1 Kings 3:23

23 Then the king replied, “This woman says, ‘My son is alive and yours is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead and mine is alive.’”

1 Kings 3:23 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 3:23

Then said the king
As judge, summing up what had been said on both sides, which were only bare assertions without proof; the one affirming what the other denied, and the other denying what the other affirmed: the one saith, this [is] my son that liveth, and thy son [is] the dead;
and the other saith nay; but thy son [is] the dead, and my son [is] the
living;
this he repeated to show to all present that no determination could be made by what had been said on each side, and that some other method must be taken.

1 Kings 3:23 In-Context

21 The next morning, when I got up to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. But when I examined him, I realized that he was not the son I had borne.”

22 “No,” said the other woman, “the living one is my son and the dead one is your son.” But the first woman insisted, “No, the dead one is yours and the living one is mine.” So they argued before the king.

23 Then the king replied, “This woman says, ‘My son is alive and yours is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead and mine is alive.’”

24 The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought him a sword,

25 and the king declared, “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”