1 Kings 20:10
New International Version
Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful.”

New Living Translation
Then Ben-hadad sent this message to Ahab: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if there remains enough dust from Samaria to provide even a handful for each of my soldiers.”

English Standard Version
Ben-hadad sent to him and said, “The gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”

Berean Standard Bible
Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”

King James Bible
And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.

New King James Version
Then Ben-Hadad sent to him and said, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if enough dust is left of Samaria for a handful for each of the people who follow me.”

New American Standard Bible
Ben-hadad sent word to him and said, “May the gods do so to me and more so, if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”

NASB 1995
Ben-hadad sent to him and said, “May the gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria will suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”

NASB 1977
And Ben-hadad sent to him and said, “May the gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Ben-hadad sent to him and said, “May the gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be sufficient for a handful for all the people who follow me.”

Amplified Bible
Ben-hadad sent word to him and said, “May the gods do so to me, and more also, if there is enough dust left of Samaria for handfuls for all the [armed] people who follow me.”

Christian Standard Bible
Then Ben-hadad sent messengers to him and said, “May the gods punish me and do so severely if Samaria’s dust amounts to a handful for each of the people who follow me.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then Ben-hadad sent messengers to him and said, “May the gods punish me and do so severely if Samaria’s dust amounts to a handful for each of the people who follow me.”

American Standard Version
And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And BarHadad sent to him and said: “Thus the gods shall do to me and thus they will do more to me if the dust of Samaria, a handful, will be sufficient for the people who are with me!”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the son of Ader sent to him, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for foxes to all the people, even my infantry.

Contemporary English Version
he replied, "I'll completely destroy Samaria! There won't even be enough of it left for my soldiers to carry back in their hands. If I don't do it, I pray that the gods will punish me terribly."

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the messengers returning brought him word. And he sent again and said: Such and such things may the gods do to me, and more may they add, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.

English Revised Version
And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then Benhadad sent Ahab the following message: "May the gods strike me dead if there will be enough dust left from Samaria to give a handful to each soldier who follows me."

Good News Translation
from Benhadad: "I will bring enough men to destroy this city of yours and carry off the rubble in their hands. May the gods strike me dead if I don't!"

International Standard Version
Beh-hadad sent this message back: "May the gods do so to me, and more than that also, if the dust that remains of Samaria is enough to fill up a few handfuls for all of the armies at my disposal."

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said: 'The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.'

Literal Standard Version
And Ben-Hadad sends to him and says, “Thus the gods do to me, and thus do they add, if the dust of Samaria suffice for handfuls for all the people who [are] at my feet.”

Majority Standard Bible
Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”

New American Bible
Ben-hadad then responded, “May the gods do thus to me and more, if there will remain enough dust in Samaria to make handfuls for all my followers.”

NET Bible
Ben Hadad sent another message to him, "May the gods judge me severely if there is enough dirt left in Samaria for my soldiers to scoop up in their hands."

New Revised Standard Version
Ben-hadad sent to him and said, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria will provide a handful for each of the people who follow me.”

New Heart English Bible
Ben Hadad sent to him, and said, "The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me."

Webster's Bible Translation
And Ben-hadad sent to him, and said, The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.

World English Bible
Ben Hadad sent to him, and said, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”

Young's Literal Translation
And Ben-Hadad sendeth unto him, and saith, 'Thus do the gods to me, and thus do they add, if the dust of Samaria suffice for handfuls for all the people who are at my feet.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria
9So Ahab answered the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you demanded of your servant the first time I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’ ” So the messengers departed and relayed the message to Ben-hadad. 10Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.” 11And the king of Israel replied, “Tell him: ‘The one putting on his armor should not boast like one taking it off.’ ”…

Cross References
1 Samuel 17:43
"Am I a dog," he said to David, "that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

1 Kings 19:2
So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the lives of those you killed!"

1 Kings 20:9
So Ahab answered the messengers of Ben-hadad, "Tell my lord the king, 'All that you demanded of your servant the first time I will do, but this thing I cannot do.'" So the messengers departed and relayed the message to Ben-hadad.

2 Kings 6:31
He announced, "May God punish me, and ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders through this day!"

Isaiah 37:25
I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt."

Jeremiah 9:23
This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.

