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and 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 for any reason he is missing, then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’

Amplified Bible
As the king passed by, the prophet called out to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the middle of the battle, and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if for any reason he is missing, then your life shall be required for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’

Christian Standard Bible
As the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant marched out into the middle of the battle. Suddenly, a man turned aside and brought someone to me and said, ‘Guard this man! If he is ever missing, it will be your life in place of his life, or you will weigh out seventy-five pounds of silver.’

Holman Christian Standard Bible
As the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant marched out into the middle of the battle. Suddenly, a man turned aside and brought someone to me and said, ‘Guard this man! If he is ever missing, it will be your life in place of his life, or you will weigh out 75 pounds of silver.’

American Standard Version
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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And behold, the King passed by, and he shouted before the King and said: “Your Servant went out into battle, and behold, a man turned aside and he brought a man to me and said to me: ‘Guard this man’, and if he will wander off, your life will be in the place of his life, or you shall pay a talent of silver!”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And it came to pass as the king passed by, that he cried aloud to the king, and said, Thy servant went out to war, and, behold, a man brought another man to me, and said to me, Keep his man; and if he should by any means escape, then thy life shall go for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

Contemporary English Version
When Ahab went by, the prophet shouted, "Your Majesty, right in the heat of battle, someone brought a prisoner to me and told me to guard him. He said if the prisoner got away, I would either be killed or forced to pay 3,000 pieces of silver.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And as the king passed by, he cried to the king, and said: Thy servant went out to fight hand to hand: and when a certain man was run away, one brought him to me, and said: Keep this man: and if he shall slip away, thy life shall be for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

English Revised Version
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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When the king passed by, the disciple called to him. "I went to fight in the battle. A man turned around and brought a prisoner to me. He said, 'Guard this prisoner. If he gets away, you will pay for his life with your own life or be fined 75 pounds of silver.'

Good News Translation
As the king was passing by, the prophet called out to him and said, "Your Majesty, I was fighting in the battle when a soldier brought a captured enemy to me and said, 'Guard this man; if he escapes, you will pay for it with your life or else pay a fine of three thousand pieces of silver.'

International Standard Version
As the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and told him, "Your servant went out into the middle of the battle, and a soldier turned aside, brought a prisoner to me, and told me, 'Guard this man. If he turns up missing for any reason at all, you'll pay for it with your life or be fined one talent of silver.'

JPS Tanakh 1917
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.

Literal Standard Version
And it comes to pass—the king is passing by—that he has cried to the king and says, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a man has turned aside and brings a man to me, and says, Keep this man; if he is at all missing, then your life has been for his life, or you weigh out a talent of silver;

Majority Standard Bible
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.’

New American Bible
As the king was passing, he called out to the king and said: “Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and suddenly someone turned and brought me a man and said, ‘Guard this man. If he is missing, you shall have to pay for his life with your life or pay out a talent of silver.’

NET Bible
When the king passed by, he called out to the king, "Your servant went out into the heat of the battle, and then a man turned aside and brought me a prisoner. He told me, 'Guard this prisoner. If he ends up missing for any reason, you will pay with your life or with a talent of silver.'

New Revised Standard Version
As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the thick of the battle; then a soldier turned and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Guard this man; if he is missing, your life shall be given for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’

New Heart English Bible
As the king passed by, he cried to the king; and he said, "Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and look, 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.'

Webster's Bible Translation
And as the king passed by, he cried to 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 to me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he shall be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

World English Bible
As the king passed by, he cried to the king, and he said, “Your servant went out into the middle of the battle; and behold, a man came over and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Guard this man! If by any means he is missing, then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’

Young's Literal Translation
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;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
A Prophet Reproves Ahab
38and 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.’ 40But 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.”…

Cross References
1 Kings 20:40
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."

1 Kings 20:42
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.'"

2 Kings 10:24
And they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside and warned them, "If anyone allows one of the men I am delivering into your hands to escape, he will forfeit his life for theirs."

Jeremiah 48:10
Cursed is the one who is remiss in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.


Treasury of Scripture

And as the king passed by, he cried to the king: and he said, Your servant went out into the middle of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall your life be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.

the ashes away

1 Kings 20:38
So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.

2 Samuel 13:19
And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.

Job 2:8
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.

