The Meaning of 1 Kings 20:32 Explained

1 Kings 20:32

KJV: So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.

YLT: And they gird sackcloth on their loins, and ropes are on their heads, and they come in unto the king of Israel, and say, 'Thy servant Ben-Hadad hath said, Let me live, I pray thee;' and he saith, 'Is he yet alive? he is my brother.'

Darby: And they girded sackcloth on their loins, and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-Hadad says, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.

ASV: So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

So they girded  sackcloth  on their loins,  and [put] ropes  on their heads,  and came  to the king  of Israel,  and said,  Thy servant  Benhadad  saith,  I pray thee, let me live.  And he said,  [Is] he yet alive?  he [is] my brother. 

What does 1 Kings 20:32 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 20:31-43 - Losing The Man God Put Into His Hand
Ahab's easy good-nature was criminal, and indicated the evil that was enervating and cankering his heart. Whatever may have been his private feelings and sympathy, it is plain that these had no right to control his action as king when national interests were at stake. The judge may be subject to tender compassion toward those on whom his office requires him to pass sentence, but he should be governed by consideration of the good of all. This unwise clemency on the part of Ahab resulted, in after-days, in Israel's suffering at the hand of Syria.
"Busy here and there!" It is true of us all. We are so occupied that we have hardly time to think. We do not realize the opportunities which are placed in our hands, and which, if not made immediate use of, depart never to return. The bald head of departing opportunity, said the Greeks, has not even one lock of hair by which we can catch it and drag it back. Let us be diligent in the King's business, remembering that to Him we must render an account.
1 Kings 20:1-43 - A Prosperous Nation
What a picture is here given of national contentment and prosperity! We can almost hear the gladsome voice of the myriad-peopled land, teeming with young life and laden with golden harvests. It was the summer of their national existence. The sacred scribe enumerates first the high officials of the court, then the daily provision of the king, his studies, and his fame. Abundant proof was yielded by all these circumstances to the manner in which God kept the pledges which had been made to David, his father.
Here is Solomon "in all his glory," but as we turn from him to the lowly Carpenter of Nazareth, who had nowhere to lay His head; who found His friends among the poor; and who ultimately laid down His life a ransom for many, we realize that, even apart from His divine nature, His was the nobler ideal and the richer existence. "A greater than Solomon is here." Who can measure His empire or resources? What tongue can recount His wisdom? Happy and safe are they that sit at His table, hear His words, and are joint-heirs with Him in His Kingdom! Romans 8:17. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Kings 20

1  Ben-Hadad, not content with Ahab's homage, besieges Samaria
13  By the direction of a prophet, the Syrians are slain
22  As the prophet forewarned Ahab, the Syrians come against him in Aphek
28  By the word of the prophet, and God's judgment, the Syrians are smitten again
31  The Syrians submit; Ahab sends Ben-Hadad away with a covenant
35  The prophet, under the parable of a prisoner,
39  making Ahab judge himself, denounces God's judgment against him

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 20:32 mean?

So they wore sackcloth around their waists and [put] ropes around their heads and came to the king of Israel and said Your servant in Ben-hadad says let live Please me and he said [Is] he still alive my brother He [is]
וַיַּחְגְּרוּ֩ שַׂקִּ֨ים בְּמָתְנֵיהֶ֜ם וַחֲבָלִ֣ים בְּרָאשֵׁיהֶ֗ם וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ אֶל־ מֶ֣לֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ עַבְדְּךָ֧ בֶן־ הֲדַ֛ד אָמַ֖ר תְּחִֽי־ נָ֣א נַפְשִׁ֑י וַיֹּ֛אמֶר הַעוֹדֶ֥נּוּ ؟ חַ֖י אָחִ֥י הֽוּא

וַיַּחְגְּרוּ֩  So  they  wore 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: חָגַר  
Sense: to gird, gird on, gird oneself, put on a belt.
שַׂקִּ֨ים  sackcloth 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: שַׂק  
Sense: mesh, sackcloth, sack, sacking.
בְּמָתְנֵיהֶ֜ם  around  their  waists 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, mdc, third person masculine plural
Root: מָתְנַיִם  
Sense: loins, hips.
וַחֲבָלִ֣ים  and  [put]  ropes 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural
Root: חֶבֶל 
Sense: a cord, rope, territory, band, company.
בְּרָאשֵׁיהֶ֗ם  around  their  heads 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙  and  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
מֶ֣לֶךְ  the  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ  and  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
עַבְדְּךָ֧  Your  servant 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: עֶבֶד  
Sense: slave, servant.
הֲדַ֛ד  Ben-hadad 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֶּן־הֲדַד  
Sense: the king of Syria, contemporary with Asa of Judah.
אָמַ֖ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
תְּחִֽי־  let  live 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect Jussive, third person feminine singular
Root: חָיָה  
Sense: to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live for ever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health.
נָ֣א  Please 
Parse: Interjection
Root: נָא  
Sense: I (we) pray, now, please.
נַפְשִׁ֑י  me 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
וַיֹּ֛אמֶר  and  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
הַעוֹדֶ֥נּוּ  [Is]  he  still 
Parse: Adverb, third person masculine singular
Root: עֹוד  
Sense: a going round, continuance adv.
؟ חַ֖י  alive 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
אָחִ֥י  my  brother 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: אָח  
Sense: brother.
הֽוּא  He  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.