1 Kings 20:35

Easy-to-Read Version

One of the prophets told another prophet, "Hit me!" He said that because the Lord had commanded it. But the other prophet refused to hit him.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
One of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow prophet by the word of the Lord, “Strike me!” But the man refused to strike him.

Hebrew Names Version
A certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by the word of the LORD, Please strike me. The man refused to strike him.

King James Version
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the Lord , Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.

English Standard Version
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow at the command of the Lord , "Strike me, please." But the man refused to strike him.

New Century Version
One prophet from one of the groups of prophets told another, "Hit me!" He said this because the Lord had commanded it, but the other man refused.

New English Translation
One of the members of the prophetic guild, speaking with divine authority, ordered his companion, "Wound me!" But the man refused to wound him.

Amplified Bible
Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to another by the word of the LORD, "Please strike me." But the man refused to strike him.

New American Standard Bible
Now a man from the sons of the prophets said to another by the word of the LORD, "Please strike me." But the man refused to strike him.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then a certaine man of the children of the Prophets sayd vnto his neighbour by the comandement of the Lord, Smite me, I pray thee. But the man refused to smite him.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to another by the word of Yahweh, "Please strike me." But the man refused to strike him.

Contemporary English Version
About this time the Lord commanded a prophet to say to a friend, "Hit me!" But the friend refused,

Complete Jewish Bible
One of the members of the prophets' guild said to another one, by the word of Adonai , "Hit me!" But the man refused to hit him.

Darby Translation
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to another by the word of Jehovah, Smite me, I pray thee. But the man refused to smite him.

George Lamsa Translation
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor according to the word of the LORD, Strike me. But the man refused to strike him.

Good News Translation
At the Lord 's command a member of a group of prophets ordered a fellow prophet to hit him. But he refused,

Lexham English Bible
A certain man from the sons of the prophets said to his fellow countryman, "By the word of Yahweh, please strike me." But the man refused to strike him.

Literal Translation
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor, By the Word of Jehovah, please strike me. And the man refused to strike him.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then spake there a man amonge the children of the prophetes vnto his neghboure by the worde of the LORDE: I praye the smite me. But he refused to smite him.

American Standard Version
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his fellow by the word of Jehovah, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.

Bible in Basic English
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbour by the word of the Lord, Give me a wound. But the man would not.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And there was a certayne man of the children of the prophetes, whiche sayde vnto his neyghbour in the word of the Lord: Smyte me I pray thee. And the man woulde not smyte him.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his fellow by the word of the LORD: 'Smite me, I pray thee.' And the man refused to smite him.

King James Version (1611)
And a certaine man of the sonnes of the Prophets, saide vnto his neighbour in the word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.

English Revised Version
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his fellow by the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.

Berean Standard Bible
Meanwhile, by the word of the LORD, one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, "Strike me, please!" But the man refused to strike him.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thanne sum man of the sones of prophetis seide to his felowe, in the word of the Lord, Smyte thou me. And he nolde smyte.

Young's Literal Translation
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour by the word of Jehovah, `Smite me, I pray thee;' and the man refuseth to smite him,

Update Bible Version
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by the word of Yahweh, Smite me, I pray you. And the man refused to smite him.

Webster's Bible Translation
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.

World English Bible
A certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by the word of Yahweh, Please strike me. The man refused to strike him.

New King James Version
Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor by the word of the LORD, "Strike me, please." And the man refused to strike him.

New Living Translation
Meanwhile, the Lord instructed one of the group of prophets to say to another man, "Hit me!" But the man refused to hit the prophet.

New Life Bible
Now a certain son of the men who spoke for God said to another by the word of the Lord, "Hit me." But the man would not hit him.

New Revised Standard
At the command of the Lord a certain member of a company of prophets said to another, "Strike me!" But the man refused to strike him.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, a certain man of the sons of the prophets, said unto his neighbour, by the word of Yahweh - Smite me, I pray thee. But the man refused to smite him.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Then a certain man of the sons of the prophets, said to his companion, in the word of the Lord: Strike me. But he would not strike.

Revised Standard Version
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow at the command of the LORD, "Strike me, I pray." But the man refused to strike him.

THE MESSAGE
A man who was one of the prophets said to a bystander, "Hit me; wound me. Do it for God 's sake—it's his command. Hit me; wound me." But the man wouldn't do it.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to another by the word of the LORD, "Please strike me." But the man refused to strike him.

