1 Kings 20:35
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.
Meanwhile, 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.
36 Then the prophet said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, as soon as you depart from me a lion will kill you.” And when he left, a lion found him and killed him.
37 Then the prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please!” So the man struck him and wounded him,
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
- Meanwhile, 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.
- KJV
- 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.
- WEB
- A 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.
- ASV
- And 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.
- DARBY
- And 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.
- BLB
- And a man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor by the word of YHWH, “Strike me, please.” And the man refused to strike him.
- ÅB
- Men en av profetenes disipler sa på Herrens bud til en annen: Slå meg! Men mannen ville ikke slå ham.
- OTB
- Nå sa en viss mann fra profetenes sønner til sin nabo ved Herrens ord, "Slå meg, vær så snill." Men mannen nektet å slå ham.
- B1930
- Men en av profetenes disipler sa på Herrens bud til en annen: Slå mig! Men mannen vilde ikke slå ham.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
2 Kings 2:15
When the sons of the prophets who were facing him from Jericho saw what had happened, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him.
Read in context1 Kings 13:17–18
For I have been told by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’”
Read in context2 Kings 4:1
Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!”
Read in contextMatthew 16:24
Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
Read in context2 Kings 4:38
When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. As the sons of the prophets were sitting at his feet, he said to his attendant, “Put on the large pot and boil some stew for the sons of the prophets.”
Read in contextIsaiah 20:2–3
the LORD had already spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and the sandals from your feet.” And Isaiah did so, walking around naked and barefoot.
Read in contextJeremiah 27:2–3
This is what the LORD said to me: “Make for yourself a yoke out of leather straps and put it on your neck.
Read in context1 Samuel 10:12
Then a man who lived there replied, “And who is their father?” So the saying became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
Read in context