1 Kings 20:28

THE MESSAGE

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 ."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then the man of God approached and said to the king of Israel, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Arameans have said: The Lord is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys, I will hand over all this whole huge army to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Hebrew Names Version
A man of God came near and spoke to the king of Yisra'el, and said, Thus says the LORD, Because the Aram have said, the LORD is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys; therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.

King James Version
And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord , Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord .

English Standard Version
And a man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, "Thus says the Lord , ‘Because the Syrians have said, "The Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys," therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord .'"

New Century Version
A man of God came to the king of Israel with this message: "The Lord says, ‘The people of Aram say that I, the Lord , am a god of the mountains, not a god of the valleys. So I will allow you to defeat this huge army, and then you will know I am the Lord .'"

New English Translation
The prophet visited the king of Israel and said, "This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Syrians said, "The Lord is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys," I will hand over to you this entire huge army. Then you will know that I am the Lord .'"

Amplified Bible
A man of God approached and said to the king of Israel, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because the Arameans have said, "The LORD is a god of the hills, but He is not a god of the valleys," I will give this great army into your hand, and you shall know [by experience] that I am the LORD.'"

New American Standard Bible
Then a man of God approached and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, "This is what the LORD says: 'Since the Arameans have said, "The LORD is a god of mountains, but He is not a god of valleys," therefore I will hand over to you all this great multitude, and you shall know that I am the LORD.'"

Geneva Bible (1587)
And there came a man of God, and spake vnto the King of Israel, saying, Thus sayeth the Lord, Because the Aramites haue sayd, The Lord is the God of the mountaines, and not God of the valleis, therefore will I deliuer all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shal know that I am the Lord.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, "Thus says Yahweh, ‘Because the Arameans have said, "Yahweh is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys," therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am Yahweh.'"

Contemporary English Version
The prophet went to Ahab and said, "The Syrians think the Lord is a god of the hills and not of the valleys. So he has promised to help you defeat their powerful army. Then you will know that the Lord is in control."

Complete Jewish Bible
At this point, a man of God approached and said to the king of Isra'el, "Here is what Adonai says: ‘Because Aram said that Adonai is a God of the hills but not a God of the valleys, I will hand over to you this entire huge army. Then you will know that I am Adonai .'"

Darby Translation
And the man of God drew near, and spoke to the king of Israel and said, Thus saith Jehovah: Because the Syrians have said, Jehovah is a god of the mountains, but he is not a god of the valleys, I will give all this great multitude into thy hand, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.

Easy-to-Read Version
A man of God came to the king of Israel with this message: "The Lord said, ‘The people of Aram said that I, the Lord , am a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys. So I will let you defeat this great army. Then all of you will know that I am the Lord , wherever you are!'"

George Lamsa Translation
And a prophet of God drew near to Ahab the king of Israel, and said to him, Thus says the LORD, Because the Arameans have said, The LORD is a god of the mountains, but he is not a god of the valleys, therefore I will deliver all this great army into your hands, and you shall know that I am the LORD.

Good News Translation
A prophet went to King Ahab and said, "This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Syrians say that I am a god of the hills and not of the plains, I will give you victory over their huge army, and you and your people will know that I am the Lord .'"

Lexham English Bible
Then the man of God approached, and he spoke to the king of Israel, and he said, "Thus says Yahweh: ‘Because Aram has said, "Yahweh is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys,"' I will give all this great crowd into your hand that you may know that I am Yahweh."

Literal Translation
And a man of God came near to the king of Israel and said, So says Jehovah, Because the Syrians have said, Jehovah is God of the hills and not God of the valleys, therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am Jehovah.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And there came a man of God, and sayde vnto the kynge of Israel: Thus sayeth the LORDE: Because the Syrians haue sayde, that the LORDE is a God of the moutaynes and not a God of the valleys, therfore haue I geuen all this greate heape in to thy handes, that ye maye knowe how that I am ye LORDE.

American Standard Version
And a man of God came near and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith Jehovah, Because the Syrians have said, Jehovah is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys; therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.

Bible in Basic English
And a man of God came up and said to the king of Israel, The Lord says, Because the Aramaeans have said, The Lord is a god of the hills and not of the valleys; I will give all this great army into your hands, and you will see that I am the Lord.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And there came a man of God, and sayd vnto the king of Israel, thus sayth the Lorde: Because the Syrians haue sayd, the Lorde is but God of the hilles, and not God of the valleys: therfore wil I deliuer all this great multitude into thyne hande, and ye shall knowe that I am the Lorde.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And a man of God came near and spoke unto the king of Israel, and said: 'Thus saith the LORD: Because the Arameans have said: The LORD is a God of the hills, but he is not a God of the valleys; therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.'

