What does 1 Kings 20:42 mean?
ESV: And he said to him, "Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.’"
NIV: He said to the king, "This is what the Lord says: ‘You have set free a man I had determined should die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.’ "
NASB: And the prophet said to him, 'This is what the Lord says: 'Since you have let go from your hand the man I had designated for destruction, your life shall be forfeited in place of his life, and your people in place of his people.'
CSB: The prophet said to him, "This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you released from your hand the man I had set apart for destruction, it will be your life in place of his life and your people in place of his people.’"
NLT: The prophet said to him, 'This is what the Lord says: Because you have spared the man I said must be destroyed, now you must die in his place, and your people will die instead of his people.'
KJV: And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
NKJV: Then he said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Because you have let slip out of your hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.’ ”
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Book Summary:
This was originally the first half of a combined text. First Kings records the end of David's reign and the rule of Solomon. After this, the kingdom is split in two. The northern nation of Israel no longer submits to the king of the southern nation, called Judah. The prophet Elijah first appears in this book. The kings mostly fail to honor the Lord. They participate in idolatry and other sins. This will eventually result in their conquest and exile, as depicted throughout the books of Chronicles.
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