1 Kings 3:23

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.

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 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.

25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.