1 Kings 20 · Verse 38

1 Kings 20:38

So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.
1 Kings 20:38, King James Version

1 Kings 20:38 in other translations

BSBand the prophet went and waited on the road for the king, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.
WEBSo the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes.
ASVSo the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes.
YLTand the prophet goeth and standeth for the king on the way, and disguiseth himself with ashes on his eyes.
DARBYAnd the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with a sash over his eyes.
BBESo the prophet went away, and pulling his head-band over his eyes to keep his face covered, took his place by the road waiting for the king.
WebsterSo the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.

What does 1 Kings 20:38 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…

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Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 38 Disguised himself with ashes upon his face - It does not immediately appear how putting ashes upon his face could disguise him. Instead of אפר apher, dust, Houbigant conjectures that it should be אפד aphad, a fillet or bandage. It is only the corner of the last letter which makes the difference; for the ד daleth and ר resh are nearly the same, only the shoulder of the former is square, the latter round. That bandage, not dust, was the original reading, seems pretty evident from its remains in two of the oldest versions, the Septuagint and the Chaldee; the former has Και κατεδησατο εν τελαμωνι τους οφθαλμους αυτου, "And he bound his eyes with a fillet." The latter has וכריך במעפריאעינוהי ukerich bemaaphira einohi; "And he covered his eyes with a cloth." The MSS. of Kennicott and De Rossi contain no various reading here; but bandage is undoubtedly the true one. However, in the way of mortification, both the Jews and Hindoos put ashes upon their heads and faces, and make themselves sufficiently disgusting.

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 20:38 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.

וַיֵּ֙לֶךְ֙vai.Ye.lekhand he wentH1980
הַנָּבִ֔יאha.na.Vi'the prophetH5030
וַיַּעֲמֹ֥דvai.ya.'a.Modand he stoodH5975
לַמֶּ֖לֶךְla.Me.lekhfor the kingH4428
עַל\־'al-besideH5921
הַדָּ֑רֶךְha.Da.rekhthe wayH1870
וַיִּתְחַפֵּ֥שׂvai.yit.cha.Pesand he disguised himselfH2664
בָּאֲפֵ֖רba.'a.Ferwith <the> ashesH666
עַל\־'al-overH5921
עֵינָֽיו\׃'ei.Naveyes hisH5869

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

Cross references for 1 Kings 20:38

  • 1 Kings 14:2

    And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.

  • 2 Samuel 14:2

    And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead:

  • 1 Kings 22:30

    And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle.

  • Matthew 6:16

    Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
disguised.
14:2; 22:30; 2Sa 14:2; Mt 6:16

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

Context

  • 1 Kings 20:37

    Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him.

  • 1 Kings 20:38

    So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.

  • 1 Kings 20:39

    And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

Read all of 1 Kings 20

1 Kings 20:38 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y el profeta se fué, y púsose delante del rey en el camino, y disfrazóse con un velo sobre los ojos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et le prophète s’en alla, et se tint sur le chemin du roi, et se déguisa avec un bandeau sur les yeux.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Da ging der Prophet hin und stellte sich auf den Weg des Königs, und machte sich unkenntlich, indem er den Kopfbund über seine Augen zog.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Abiit ergo propheta, et occurrit regi in via, et mutavit aspersione pulveris os et oculos suos.