1 Kings 20:31

And his servants said unto him, Lo! we pray thee, we have heard, of the kings of the house of Israel, that, kings known for lovingkindness, they are. Let us, we pray thee, put sackcloth upon our loins, and ropes about our head, and let us go forth unto the king of Israel, peradventure he will save alive thy soul.

The Emphasised Bible by J. B. Rotherham

In The King James Version

And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life.

In Context

30And they who were left fled to Aphek, into the city, and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand men who were left,—and, Ben-hadad, fled, and came into the city, into a chamber within a chamber.

32So they girded sackcloth upon their loins, and [put] ropes about their heads, and came in unto the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant, Ben-hadad, saith,—Let my soul live, I pray thee. And he said,—Is he yet alive? My brother, he is.

Read all of 1 Kings 20

Cross References

Genesis 37:34And Jacob rent his garments, and put sackcloth upon his loins,—and mourned over his son many days.

2 Samuel 14:2So Joab sent to Tekoa, and fetched from thence, a wise woman,—and said unto her—I pray thee, feign thyself a mourner, and put on, I pray thee, mourning apparel, and do not anoint thyself with oil, but be as a woman that hath, these many days, been mourning for the dead;

1 Kings 21:27And it came to pass, when Ahab heard these words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted,—and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.

2 Kings 7:4If we say—Let us enter into the city, Then, the famine, is in the city, and we shall die there, and, if we remain here, then shall we die. Now, therefore, let us fall away unto the camp of the Syrians, if they save us alive, we shall live, and, if they put us to death, we shall die.

Esther 4:1When, Mordecai, came to know all that had been done, Mordecai rent his garments, and put on sackcloth, and ashes,—and went forth into the midst of the city, and cried out with an outcry loud and bitter;

Job 2:4Then the accuser answered Yahweh, and said, Skin for skin, and so, all that a man hath, will he give for his life.

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 20:23-31

Ahab's Folly Reproved. ( b. c. 900.) 22 And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee. 23 And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. 24 And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his… Read the whole commentary →

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