1 Kings 20:35-43

Ahab Rebuked by the Lord

35 One of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow prophet by the word of the Lord, "Strike me!" But the man refused to strike him.
36 He told him, "Because you did not listen to the voice of the Lord, mark my words: When you leave me, a lion will kill you." When he left him, a lion found him and killed him.
37 The prophet found another man and said to him, "Strike me!" So the man struck him, inflicting a wound.
38 Then the prophet went and waited for the king on the road. He disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.
39 As the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and said, "Your servant marched out into the midst 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[a] of silver.'
40 But while your servant was busy here and there, he disappeared." The king of Israel said to him, "That will be your sentence; you yourself have decided it."
41 He quickly removed the bandage from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets.
42 The prophet said to him, "This is what the Lord says: 'Because you released from your hand the man I had devoted to destruction,[b] it will be your life in place of his life and your people in place of his people.' "
43 The king of Israel left for home resentful and angry, and he entered Samaria.

1 Kings 20:35-43 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 20

This chapter relates the siege of Samaria by the king of Syria, and his insolent demand of Ahab's wives, children, and riches, 1Ki 20:1-12, the sally made out upon him, at the direction of the prophet, and the route made of the Syrian army, 1Ki 20:13-21, the return of the Syrian army the next year, when there was a pitched battle between them and Israel, in which the former were entirely defeated, 1Ki 20:22-30, the peace Ahab made with the king of Syria, 1Ki 20:31-34, and the reproof one of the sons of the prophets gave him for it, which made him very uneasy, 1Ki 20:35-43.

Footnotes 2

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