1 Kings 20:35-43

A Prophet Denounces Ahab’s Actions

20:35 One of the members of the prophetic guild, speaking with divine authority, ordered his companion, “Wound me!” ¹  But the man refused to wound him. 20:36 So the prophet ²  said to him, “Because you have disobeyed the Lord, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you.” When he left him, a lion attacked and killed him. 20:37 He found another man and said, “Wound me!” So the man wounded him severely. ³  20:38 The prophet then went and stood by the road, waiting for the king. He also disguised himself by putting a bandage down over his eyes. 20:39 When the king passed by, he called out to the king, “Your servant went out into the heat ⁴  of the battle, and then a man turned aside and brought me a prisoner. ⁵  He told me, ‘Guard this prisoner. If he ends up missing for any reason, ⁶  you will pay with your life or with a talent ⁷  of silver.’ ⁸  20:40 Well, it just so happened that while your servant was doing this and that, he disappeared.” The king of Israel said to him, “Your punishment is already determined by your own testimony.” ⁹  20:41 The prophet ¹⁰  quickly removed the bandage from his eyes and the king of Israel recognized he was one of the prophets. 20:42 The prophet ¹¹  then said to him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Because you released a man I had determined should die, you will pay with your life and your people will suffer instead of his people.’” ¹²  20:43 The king of Israel went home to Samaria ¹³  bitter and angry.

[20:35]  ¹ tn Heb “Now a man from the sons of the prophets said to his companion by the word of the Lord, ‘Wound me.’”

[20:36]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:37]  ³ tn Heb “and the man wounded him, wounding and bruising.”

[20:39]  ⁴ tn Heb “middle.”

[20:39]  ⁵ tn Heb “man” (also a second time later in this verse).

[20:39]  ⁶ tn Heb “if being missed, he is missed.” The emphatic infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form lends solemnity to the warning.

[20:39]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75 pounds of silver.

[20:39]  ⁸ tn Heb “your life will be in place of his life, or a unit of silver you will pay.”

[20:40]  ⁹ tn Heb “so [i.e., in accordance with his testimony] is your judgment, you have determined [it].”

[20:41]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:42]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:42]  ¹² tn Heb “Because you sent away the man of my destruction [i.e., that I determined should be destroyed] from [my/your?] hand, your life will be in place of his life, and your people in place of his people.”

[20:43]  ¹³ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.