1 Kings 3:23

23 Then said the king, 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.

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 : but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear .

22 And the other woman said , Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said , No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

23 Then said the king, 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.

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.