1 Kings 3:23

23 Then said the king, "The one saith, `This is my son who 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 whom I had borne."

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 spoke before the king.

23 Then said the king, "The one saith, `This is my son who 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."