1 Kings 3:22

22 And the other woman said, No, for the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this one said, No, but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king.

1 Kings 3:22 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 3:22

And the other woman said
The defendant: nay, but the living [is] my son, and the dead [is] thy son;
she denied what the other said, but offered nothing in proof of it: and this said;
she who was the plaintiff replied in the same language: no: but the dead [is] thy son, and the living [is] my son;
without being able to add anything in confirmation of what she had deposed: thus they spake before the king;
several times, over and over again, what is before expressed, having nothing to produce on either side in proof of their assertions; so that it was very difficult to determine to whom the living child belonged.

1 Kings 3:22 In-Context

20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom.

21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; and I considered it in the morning, and behold, it was not my son, whom I bore.

22 And the other woman said, No, for the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this one said, No, but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king.

23 Then said the king, The one says, This that is living is my son, and thy son is the dead; and the other says, No, for thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.