1 Kings 20:11

Modern

And the king of Israel replied, “Tell him: ‘The one putting on his armor should not boast like one taking it off.’”

Traditional

And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.

Literal

And the king of Israel answered and said, “Declare: ‘Let not him who is girding boast as him who is loosing.’”

Latin

Et respondens rex Israël, ait: Dicite ei: Ne glorietur, accinctus æque ut discinctus.

Hebrew

English

And the king of Israel replied, “Tell him: ‘The one putting on his armor should not boast like one taking it off.’”

Ben-hadad’s third group gave an ultimatum: Surrender or die. His harsh threat to plunder Samaria was reinforced with a curse. This was a form of psychological warfare common in the ancient Near East (see 2 Kings 18:19–35).
Ahab’s third response to Ben-hadad included wise sayings. The conflict's outcome was still uncertain.

Theme notes and profiles

Proverbs 27:1
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
1 Samuel 17:44–47
“Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
Ecclesiastes 9:11
I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.
Isaiah 10:15–16
Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it? Does a saw boast over him who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff lifting him who is not wood!
Matthew 26:75
Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
1 Samuel 14:12–13
So the men of the outpost called out to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come on up, and we will teach you a lesson!” “Follow me,” Jonathan told his armor-bearer, “for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel.”
Matthew 26:33–35
Peter said to Him, “Even if all fall away on account of You, I never will.”
1 Samuel 14:6
Jonathan said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the outpost of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the LORD will work on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”

Israel: Patriarch, son of Isaac, father of twelve tribes