Jeremiah 46:17
There they will cry out: 'Pharaoh king of Egypt was all noise; he has let the appointed time pass him by.'


Treasury of Scripture

And Benhadad sent to him, and said, The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.

message [heb] word

1 Kings 20:16
And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.

1 Kings 16:9
And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah.

1 Samuel 25:36
And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.

pavilions.

Jeremiah 43:10
And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.

Set yourselves in array

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1 Kings 20
1. Ben-Hadad, not content with Ahab's homage, besieges Samaria
13. By the direction of a prophet, the Syrians are slain
22. As the prophet forewarned Ahab, the Syrians come against him in Aphek
28. By the word of the prophet, and God's judgment, the Syrians are smitten again
31. The Syrians submit; Ahab sends Ben-Hadad away with a covenant
35. The prophet, under the parable of a prisoner,
39. making Ahab judge himself, denounces God's judgment against him














(10) The dust of Samaria--when razed to the ground. The phrase probably implies a threat of destruction, as well as a boast of overwhelming strength. Josephus (Ant. viii. 14, 2) has a curious explanation--that, if each of the Syrians took only a handful of dust, they could raise a mound against the city, higher than the walls of Samaria.

The historian, with a touch of patriotic scorn, paints Ben-hadad as a luxurious and insolent braggart. He receives the message at a feast, "drinking himself drunk," and, stung by its tone of sarcasm, does not condescend to bestir himself, but orders his servants to an instant attack. The command is given, with a haughty brevity, in a single word ("Set"), which may be "Array troops," or "Place engines," as in the margin. The LXX. translates, "Build a stockade" (for attack on the walls).

Verse 10. - And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said [These words would be quite superfluous, if the oaths of which we now hear were the "word" of ver. 9], The gods do so unto me, and more also [see notes on 1 Kings 2:23; 19:2], if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls [The meaning of שְׁעָלִים pugilli, is fixed by Isaiah 40:12, and Ezekiel 13:19] for all the people that follow me. [Heb. that are in my feet. Same expression Judges 4:16; Judges 5:15; 1 Samuel 25:27; 2 Samuel 15:17, etc. This thoroughly Oriental piece of bluster and boasting, which was intended, no doubt, to strike terror into the hearts of king and people, has been variously interpreted, but the meaning appears to be sufficiently clear. Ben-bahad vows that he will make Samaria a heap of dust, and at the same time affirms that so overwhelming is his host, that this dust will be insufficient to fill the hands of his soldiers. Rawlinson compares with it the well-known saying of the Trachinian to Dieneces, that the Median arrows would obscure the sun (Herod. 7:226), but 2 Samuel 17:18 is still more apposite.]

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Then Ben-hadad
הֲדַ֔ד (hă·ḏaḏ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1130: Ben-hadad -- 'son of Hadad', the name of several Aramean (Syrian) kings

sent
וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח (way·yiš·laḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

another message
וַיֹּ֕אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to [Ahab]:
אֵלָיו֙ (’ê·lāw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

“May the gods
אֱלֹהִ֖ים (’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

deal
כֹּֽה־ (kōh-)
Adverb
Strong's 3541: Like this, thus, here, now

with me,
לִ֛י (lî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew

and ever so
וְכֹ֣ה (wə·ḵōh)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 3541: Like this, thus, here, now

severely,
יוֹסִ֑פוּ (yō·w·si·p̄ū)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3254: To add, augment

if
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

[enough] dust
עֲפַ֣ר (‘ă·p̄ar)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6083: Dust, clay, earth, mud

remains
יִשְׂפֹּק֙ (yiś·pōq)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5606: To clap the hands, of satisfaction, to be enough, of excess, to vomit

of Samaria
שֹׁמְר֔וֹן (šō·mə·rō·wn)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 8111: Samaria -- capital of northern kingdom of Israel

for each
לְכָל־ (lə·ḵāl)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

of my men
הָעָ֖ם (hā·‘ām)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

[to have] a handful.”
לִשְׁעָלִ֕ים (liš·‘ā·lîm)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 8168: Hollow hand, handful


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OT History: 1 Kings 20:10 Ben Hadad sent to him and said (1Ki iKi i Ki 1 Kg 1kg)
1 Kings 20:9
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