King James Version (1611)
And there came a man of God, and spake vnto the king of Israel, and sayd, Thus sayth the Lord, Because the Syrians haue sayde, The Lord is God of the hilles, but hee is not God of the valleys: therefore will I deliuer all this great multitude into thine hand, and yee shall know that I am the Lord.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the word of the Lord came by the hand of his servant Eliu concerning Achaab, and the Lord said,

English Revised Version
And a man of God came near and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys; therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

Berean Standard Bible
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.'"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And o prophete of God neiyede, and seide to the kyng of Israel, The Lord God seith these thingis, For men of Sirie seiden, God of hillis is the Lord of hem, and he is not God of valeis, Y schal yyue al this greet multitude in thin hond, and ye schulen wite that Y am the Lord.

Young's Literal Translation
And there cometh nigh a man of God, and speaketh unto the king of Israel, and saith, `Thus said Jehovah, Because that the Aramaeans have said, God of hills [is] Jehovah, and He [is] not God of valleys -- I have given the whole of this great multitude into thy hand, and ye have known that I [am] Jehovah.'

Update Bible Version
And a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, Thus says Yahweh, Because the Syrians have said, Yahweh is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys; therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am Yahweh.

Webster's Bible Translation
And there came a man of God, and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD [is] God of the hills, but he [is] not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.

World English Bible
A man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, Thus says Yahweh, Because the Syrians have said, Yahweh is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys; therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am Yahweh.

New King James Version
Then a man of God came and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, "Thus says the LORD: "Because the Syrians have said, "The LORD is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys," therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD."'

New Living Translation
Then the man of God went to the king of Israel and said, "This is what the Lord says: The Arameans have said, ‘The Lord is a god of the hills and not of the plains.' So I will defeat this vast army for you. Then you will know that I am the Lord ."

New Life Bible
Then a man who spoke for God came to the king of Israel and said, "This is what the Lord says. ‘The Syrians have said, "The Lord is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys." So I will give all these many people to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.'"

New Revised Standard
A man of God approached and said to the king of Israel, "Thus says the Lord : Because the Arameans have said, ‘The Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys,' therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord ."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then approached the man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said - Thus, saith Yahweh - Because the Syrians have said - A god of the mountains, is Yahweh, but, not a god of the vales, is he, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude, into thy hand, so shalt thou know, that, I, am Yahweh.

Douay-Rheims Bible
(And a man of God coming, said to the king of Israel: Thus saith the Lord: Because the Syrians have said: The Lord is God of the hills, but is not God of the valleys: I will deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.)

Revised Standard Version
And a man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because the Syrians have said, "The LORD is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys," therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.'"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because the Arameans have said, "The LORD is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys," therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.'"

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

there came: 1 Kings 20:13, 1 Kings 20:22, 1 Kings 13:1, 1 Kings 17:18, 2 Chronicles 20:14-20

Because: 1 Kings 20:23, Isaiah 37:29-37

therefore will: 1 Kings 20:13, Deuteronomy 32:27, Joshua 7:8, Joshua 7:9, Job 12:16-19, Psalms 58:10, Psalms 58:11, Psalms 79:10, Isaiah 37:29, Isaiah 37:35, Jeremiah 14:7, Ezekiel 20:9, Ezekiel 20:14, Ezekiel 36:21-23, Ezekiel 36:32

ye shall know: 1 Kings 20:13, Exodus 6:7, Exodus 7:5, Exodus 8:22, Deuteronomy 29:6, Ezekiel 6:14, Ezekiel 11:12, Ezekiel 12:16, Ezekiel 36:22, Ezekiel 39:7

Reciprocal: Exodus 7:17 - thou shalt Numbers 21:34 - for I have Numbers 23:13 - unto 2 Samuel 10:13 - they fled 2 Kings 3:18 - he will 2 Kings 3:27 - they departed 2 Kings 6:9 - Beware 2 Kings 19:19 - O Lord 1 Chronicles 19:14 - they fled Jeremiah 23:23 - General Jeremiah 35:4 - a man Ezekiel 7:27 - and they Ezekiel 22:16 - thou shalt know Ezekiel 37:6 - ye shall Daniel 11:11 - the multitude 1 Timothy 6:11 - O man

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And there came a man of God,.... The same as before, 1 Kings 20:13 or had come p before the little army went out to meet the Syrians; though he might go to Ahab when encamped, for his encouragement:

and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, thus saith the Lord, because the Syrians have said, the Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys; 1 Kings 20:13- :.

therefore will I deliver, all this great multitude into thine hand; not for Ahab's sake would the Lord do this, who does not appear thankful to God for the former victory, nor to be reformed from his idolatry, and the better for it, but for the honour of his own name, which had been blasphemed by the Syrians:

and ye shall know that I am the Lord; both of hills and valleys, the omnipotent Jehovah, the only true God.

p ויגש "accesserat", Vatablus.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A man of God - Evidently not the prophet who had spoken to Ahab the year before 1 Kings 20:13, 1 Kings 20:22. He probably dwelt in the neighborhood of Samaria. Now that Ahab and his army had marched out into the Trans-Jordanic territory, another prophet, a native probably of that region, announced God’s will to them.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 28. Because the Syrians have said — God resents their blasphemy, and is determined to punish it. They shall now be discomfited in such a way as to show that God's power is every where, and that the multitude of a host is nothing against him.