Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version Meanwhile, the officials of the king of Aram advised him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they. New Living Translation After their defeat, Ben-hadad’s officers said to him, “The Israelite gods are gods of the hills; that is why they won. But we can beat them easily on the plains. English Standard Version And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. Berean Standard Bible Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they prevailed over us. Instead, we should fight them on the plains; surely then we will prevail. King James Bible And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. New King James Version Then the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. Therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them in the plain, surely we will be stronger than they. New American Standard Bible Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the mountains; for that reason they were stronger than we. But let us fight them in the plain, and we will certainly be stronger than they. NASB 1995 Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they. NASB 1977 Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. Legacy Standard Bible Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they. Amplified Bible Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Israel’s god is a god of the hills; that is why they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they. Christian Standard Bible Now the king of Aram’s servants said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hill country. That’s why they were stronger than we were. Instead, we should fight with them on the plain; then we will certainly be stronger than they are. Holman Christian Standard Bible Now the king of Aram’s servants said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hill country. That’s why they were stronger than we were. Instead, we should fight with them on the plain; then we will certainly be stronger than they will be. American Standard Version And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. Aramaic Bible in Plain English And the Servants of the King of Edom were saying to him: “Their God is the God of the mountains. Because of this, they are victorious; however, we will fight with them in the plain and we will conquer them! Brenton Septuagint Translation And the servants of the king of Syria, even they said, The God of Israel is a God of mountains, and not a God of valleys; therefore has he prevailed against us: but if we should fight against them in the plain, verily we shall prevail against them. Contemporary English Version Meanwhile, Benhadad's officials went to him and explained: Israel's gods are mountain gods. We fought Israel's army in the hills, and that's why they defeated us. But if we fight them on flat land, there's no way we can lose. Douay-Rheims Bible But the servants of the king of Syria said to him: Their gods are gods of the hills, therefore they have overcome us: but it is better that we should fight against them in the plains, and we shall overcome them. English Revised Version And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. GOD'S WORD® Translation Meanwhile, the officers of King Benhadad of Aram told him, "Their god is a god of the hills. That is why they were stronger than we were. However, if we fight them on the plain, we will be stronger than they are. Good News Translation King Benhadad's officials said to him, "The gods of Israel are mountain gods, and that is why the Israelites defeated us. But we will certainly defeat them if we fight them in the plains. International Standard Version Sure enough, the advisors to the king of Aram told him, "Their gods are mountain gods. That's why they were stronger than we were. But when we fight them on the plains, we're certain to be the stronger army! JPS Tanakh 1917 And the servants of the king of Aram said unto him: 'Their God is a God of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. Literal Standard Version And the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods [are] gods of hills, therefore they were stronger than us; and yet, we fight with them in the plain—are we not stronger than they? Majority Standard Bible Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they prevailed over us. Instead, we should fight them on the plains; surely then we will prevail. New American Bible Meanwhile the servants of the king of Aram said to him: “Their gods are mountain gods. That is why they defeated us. But if we fight them on level ground, we shall be sure to defeat them. NET Bible Now the advisers of the king of Syria said to him: "Their God is a god of the mountains. That's why they overpowered us. But if we fight them in the plains, we will certainly overpower them. New Revised Standard Version The servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. New Heart English Bible The servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. Webster's Bible Translation And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. World English Bible The servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we. But let’s fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they. Young's Literal Translation And the servants of the king of Aram said unto him, 'Gods of hills are their gods, therefore they were stronger than we; and yet, we fight with them in the plain -- are we not stronger than they? Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Ahab Defeats Ben-hadad…22Afterward, the prophet approached the king of Israel and said, “Go and strengthen your position, and take note what you must do, for in the spring the king of Aram will come up against you.” 23Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they prevailed over us. Instead, we should fight them on the plains; surely then we will prevail. 24So do this: Dismiss all the kings from their positions and replace them with other officers.… Cross References Romans 1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. 1 Kings 14:23 They also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 1 Kings 20:24 So do this: Dismiss all the kings from their positions and replace them with other officers. 1 Kings 20:28 Then the man of God approached the king of Israel and said, "This is what the LORD says: 'Because the Arameans think the LORD is a god of the hills and not of the valleys, I will deliver all this great army into your hand. