1 Kings 20 · Verse 23

1 Kings 20:23

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.
1 Kings 20:23, King James Version

1 Kings 20:23 in other translations

BSBMeanwhile, 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.
WEBThe 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.
ASVAnd 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.
YLTAnd 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?
DARBYAnd the servants of the king of Syria said to him, Theirgods aregods of the mountains; therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them on the plateau, shall we not be stronger than they?
BBEThen the king of Aram's servants said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; that is why they were stronger than we: but if we make an attack on them in the lowlands, we will certainly be stronger than they.
WebsterAnd 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.

What does 1 Kings 20:23 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 20:22-26

22-26. the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said--The same prophet who had predicted the victory shortly reappeared, admonishing the king to take every precaution against a renewal of hostilities in the following campaign. at the return of the year--that is, in spring, when, on the cessation of the rainy season, military campaigns (2Sa 11:1), were anciently begun. It happened as the prophet had forewarned…

Read the full comment on 1 Kings 20:22-26 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 23 Their gods are gods of the hills - It is very likely that the small Israelitish army availed itself of the heights and uneven ground, that they might fight with greater advantage against the Syrian cavalry, for Ben-hadad came up against Samaria with horses and chariots, 1Kgs 20:1. These therefore must be soon thrown into confusion when charging in such circumstances; indeed, the chariots must be nearly useless. Let us fight against them in the plain - There our horses and chariots will all be able to bear on the enemy, and there their gods, whose influence is confined to the hills, will not be able to help them. It was a general belief in the heathen world that each district had its tutelary and protecting deity, who could do nothing out of his own sphere.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Kings 20:22-30

Those about Benhadad advised him to change his ground. They take it for granted that it was not Israel, but Israel's gods, that beat them; but they speak very ignorantly of Jehovah. They supposed that Israel had many gods, to whom they ascribed limited power within a certain district; thus vain were the Gentiles in their imaginations concerning God. The greatest wisdom in worldly concerns is often united with the…

Read the full comment on 1 Kings 20:22-30 →

1 Kings 20:23 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְעַבְדֵ֨יve.'av.Deiand [the] servants ofH5650
מֶֽלֶךְ\־Me.lekh-[the] king ofH4428
אֲרָ֜ם'a.RamAramH758
אָמְר֣וּ'a.me.Ruthey saidH559
אֵלָ֗יו'e.Lavto himH413
אֱלֹהֵ֤י'e.lo.Hei[is] a god ofH430
הָרִים֙ha.RimmountainsH2022
אֱלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔ם'e.Lo.hei.HemGod theirH430
עַל\־'al-there-H5921
כֵּ֖ןken-foreH3651
חָזְק֣וּcha.ze.Kuthey were strongH2388
מִמֶּ֑נּוּmi.Me.numore than usH4480
וְאוּלָ֗םve.'u.Lamand butH199
נִלָּחֵ֤םni.la.Chemlet us do battleH3898
אִתָּם֙'i.Tamwith themH854
בַּמִּישׁ֔וֹרba.mi.Shoron the level groundH4334
אִם\־'im-ifH518
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
נֶחֱזַ֖קne.che.Zakwe will be strongH2388
מֵהֶֽם\׃me.Hemmore than them

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Kings 20:23

  • 1 Kings 14:23

    For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.

  • 1 Samuel 4:8

    Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.

  • 2 Kings 19:12

    Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Thelasar?

  • Isaiah 42:8

    I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

  • Psalms 50:21-22

    These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

  • Romans 1:21-23

    Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

  • 2 Chronicles 32:13-19

    Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand? Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand? Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand? And his servants spake yet more against the Lord God, and against his servant Hezekiah. …

  • 1 Kings 20:28

    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.

  • Psalms 121:1-2

    A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Their gods.It was the general belief in the heathen world, that each district had its tutelary and protecting deity, who could do nothing out of his own province.
28; 14:23; 1Sa 4:8; 2Ki 19:12; 2Ch 32:13-19; Ps 50:21,22; 121:1,2
Isa 42:8

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Kings 20:22

    And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.

  • 1 Kings 20:23

    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.

  • 1 Kings 20:24

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

Read all of 1 Kings 20

1 Kings 20:23 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y los siervos del rey de Siria le dijeron: Sus dioses son dioses de los montes, por eso nos han vencido; mas si peleáremos con ellos en la llanura, se verá si no los vencemos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et les serviteurs du roi de Syrie lui dirent: Leurs dieux sont des dieux de montagnes; c’est pourquoi ils ont été plus forts que nous; mais si nous les combattons dans la plaine, certainement nous serons plus forts qu’eux.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und die Knechte des Königs von Syrien sprachen zu ihm: Ihre Götter sind Berggötter, darum waren sie uns überlegen; jedoch laßt uns in der Ebene wider sie streiten, ob wir ihnen nicht überlegen sein werden!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Servi vero regis Syriæ dixerunt ei: Dii montium sunt dii eorum, ideo superaverunt nos: sed melius est ut pugnemus contra eos in campestribus, et obtinebimus eos.