1 Kings 20:32

³⁰ The rest of them fled into the city of Aphek, where the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the remaining men. Ben-hadad also fled to the city and hid in an inner room.

³¹ Then the servants of Ben-hadad said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us go out to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”

So with sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please spare my life.’” And the king answered, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”

³³ Now the men were looking for a sign of hope, and they quickly grasped at this word and replied, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.” “Go and get him!” said the king. Then Ben-hadad came out, and Ahab had him come up into his chariot.

³⁴ Ben-hadad said to him, “I will restore the cities my father took from your father; you may set up your own marketplaces in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” “By this treaty I release you,” Ahab replied. So he made a treaty with him and sent him away.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: So with sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please spare my life.’” And the king answered, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
KJV: So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.
WEB: So they put sackcloth on their bodies and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, “Your servant Ben Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’” He said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
ASV: So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and [put] ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.
DARBY: And they girded sackcloth on their loins, and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-Hadad says, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.
BLB: And they wore sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, and they came to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please let my soul live.’” And he said, “Is he still alive? He [is] my brother.”

ÅB: Så bandt de sekk om sine lender og rep om sine hoder, og da de kom til Israels konge, sa de: Din tjener Benhadad sier: La meg få leve! Han svarte: Er han enda i live? Han er min bror.
OTB: Så kledde de seg i sekkestrie og tau, og gikk til Israels konge og sa, "Din tjener Ben-Hadad sier: Vær så snill, la meg leve." Ahab svarte, "Er han fortsatt i live? Han er min bror."
B1930: Så bandt de sekk om sine lender og rep om sine hoder, og da de kom til Israels konge, sa de: Din tjener Benhadad sier: La mig få leve! Han svarte: Er han ennu i live? Han er min bror.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

1 Kings 20:3–6
saying, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and your best wives and children are mine!’”
Read in context
Job 40:11–12
Unleash the fury of your wrath; look on every proud man and bring him low.
Read in context
1 Kings 20:31
Then the servants of Ben-hadad said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us go out to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”
Read in context
Isaiah 10:12
So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud look in his eyes.
Read in context
1 Kings 20:42
And the prophet said to the king, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have let slip from your hand the man I had devoted to destruction, your life will be exchanged for his life, and your people for his people.’”
Read in context
Isaiah 2:11–12
The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
Read in context
Obadiah 1:3–4
The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’
Read in context
Daniel 5:20–23
But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him.
Read in context