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1 Kings 20:38–41

38 Then the prophet went and waitedm for the king along the road and disguised himself with an headband over his eyes. 39 As the king was passing by, he called to the king and said, “Your servant went out in the thick of the battle, and suddenly a man turned and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man. If by any means he should be missed, it will be your life in his place, or you shall pay a talent of silver.’ 40 It happened that your servant was busy here and there,o and he disappeared.”p Then the king of Israel said to him, “Your own judgment has been determined.” 41 He quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was from the prophets.

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1 Kings 20:38–41 — The New International Version (NIV)

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, or you must pay a talent of silver.’ 40 While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.”

“That is your sentence,” the king of Israel said. “You have pronounced it yourself.”

41 Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

1 Kings 20:38–41 — English Standard Version (ESV)

38 So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 And as the king passed, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a soldier turned and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’ 40 And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” The king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.” 41 Then he hurried to take the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

1 Kings 20:38–41 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

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. 41 And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.

1 Kings 20:38–41 — New Living Translation (NLT)

38 The prophet placed a bandage over his eyes to disguise himself and then waited beside the road for the king. 39 As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Sir, I was in the thick of battle, and suddenly a man brought me a prisoner. He said, ‘Guard this man; if for any reason he gets away, you will either die or pay a fine of seventy-five pounds of silver!’ 40 But while I was busy doing something else, the prisoner disappeared!”

“Well, it’s your own fault,” the king replied. “You have brought the judgment on yourself.”

41 Then the prophet quickly pulled the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

1 Kings 20:38–41 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

38 Then the prophet departed and waited for the king by the road, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 Now 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, your life shall be for his life, or else you shall 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.”

41 And he hastened to take the bandage away from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

1 Kings 20:38–41 — New Century Version (NCV)

38 The prophet wrapped his face in a cloth so no one could tell who he was. Then he went and waited by the road for the king. 39 As Ahab king of Israel passed by, the prophet called out to him. “I went to fight in the battle,” the prophet said. “One of our men brought an enemy soldier to me. Our man said, ‘Guard this man. If he runs away, you will have to give your life in his place. Or, you will have to pay a fine of seventy-five pounds of silver.’ 40 But I was busy doing other things, so the man ran away.”

The king of Israel answered, “You have already said what the punishment is. You must do what the man said.”

41 Then the prophet quickly took the cloth from his face. When the king of Israel saw him, he knew he was one of the prophets.

1 Kings 20:38–41 — American Standard Version (ASV)

38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes. 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. 41 And he hasted, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.

1 Kings 20:38–41 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

38 And the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with a sash over his eyes. 39 And as the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me and said, Keep this man; if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or 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 to him, So is thy judgment: thyself hast decided it. 41 Then he hastily took the sash away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him, that he was of the prophets.

1 Kings 20:38–41 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

38 Then the prophet, disguised with a bandage over his eyes, waited for the king by the road. 39 When the king passed by, the disciple called to him. “I went to fight in the battle. A man turned around and brought a prisoner to me. He said, ‘Guard this prisoner. If he gets away, you will pay for his life with your own life or be fined 75 pounds of silver.’ 40 But while I was busy doing other things, he got away.” 

The king of Israel told him, “That’s your own penalty. You have determined it yourself.” 

41 Then he quickly took the bandage off his eyes. The king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 

1 Kings 20:38–41 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

38 Then the prophet went and waited for the king on the road. He disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 As the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant marched out into the middle of the battle. Suddenly, a man turned aside and brought someone to me and said, ‘Guard this man! If he is ever missing, it will be your life in place of his life, or you will weigh out 75 pounds of silver.’ 40 But while your servant was busy here and there, he disappeared.”

The king of Israel said to him, “That will be your sentence; you yourself have decided it.”

41 He quickly removed the bandage from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets.

1 Kings 20:38–41 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

38 Then the prophet departed, and waited for the king along the road, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the thick of the battle; then a soldier turned and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Guard this man; if he is missing, your life shall be given for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’ 40 While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” The king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.” 41 Then he quickly took the bandage away from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

1 Kings 20:38–41 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

38 Then the prophet went and stood by the road. He waited for the king to come by. He pulled his headband down over his eyes so no one would recognize him.

39 The king passed by. Then the prophet called out to him. He said, “I went into the middle of the battle. Someone came to me with a prisoner. He said, ‘Guard this man. Don’t let him get away. If he does, you will pay for his life with yours. Or you can pay 75 pounds of silver.’ 40 While I was busy here and there, the man disappeared.”

“That’s your sentence,” the king of Israel told him. “You have said so yourself.”

41 Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

1 Kings 20:38–41 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

38 So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.

39 As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if for any reason he is missing, then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’

40 “While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.

41 Then he hastily took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him that he was of the prophets.


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