1 Kings 3:27

Then the king answered, “Give her the living child, and definitely do not kill him. She is his mother.”

World English Bible
Learn

Your notes

Private to you. Anything you write on this verse, here or while reading, shows up here and in My study.

Other translations

WEBBE

Then the king answered, “Give the first woman the living child, and definitely do not kill him. She is his mother.”

BSB

Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. By no means should you kill him; she is his mother.”

KJV

Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.

ASV

Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.

BBE

Then the king made answer and said, Give her the child, and do not put it to death; she is the mother of it.

Original Hebrew

Look up a word

Tap a word to see what it means and everywhere else it's used.

וַיַּעַן vai·ya·'an and he answered H6030 הַמֶּלֶךְ ha·me·lekh the king H4428 וַיֹּאמֶר vai·yo·mer and he said H559 תְּנוּ־ te·nu- give H5414 לָהּ lah to her H9034 אֶת־ 'et- (marks the object) H853 הַיָּלוּד hai·ya·lud the child H3205 הַחַי ha·chai (the) living H2416 וְהָמֵת ve·ha·met and certainly (to kill) H4191 לֹא lo' not H3808 תְמִיתֻהוּ te·mi·tu·hu you must kill him H4191 הִיא hi' she H1931 אִמּוֹ 'i·mo [is] mother his H517

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