1 Kings 3:23

Then the king said, “One says, ‘This is my son who lives, and your son is the dead;’ and the other says, ‘No; but your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’”

World English Bible
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Other translations

WEBBE

Then the king said, “One says, ‘This is my son who lives, and your son is the dead;’ and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’”

BSB

Then the king replied, “This woman says, ‘My son is alive and yours is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead and mine is alive.’”

KJV

Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

ASV

Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

BBE

Then the king said, One says, The living child is my son, and yours is the dead: and the other says, Not so; but your son is the dead one and mine is the living.

Original Hebrew

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וַיֹּאמֶר vai·yo·mer and he said H559 הַמֶּלֶךְ ha·me·lekh the king H4428 זֹאת zot this [one] H2063 אֹמֶרֶת 'o·me·ret [is] saying H559 זֶה־ zeh- this H2088 בְּנִי be·ni son my H1121 הַחַי ha·chai [is] the living one H2416 וּבְנֵךְ u·ve·nekh and son your H1121 הַמֵּת ha·met [is] the dead [one] H4191 וְזֹאת ve·zot and this [one] H2063 אֹמֶרֶת 'o·me·ret [is] saying H559 לֹא lo' In- H3808 כִי khi deed H3588 בְּנֵךְ be·nekh son your H1121 הַמֵּת ha·met [is] the dead [one] H4191 וּבְנִי u·ve·ni and son my H1121 הֶחָי פ he·chai [is] the living one H2416

Commentary

Matthew Henry · Verses 16–28

An instance of Solomon's wisdom is given. Notice the difficulty of the case. To find out the true mother, he could not try which the child loved best, and therefore tried which loved the child best: the mother's sincerity will be tried, when the child is in danger. Let parents show their love to their children, especially by taking care of their souls, and snatching them as brands out of the burning. By this and other instances of the wisdom with which God endued him, Solomon had great reputation among his people. This was better to him than weapons of war; for this he was both feared and loved.

Read Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 3 →

Cross-references

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Cross-references: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Hebrew and Greek data from STEPBible.org (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. Library: sources.