1 Kings 20 · Verse 35

1 Kings 20:35

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.
1 Kings 20:35, King James Version

1 Kings 20:35 in other translations

BSBMeanwhile, 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.
WEBA certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by the LORD’s word, “Please strike me!” The man refused to strike him.
ASVAnd 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.
YLTAnd 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,
DARBYAnd 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.
BBEAnd 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.
WebsterAnd 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.

What does 1 Kings 20:35 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 20:35-38
35-38. Smite me--This prophet is supposed (1Ki 20:8) to have been Micaiah. The refusal of his neighbor to smite the prophet was manifestly wrong, as it was a withholding of necessary aid to a prophet in the discharge of a duty to which he had been called by God, and it was severely punished [1Ki 20:36], as a beacon to warn others (see on 1Ki 13:2-24). The prophet found a willing assistant, and then, waiting for Ahab, leads the king unconsciously, in the parabolic manner of Nathan (2Sa 12:1-4), to pronounce his own doom; and this consequent punishment was forthwith announced by a prophet (see on 1Ki 21:17).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
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.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Kings 20:31-43

This encouragement sinners have to repent and humble themselves before God; Have we not heard, that the God of Israel is a merciful God? Have we not found him so? That is gospel repentance, which flows from an apprehension of the mercy of God, in Christ; there is forgiveness with him. What a change is here! The most haughty in prosperity often are most abject in adversity; an evil spirit will thus affect a man in…

Read the full comment on 1 Kings 20:31-43 →

1 Kings 20:35 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.

וְאִ֨ישׁve.'Ishand a manH376
אֶחָ֜ד'e.ChadoneH259
מִבְּנֵ֣יmi.be.Neione of [the] sons ofH1121
הַנְּבִיאִ֗יםha.ne.vi.'Imthe prophetsH5030
אָמַ֧ר'a.Marhe saidH559
אֶל\־'el-toH413
רֵעֵ֛הוּre.'E.hucompanion hisH7453
בִּדְבַ֥רbid.Varat [the] word ofH1697
יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahwehH3068
הַכֵּ֣ינִיha.Kei.nistrike meH5221
נָ֑אNa'pleaseH4994
וַיְמָאֵ֥ןvay.ma.'Enand he refusedH3985
הָאִ֖ישׁha.'Ishthe manH376
לְהַכֹּתֽוֹ\׃le.ha.ko.Toto strike himH5221

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

Cross references for 1 Kings 20:35

  • 2 Kings 2:15

    And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

  • 1 Kings 13:17-18

    For it was said to me by the word of the Lord, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

  • 2 Kings 4:1

    Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

  • Matthew 16:24

    Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

  • 2 Kings 4:38

    And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.

  • Isaiah 20:2-3

    At the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;

  • Jeremiah 27:2-3

    Thus saith the Lord to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck, And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;

  • 1 Samuel 10:12

    And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

  • Ezekiel 4:3

    Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

  • 1 Kings 20:37-38

    Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him. So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.

  • Isaiah 8:18

    Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

  • 1 Kings 13:1-2

    And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Beth–el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
of the sons.
38; 1Sa 10:12; 2Ki 2:3,5,7,15; 4:1,38; Am 7:14
in the word.
13:1,2,17,18
Smite me.
37; Isa 8:18; 20:2,3; Jer 27:2,3; Eze 4:3; Mt 16:24

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

Context

  • 1 Kings 20:34

    And Ben–hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.

  • 1 Kings 20:35

    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.

  • 1 Kings 20:36

    Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.

Read all of 1 Kings 20

1 Kings 20:35 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Entonces un varón de los hijos de los profetas dijo á su compañero por palabra de Dios: Hiéreme ahora. Mas el otro varón no quiso herirle.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et un homme d’entre les fils des prophètes dit à son compagnon, par la parole de l’ Éternel: Frappe-moi, je te prie. Et l’homme refusa de le frapper.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und ein Mann von den Söhnen der Propheten sprach zu seinem Genossen durch das Wort Jehovas: Schlage mich doch! Aber der Mann weigerte sich, ihn zu schlagen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Tunc vir quidam de filiis prophetarum dixit ad socium suum in sermone Domini: Percute me. At ille noluit percutere.