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1 Kings 20
1. Ben-Hadad, not content with Ahab's homage, besieges Samaria
13. By the direction of a prophet, the Syrians are slain
22. As the prophet forewarned Ahab, the Syrians come against him in Aphek
28. By the word of the prophet, and God's judgment, the Syrians are smitten again
31. The Syrians submit; Ahab sends Ben-Hadad away with a covenant
35. The prophet, under the parable of a prisoner,
39. making Ahab judge himself, denounces God's judgment against him














(39) Thy servant.--The parable is, of course, designed (like those of 2Samuel 12:1-4; 2Samuel 14:5-11) to make Ahab condemn himself. In Ahab, however, it excites not compunction, but characteristic sullenness of displeasure, like that of 1Kings 21:4.

Verse 39. - And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king [in his capacity of supreme judge; see on 1 Kings 3:9]: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle [i.e., the recent battle]; and, behold, a man turned aside [סָר; cf. 1 Kings 22:43; Exodus 3:3; Exodus 32:8. But Ewald, al. would read, סַר prince or captain (properly שַׂר), a change which certainly lends force to the apologue, and makes the analogy more complete. Only such an officer was entitled to give such an order. Moreover just as a common soldier ought to obey his captain, so should Ahab have obeyed God. But as our present text yields a good and sufficient meaning, we are hardly warranted in making any change], 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 [Heb. weigh. There was then no coinage. Payments were made by means of bars of silver or gold] a talent of silver. [A considerable sum - about £400. "The prisoner is thus represented to be a very important personage" (Thenius). There is a hint at Ben-hadad. Ewald holds that the wounds represented the penalty inflicted instead of the talent which a common soldier naturally could not pay.]

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
As the king
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ (ham·me·leḵ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king

passed by,
עֹבֵ֔ר (‘ō·ḇêr)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5674: To pass over, through, or by, pass on

he
וְה֖וּא (wə·hū)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

cried out
צָעַ֣ק (ṣā·‘aq)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6817: To shriek, to proclaim

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the king:
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ (ham·me·leḵ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king

“Your servant
עַבְדְּךָ֣ ׀ (‘aḇ·də·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5650: Slave, servant

had marched out
יָצָ֣א (yā·ṣā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3318: To go, bring, out, direct and proxim

into the middle
בְקֶֽרֶב־ (ḇə·qe·reḇ-)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7130: The nearest part, the center

of the battle,
הַמִּלְחָמָ֗ה (ham·mil·ḥā·māh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4421: A battle, war

when suddenly
וְהִנֵּֽה־ (wə·hin·nêh-)
Conjunctive waw | Interjection
Strong's 2009: Lo! behold!

a man
אִ֨ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

came over
סָ֜ר (sār)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5493: To turn aside

with
וַיָּבֵ֧א (way·yā·ḇê)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

a captive
אִ֗ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

and told
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

me,
אֵלַ֣י (’ê·lay)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

‘Guard
שְׁמֹר֙ (šə·mōr)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 8104: To hedge about, guard, to protect, attend to

this
הַזֶּ֔ה (haz·zeh)
Article | Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

man!
הָאִ֣ישׁ (hā·’îš)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

If
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

he goes missing
יִפָּקֵ֔ד (yip·pā·qêḏ)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6485: To visit, to oversee, muster, charge, care for, miss, deposit

for any reason,
הִפָּקֵד֙ (hip·pā·qêḏ)
Verb - Nifal - Infinitive absolute
Strong's 6485: To visit, to oversee, muster, charge, care for, miss, deposit

your life
נַפְשְׁךָ֙ (nap̄·šə·ḵā)
Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

will be exchanged
וְהָיְתָ֤ה (wə·hā·yə·ṯāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

for
תַּ֣חַת (ta·ḥaṯ)
Preposition
Strong's 8478: The bottom, below, in lieu of

his life,
נַפְשׁ֔וֹ (nap̄·šōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

or
א֥וֹ (’ōw)
Conjunction
Strong's 176: Desire, if

you will weigh out
תִּשְׁקֽוֹל׃ (tiš·qō·wl)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 8254: To suspend, poise

a talent
כִכַּר־ (ḵik·kar-)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3603: A round, a round district, a round loaf, a round weight, a talent (a measure of weight or money)

of silver.�
כֶּ֖סֶף (ke·sep̄)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3701: Silver, money


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OT History: 1 Kings 20:39 As the king passed by he cried (1Ki iKi i Ki 1 Kg 1kg)
1 Kings 20:38
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