1 Kings 20:41

THE MESSAGE

At that, the man ripped the bandage off his eyes and the king recognized who he was—one of the prophets!

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He quickly removed the bandage from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets.

Hebrew Names Version
He hurried, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Yisra'el discerned him that he was of the prophets.

King James Version
And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.

English Standard Version
Then he hurried to take the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

New Century Version
Then the prophet quickly took the cloth from his face. When the king of Israel saw him, he knew he was one of the prophets.

New English Translation
The prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes and the king of Israel recognized he was one of the prophets.

Amplified Bible
Then the prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and [Ahab] the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

New American Standard Bible
Then he quickly took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was one of the prophets.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And hee hasted, and tooke the ashes away from his face: and the King of Israel knewe him that he was of the Prophets:

Legacy Standard Bible
Then he hastily took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was of the prophets.

Contemporary English Version
The man quickly tore the bandage off his face, and Ahab saw that he was one of the prophets.

Complete Jewish Bible
Quickly he removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Isra'el recognized him as one of the prophets.

Darby Translation
Then he hastily took the sash away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him, that he was of the prophets.

Easy-to-Read Version
Then the prophet quickly took the cloth from his face, and the king of Israel saw that he was one of the prophets.

George Lamsa Translation
And ha hasted and wiped off the ashes from his face; and the king of Israel realized that he was of the prophets.

Good News Translation
The prophet tore the cloth from his face, and at once the king recognized him as one of the prophets.

Lexham English Bible
He quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was from the prophets.

Literal Translation
And he hurried and took the ashes from his eyes. And the king of Israel saw him, that he was of the prophets.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then put he the a?shes from his face in all the haist. And the kynge of Israel knewe him, that he was one of the prophetes.

American Standard Version
And he hasted, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.

Bible in Basic English
Then he quickly took the head-band from his eyes; and the king of Israel saw that he was one of the prophets.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he hasted, & toke the ashes away from his face, and the king of Israel knewe him, that he was of ye prophetes.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he hastened, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.

King James Version (1611)
And he hasted, and tooke the ashes away from his face, and the king of Israel discerned him that hee was of the Prophets.

English Revised Version
And he hasted, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.

Berean Standard Bible
Then the prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And anoon he wipide awey the dust fro his face, and the kyng of Israel knew him, that he was of the prophetis.

Young's Literal Translation
And he hasteth and turneth aside the ashes from off his eyes, and the king of Israel discerneth him, that he [is] of the prophets,

Update Bible Version
And he hurried, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he [was] of the prophets.

World English Bible
He hurried, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.

New King James Version
And he hastened to take the bandage away from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

New Living Translation
Then the prophet quickly pulled the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

New Life Bible
In a hurry the man took the cloth away from his eyes. And the king of Israel saw that he was one of the men who speak for God.

New Revised Standard
Then he quickly took the bandage away from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then hastened he, and removed the turban from over his eyes, - and the king of Israel knew him, that, of the prophets, was, he.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But he forthwith wiped off the dust from his face, and the king of Israel knew him, that he was one of the prophets.

Revised Standard Version
Then he made haste to take the bandage away from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then he hastily took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him that he was of the prophets.

Contextual Overview

³¹ At about this same time Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his troops. He recruited in addition thirty-two local sheiks, all outfitted with horses and chariots. He set out in force and surrounded Samaria, ready to make war. He sent an envoy into the city to set his terms before Ahab king of Israel: "Ben-Hadad lays claim to your silver and gold, and to the pick of your wives and sons." The king of Israel accepted the terms: "As you say, distinguished lord; I and everything I have is yours." But then the envoy returned a second time, saying, "On second thought, I want it all—your silver and gold and all your wives and sons. Hand them over—the whole works. I'll give you twenty-four hours; then my servants will arrive to search your palace and the houses of your officials and loot them; anything that strikes their fancy, they'll take." The king of Israel called a meeting of all his tribal elders. He said, "Look at this—outrageous! He's just looking for trouble. He means to clean me out, demanding all my women and children. And after I already agreed to pay him off handsomely!" The elders, backed by the people, said, "Don't cave in to him. Don't give an inch." So he sent an envoy to Ben-Hadad, "Tell my distinguished lord, ‘I agreed to the terms you delivered the first time, but this I can't do—this I won't do!'" The envoy went back and delivered the answer. Ben-Hadad shot back his response: "May the gods do their worst to me, and then worse again, if there'll be anything left of Samaria but rubble." The king of Israel countered, "Think about it—it's easier to start a fight than end one." It happened that when Ben-Hadad heard this retort he was into some heavy drinking, boozing it up with the sheiks in their field shelters. Drunkenly, he ordered his henchmen, "Go after them!" And they attacked the city. Just then a lone prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, " God 's word: Have you taken a good look at this mob? Well, look again—I'm turning it over to you this very day. And you'll know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I am God ." Ahab said, "Really? And who is going to make this happen?" God said, "The young commandos of the regional chiefs." "And who," said Ahab, "will strike the first blow?" God said, "You." Ahab looked over the commandos of the regional chiefs; he counted 232. Then he assessed the available troops—7,000. At noon they set out after Ben-Hadad who, with his allies, the thirty-two sheiks, was busy at serious drinking in the field shelters. The commandos of the regional chiefs made up the vanguard. A report was brought to Ben-Hadad: "Men are on their way from Samaria." He said, "If they've come in peace, take them alive as hostages; if they've come to fight, the same—take them alive as hostages." The commandos poured out of the city with the full army behind them. They hit hard in hand-to-hand combat. The Arameans scattered from the field, with Israel hard on their heels. But Ben-Hadad king of Aram got away on horseback, along with his cavalry. The king of Israel cut down both horses and chariots—an enormous defeat for Aram. 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." Meanwhile 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. As 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. 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 ." The 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." ³² 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." ³³ 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. ³⁴ 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. ³⁵ 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. ³⁶ 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. ³⁷ He then found another man and said, "Hit me; wound me." That man did it—hit him hard in the face, drawing blood. ³⁸Then 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." ⁴¹ At that, the man ripped the bandage off his eyes and the king recognized who he was—one of the prophets! ⁴² 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."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the ashes away: 1 Kings 20:38, 2 Samuel 13:19, Job 2:8, Jeremiah 6:26

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 19:10 - I only 1 Kings 22:8 - yet one man Proverbs 28:4 - but Amos 2:11 - I raised

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he hasted, and took away the ashes from his face,.... Took off the linen cloth from his eyes, unveiled or unmasked himself:

and the king of Israel discerned him, that he was of the prophets; he knew him again, having seen him once or twice before; otherwise there could be nothing in his face that could discover him to be a prophet, rather he was to be known by his habit.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He was of the prophets - Josephus and others conjecture that this prophet was Micaiah, the son of Imlah (but compare 1 Kings 20:13 note).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 20:41. Took the ashes away — He took the bandage from off his eyes: see on 1 Kings 20:38. It was no doubt of thin cloth, through which he could see, while it served for a sufficient disguise.