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'" 1 Kings 20:31 Then the servants of Ben-hadad said to him, "Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us go out to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life." Isaiah 36:20 Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered his land from my hand? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?" Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of distress, the nations will come to You from the ends of the earth, and they will say, "Our fathers inherited nothing but lies, worthless idols of no benefit at all. Treasury of Scripture And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. thou hast lost [heb] was fallen Psalm 10:3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. Jump to Previous Advised Aram Attack Fight Gods Hills Lowlands Meanwhile Mountains Officials Plain Plateau Rather Servants Strong Stronger Surely SyriaJump to Next Advised Aram Attack Fight Gods Hills Lowlands Meanwhile Mountains Officials Plain Plateau Rather Servants Strong Stronger Surely Syria1 Kings 20 1. Ben-Hadad, not content with Ahab's homage, besieges Samaria13. 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 (23) Gods of the hills.--The idea of tutelary gods, whose strength was greatest on their own soil, is naturally common in polytheistic religions, which, by the very multiplication of gods, imply limitation of the power of each. Now the greater part of the territory where Jehovah was worshipped was a hill-country. Samaria in particular, the scene of recent defeat, lay in the mountain region of Ephraim. The Israelite armies, moreover, being mostly of infantry--having, indeed, few or no cavalry, except in the time of Solomon--naturally encamped and fought, as far as possible, on the hills; as Barak on Mount Tabor (Judges 4:6-14), Saul on Mount Gilboa (1Samuel 31:1), and Ahab himself (in 1Kings 20:27). Perhaps the worship of Jehovah in the "high places" may have also conduced to this belief that the "gods of Israel were gods of the hills," whose power vanished in the plains; where, of course, the Syrian armies of chariots and horsemen would naturally fight at advantage. Shrewd policy might, as so often is the case, lurk in the advice of Ben-hadad's counsellors under the cover of superstition; as, indeed, it seems also to show itself in seizing the opportunity to increase the central power, by organising the troops of the tributary kings under officers of his own.Verse 23. - And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him [naturally anxious to retrieve their character and obliterate their disgrace], Their gods are gods of the hills [All pagan nations have believed in local deities, Dii montium, dii nemorum, etc. (see 2 Kings 18:33-35; 2 Kings 19:12, 13). Keil accounts for this belief - that the gods of Israel were mountain divinities, by the consideration that the temple was built on Mount Moriah, and that worship was always offered on "high places." Kitto reminds us that the law was given from Mount Sinai, and that fire had recently descended on Mount Carmel. "In Syrophoenicia, even mountains themselves had Divine honours paid to them" (Movers, Phoen. 1:667 sqq.) But it is enough to remember that Samaria was a hilly district, and that the courtiers must find some excuse for the defeat]; therefore they were stronger than we; but [Heb. (וְאוּלָם often well rendered but not in this instance) by the LXX. οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλά] let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. [This counsel, which apparently rests on religious grounds alone, was, it is probable, really dictated by the practical consideration that in the plain the Syrians would be able to deploy their chariots a most important arm of their service in a way which they could not do in the valleys round Samaria. See 1 Kings 16:24, note. Moreover the Israelites would lose the advantage of a strong position and the cover of their fortifications if they could be induced to meet them in the "great plain," or on any similar battlefield.] Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Meanwhile, the servantsוְעַבְדֵ֨י (wə·‘aḇ·ḏê) Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct Strong's 5650: Slave, servant of the king מֶֽלֶךְ־ (me·leḵ-) Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 4428: A king of Aram אֲרָ֜ם (’ă·rām) Noun - proper - feminine singular Strong's 758: Aram -- Syria said אָמְר֣וּ (’ā·mə·rū) Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural Strong's 559: To utter, say to him, אֵלָ֗יו (’ê·lāw) Preposition | third person masculine singular Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to “Their gods [are] אֱלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔ם (’ĕ·lō·hê·hem) Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative gods אֱלֹהֵ֤י (’ĕ·lō·hê) Noun - masculine plural construct Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative of the hills. הָרִים֙ (hā·rîm) Noun - masculine plural Strong's 2022: Mountain, hill, hill country That is why עַל־ (‘al-) Preposition Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against they prevailed נֶחֱזַ֖ק (ne·ḥĕ·zaq) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common plural Strong's 2388: To fasten upon, to seize, be strong, obstinate, to bind, restrain, conquer over us. מִמֶּ֑נּוּ (mim·men·nū) Preposition | first person common plural Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of Instead, וְאוּלָ֗ם (wə·’ū·lām) Conjunctive waw | Conjunction Strong's 199: However, on the contrary we should fight נִלָּחֵ֤ם (nil·lā·ḥêm) Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - first person common plural Strong's 3898: To feed on, to consume, to battle them אִתָּם֙ (’it·tām) Preposition | third person masculine plural Strong's 854: Nearness, near, with, by, at, among on the plains; בַּמִּישׁ֔וֹר (bam·mî·šō·wr) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 4334: A level, a plain, as a, straightness, justice surely then אִם־ (’im-) Conjunction Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not we will prevail. חָזְק֣וּ (ḥā·zə·qū) Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural Strong's 2388: To fasten upon, to seize, be strong, obstinate, to bind, restrain, conquer Links 1 Kings 20:23 NIV1 Kings 20:23 NLT 1 Kings 20:23 ESV 1 Kings 20:23 NASB 1 Kings 20:23 KJV 1 Kings 20:23 BibleApps.com 1 Kings 20:23 Biblia Paralela 1 Kings 20:23 Chinese Bible 1 Kings 20:23 French Bible 1 Kings 20:23 Catholic Bible OT History: 1 Kings 20:23 The servants of the king of Syria (1Ki iKi i Ki 1 Kg 1kg) |
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