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1 Kings 20:38-40
New English Translation
1 Kings 20:38-40
New English Translation
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. 39 When the king passed by, he called out to the king, “Your servant went out into the heat[a] of the battle, and then a man turned aside and brought me a prisoner.[b] He told me, ‘Guard this prisoner. If he ends up missing for any reason,[c] you will pay with your life or with a talent[d] of silver.’[e] 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.”[f]
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- 1 Kings 20:39 tn Heb “middle.”
- 1 Kings 20:39 tn Heb “man” (also a second time later in this verse).
- 1 Kings 20:39 tn Heb “if being missed, he is missed.” The emphatic infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form lends solemnity to the warning.
- 1 Kings 20:39 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.
- 1 Kings 20:39 tn Heb “your life will be in place of his life, or a unit of silver you will pay.”
- 1 Kings 20:40 tn Heb “so [i.e., in accordance with his testimony] is your judgment, you have determined [it].”
1 Kings 20:38-40
New International Version
1 Kings 20:38-40
New International Version
38 Then the prophet went and stood by the road waiting for the king. He disguised himself with his headband down over his eyes. 39 As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and someone came to me with a captive and said, ‘Guard this man. If he is missing, it will be your life for his life,(A) or you must pay a talent[a] of silver.’ 40 While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.”
“That is your sentence,”(B) the king of Israel said. “You have pronounced it yourself.”
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 20:39 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms
1 Kings 20:38-40
King James Version
1 Kings 20:38-40
King James Version
38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.
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.
40 And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
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1 Kings 20:38-40
New King James Version
1 Kings 20:38-40
New King James Version
38 Then the prophet departed and waited for the king by the road, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 Now (A)as the king passed by, he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and there, a man came over and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, (B)your life shall be for his life, or else you shall [a]pay a talent of silver.’ 40 While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.”
Then the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.”
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- 1 Kings 20:39 Lit. weigh
New English Translation (NET)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.