Contextual Overview

³¹ His servants said to him, "We heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Let's dress in rough cloth with ropes on our heads. Then let's go to the king of Israel. Maybe he will let us live." ³² They dressed in rough cloth with ropes on their heads. They came to the king of Israel. They said, "Your servant, Ben-Hadad, says, ‘Please let me live.'" Ahab said, "Is he still alive? He is my brother." ³³ Ben-Hadad's men wanted King Ahab to say something to show that he would not kill King Ben-Hadad. When Ahab called Ben-Hadad his brother, the advisors quickly said, "Yes! Ben-Hadad is your brother." Ahab said, "Bring him to me." So Ben-Hadad came to King Ahab. King Ahab asked him to get in the chariot with him. ³⁴ Ben-Hadad said to him, "Ahab, I will give you the towns that my father took from your father. And you can put shops in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." Ahab answered, "If you agree to this, I will let you go free." So the two kings made a peace agreement. Then King Ahab let King Ben-Hadad go free. ³⁵ One of the prophets told another prophet, "Hit me!" He said that because the Lord had commanded it. But the other prophet refused to hit him. ³⁶ So the first prophet said, "You did not obey the Lord 's command. So a lion will kill you when you leave this place." When the second prophet left, a lion killed him. ³⁷ The first prophet went to another man and said, "Hit me!" This man hit him and hurt the prophet. ³⁸ So the prophet wrapped his face with a cloth. This way no one could see who he was. The prophet went and waited for the king by the road. ³⁹ The king came by and the prophet said to him, "I went to fight in the battle. One of our men brought an enemy soldier to me. The man said, ‘Guard this man. If he runs away, you will have to give your life in his place or you will have to pay a fine of 75 pounds of silver.' ⁴⁰ While I was busy doing other things, the man ran away." The king of Israel answered, "You admitted that you are guilty, so you know the answer. You must do what the man said."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

of the sons: 1 Kings 20:38, 1 Samuel 10:12, 2 Kings 2:3, 2 Kings 2:5, 2 Kings 2:7, 2 Kings 2:15, 2 Kings 4:1, 2 Kings 4:38, Amos 7:14

in the word: 1 Kings 13:1, 1 Kings 13:2, 1 Kings 13:17, 1 Kings 13:18

Smite me: 1 Kings 20:37, Isaiah 8:18, Isaiah 20:2, Isaiah 20:3, Jeremiah 27:2, Jeremiah 27:3, Ezekiel 4:3, Matthew 16:24

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 12:1 - There were 1 Kings 18:22 - I only 1 Kings 19:10 - I only 1 Kings 21:1 - after 1 Kings 22:8 - concerning me 2 Kings 5:22 - the sons 2 Kings 6:1 - the sons 2 Kings 9:1 - General Amos 2:11 - I raised 1 Thessalonians 4:15 - by the

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And a certain man of the sons of the prophets,.... Which the Jews take to be Micaiah, and so Josephus u, which is probable; the same that had been with Ahab more than once; and, whoever he was, it is not unlikely that he was the same, since Ahab knew him when his disguise was off, 1 Kings 20:41,

said unto his neighbour, in the word of the Lord, smite me, I pray thee; told his neighbour, that by the command of God he was ordered to bid him smite him, so as to wound him:

and the man refused to smite him; being his neighbour, and perhaps a fellow prophet, and having an affection for him.

u Antiqu. l. 8. c. 14. sect, 5.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The sons of the prophets - The expression occurs here for the first time. It signifies (marginal references), the schools or colleges of prophets which existed in several of the Israelite, and probably of the Jewish, towns, where young men were regularly educated for the prophetical office. These “schools” make their first appearance under Samuel 1 Samuel 19:20. There is no distinct evidence that they continued later than the time of Elisha; but it is on the whole most probable that the institution survived the captivity, and that the bulk of the “prophets,” whose works have come down to us belonged to them. Amos Amos 7:14-15 seems to speak as if his were an exceptional case.

Said unto his neighbor - Rather, “to his friend” or “companion “ - to one who was, like himself, “a prophet’s son,” and who ought therefore to have perceived that his colleague spoke “in the word of the Lord.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 35. In the word of the Lord — By the word or command of the Lord; that is, God has commanded thee to smite me. Refusing to do it, this man forfeited his life, as we are informed in the next verse.

By this emblematical action he intended to inform Ahab that, as the man forfeited his life who refused to smite him when he had the Lord's command to do it; so he (Ahab) had forfeited his life, because he did not smite Ben-hadad when he had him in his power.