1 Kings 20:24

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Also do this: remove each king from his position and appoint captains in their place.

Hebrew Names Version
Do this thing: take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their room;

King James Version
And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:

English Standard Version
And do this: remove the kings, each from his post, and put commanders in their places,

New Century Version
This is what you should do. Don't allow the thirty-two rulers to command the armies, but put other commanders in their places.

New English Translation
So do this: Dismiss the kings from their command, and replace them with military commanders.

Amplified Bible
"Do this: remove the [thirty-two allied] kings, each from his place, and put captains in their place,

New American Standard Bible
"Carry out this plan: remove the kings, each from his place, and put governors in their place,

Geneva Bible (1587)
And this doe, Take the Kings away, euery one out of his place, & place captaines for them.

Legacy Standard Bible
Do this thing: remove the kings, each from his place, and put captains in their place,

Contemporary English Version
Here's what you should do. First, get rid of those thirty-two kings and put army commanders in their places.

Complete Jewish Bible
Also do this: remove all the kings from their commands, and put professional officers in their place.

Darby Translation
And do this: take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put governors in their stead;

Easy-to-Read Version
Also, don't let the 32 kings command the armies. Put your commanders in charge of the armies.

George Lamsa Translation
And do this thing: Remove the kings, every one from his command, and put officers in their places;

Good News Translation
Now, remove the thirty-two rulers from their commands and replace them with field commanders.

Lexham English Bible
Do this thing: remove the kings each from his post, and put a governor in their place.

Literal Translation
And do this thing: take away the kings, each out of his place, and set commanders in their place.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Do thus, put awaye the kynges euery one from his place, and set dukes in their steades,

American Standard Version
And do this thing: take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their room;

Bible in Basic English
This is what you have to do: take away the kings from their positions, and put captains in their places;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And this do: Take the kinges away euery man out of his place, & put dukes in their roomes:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And do this thing: take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put governors in their room:

King James Version (1611)
And doe this thing, Take the kings away, euery man out of his place, and put captaines in their roumes.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Him that is dead of Achaab in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that is dead of him in the field shall the birds of the sky eat.

English Revised Version
And do this thing; take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their room:

Berean Standard Bible
So do this: Dismiss all the kings from their positions and replace them with other officers.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor do thou this word; remoue thou alle kyngis fro thin oost, and sette thou princis for hem;

Young's Literal Translation
`And this thing do thou: turn aside the kings each out of his place, and set captains in their stead;

Update Bible Version
And do this thing: take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their place;

Webster's Bible Translation
And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:

World English Bible
Do this thing: take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their room;

New King James Version
So do this thing: Dismiss the kings, each from his position, and put captains in their places;

New Living Translation
Only this time replace the kings with field commanders!

New Life Bible
And do this. Take each of the kings from his place, and put captains in their places.

New Revised Standard
Also do this: remove the kings, each from his post, and put commanders in place of them;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, this thing, do, - set aside the kings, every man out of his place, and put governors in their stead;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Do thou, therefore, this thing: Remove all the kings from thy army, and put captains in their stead:

Revised Standard Version
And do this: remove the kings, each from his post, and put commanders in their places;

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Do this thing: remove the kings, each from his place, and put captains in their place,

Contextual Overview

²² Sometime later the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, "On the alert now—build up your army, assess your capabilities, and see what has to be done. Before the year is out, the king of Aram will be back in force." ²³Meanwhile the advisors to the king of Aram said, "Their god is a god of the mountains—we don't stand a chance against them there. So let's engage them on the plain where we'll have the advantage. Here's the strategy: Remove each sheik from his place of leadership and replace him with a seasoned officer. Then recruit a fighting force equivalent in size to the army that deserted earlier—horse for horse, chariot for chariot. And we'll fight them on the plain—we're sure to prove stronger than they are." It sounded good to the king; he did what they advised. ²⁶As the new year approached, Ben-Hadad rallied Aram and they went up to Aphek to make war on Israel. The Israelite army prepared to fight and took the field to meet Aram. They moved into battle formation before Aram in two camps, like two flocks of goats. The plain was seething with Arameans. ²⁸ Just then a holy man approached the king of Israel saying, "This is God 's word: Because Aram said, ‘ God is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys,' I'll hand over this huge mob of an army to you. Then you'll know that I am God ." ²⁹The two armies were poised in a standoff for seven days. On the seventh day fighting broke out. The Israelites killed 100,000 of the Aramean infantry in one day. The rest of the army ran for their lives back to the city, Aphek, only to have the city wall fall on 27,000 of the survivors. Ben-Hadad escaped into the city and hid in a closet. Then his advisors told him, "Look, we've heard that the kings of Israel play by the rules; let's dress in old gunnysacks, carry a white flag of truce, and present ourselves to the king of Israel on the chance that he'll let you live." So that's what they did. They dressed in old gunnysacks and carried a white flag, and came to the king of Israel saying, "Your servant Ben-Hadad said, ‘Please let me live.'" Ahab said, "You mean to tell me that he's still alive? If he's alive, he's my brother." The men took this as a good sign and concluded that everything was going to be all right: "Ben-Hadad is most certainly your brother!" The king said, "Go and get him." They went and brought him back by chariot. Ahab said, "I am prepared to return the cities that my father took from your father. And you can set up your headquarters in Damascus just as my father did in Samaria; I'll send you home under safe conduct." Then he made a covenant with him and sent him off. 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. So he told him, "Because you wouldn't obey God 's orders, as soon as you leave me a lion will attack you." No sooner had the man left his side than a lion met him and attacked. He then found another man and said, "Hit me; wound me." That man did it—hit him hard in the face, drawing blood. Then the prophet went and took a position along the road, with a bandage over his eyes, waiting for the king. It wasn't long before the king happened by. The man cried out to the king, "Your servant was in the thick of the battle when a man showed up and turned over a prisoner to me, saying, ‘Guard this man with your life; if he turns up missing you'll pay dearly.' But I got busy doing one thing after another and the next time I looked he was gone." The king of Israel said, "You've just pronounced your own verdict." At that, the man ripped the bandage off his eyes and the king recognized who he was—one of the prophets! The man said to the king, " God 's word: Because you let a man go who was under sentence by God , it's now your life for his, your people for his." The king of Israel went home in a sulk. He arrived in Samaria in a very bad mood.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Take the: 1 Kings 20:1, 1 Kings 20:16, 1 Kings 22:31, Proverbs 21:30

Reciprocal: 1 Chronicles 19:9 - the kings

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And do this thing,.... Also take this further piece of advice:

take the kings away, every man out of his place: for being brought up delicately, they were not inured to war, nor expert in the art of it; and being addicted to pleasure, gave themselves to that, and drew the king into it, which they observed was the case before, though they did not care to mention it; and if they were tributaries or allies, they would not fight as men do for their own country:

and put captains in their rooms; of his own people, men of skill and courage, and who would fight both for their own honour, and for the good of their country.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The Syrian chiefs evidently thought that want of unity had weakened their army. They therefore proposed the deposition of the kings, and the substitution, in their place, of Syrian governors: not “captains.” The term used always denotes a civil office.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 24. Take the kings away — These were not acquainted with military affairs, or they had not competent skill. Put experienced captains in their place, and fight not but on the plains, and you will be sure of victory.