1 Kings 20:39

39 And when the king had passed (And as the king passed by), he cried to the king, and said, Thy servant went out to fight anon, and when one man had fled, a man brought him to me, and said, Keep thou this man; and if he escapeth, thy life shall be for his life, either thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

1 Kings 20:39 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 20:39

And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king
With a loud voice, signifying he had something to say unto him, at which he stopped:

and he said, thy servant went out into the midst of the battle;
this was not real, but fictitious, an apologue, fable, or parable, by which he would represent to Ahab his own case, and bring him under conviction of his folly, just as Nathan dealt with David:

and, behold, a man turned aside;
a superior officer in the army:

and brought a man unto me;
he had made a prisoner of:

and said, keep this man;
do not let him escape:

if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or
else thou shalt pay a talent of silver;
if he let him go willingly, or by any means he should get out of his hands, then he should either die for it, or be fined a talent of silver, which of our money is three hundred and seventy five pounds; and to this it seems he agreed.

1 Kings 20:39 In-Context

37 But also the prophet found another man, and he said to that man, Smite thou me. And he smote him, and wounded him.

38 Therefore the prophet went, and met the king in the way; and he changed with a cloth, that is, by (the) wrapping of a cloth, his mouth and eyes. (And so the prophet went, and met the king on the way; and he covered his mouth and his eyes with a cloth, that is, he disguised his face by wrapping it in a cloth.)

39 And when the king had passed (And as the king passed by), he cried to the king, and said, Thy servant went out to fight anon, and when one man had fled, a man brought him to me, and said, Keep thou this man; and if he escapeth, thy life shall be for his life, either thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

40 Soothly while I was troubled, and turned me hither and thither, suddenly he appeared not. And the king of Israel said to him, This is thy doom that thou [thyself] hast deemed. (And while I was troubled, and turned myself here and there, suddenly he was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, This is thy judgement, or thy sentence, that thou thyself hast pronounced, or declared.)

41 And anon he removed the cloth, either binding, from his face (And at once he removed the cloth, or the wrapping, from his face), and the king of Israel knew him, that he was (one) of the prophets.