1 Kings 14:12
in 1 Kings 14As for you, get up and go home. When your feet enter the city, the child will die.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Arise thou therefore, get thee to thy house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.
KJV
Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.
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This verse in 1 Kings 14
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThere is therefore no absurdity in the prophets [of the Jews] having uttered predictions even about events of no importance, to soothe those who desire such things, as when Samuel prophesies regarding three donkeys that were lost, or when mention is made in the third book of Kings respecting the sickness of a king's son.
This site's exposition
when thy feet enter into the city
on 1 Kings 14:12-13
The child's death is timed to the mother's own footsteps, tied to no illness and no delay, so the sign cannot be read as coincidence. Verse 13 turns the same death into the family's one mercy: all Israel will mourn and bury this son, because in him alone is found some good thing toward the Lord in the house of Jeroboam. The text names no particular deed behind the good thing, and Wesley and the older commentators read it as a private piety in the boy himself, which the exposition leaves standing where the verse leaves it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
on 1 Kings 14:7-16
David - Who though he fell into some sins, yet, first, he constantly persevered in the true worship of God; from which thou art revolted. Secondly, he heartily repented of, and turned from all his sins whereas thou art obstinate and incorrigible.
on 1 Kings 14:12-13
(1.) In mercy to him, lest, if he live, he be infected with the sin, and so involved in the ruin, of his father's house. Observe the character given of him: In him was found some good thing towards the Lord God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. He had an affection for the true worship of God and disliked the worship of the calves.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Something good. He abandoned his watch; for his father had stationed him as a sentry so that no person would go up [to Yerusholayim] on the pilgrimage festival. He abandoned his watch and went up. 7 See Maseches Mo’ed Katan 28b.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַ֥תְּ | veat | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| ק֖וּמִי | kumi | arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| לְכִ֣י | lekhi | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לְבֵיתֵ֑ךְ | leveitekh | to house your | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| בְּבֹאָ֥ה | bevoah | when go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| רַגְלַ֛יִךְ | raglayikh | feet your | H7272 → | 247 times |
| הָעִ֖ירָה | hairah | the city towards | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וּמֵ֥ת | umet | and he will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| הַיָּֽלֶד׃ | haiyaled | the child | H3206 → | 89 times |
וְאַ֥תְּand you
veatH859 →1094 times
ק֖וּמִיarise
kumiH6965 →628 times
לְכִ֣יgo
lekhiH1980 →1546 times
לְבֵיתֵ֑ךְto house your
leveitekhH1004 →2046 times
בְּבֹאָ֥הwhen go
bevoahH935 →2568 times
רַגְלַ֛יִךְfeet your
raglayikhH7272 →247 times
הָעִ֖ירָהthe city towards
hairahH5892 →1090 times
וּמֵ֥תand he will die
umetH4191 →839 times
הַיָּֽלֶד׃the child
haiyaledH3206 →89 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Kings 1:16And Elijah said to King Ahaziah, “This is what the LORD says: Is there really no God in Israel for you to inquire of His word? Is that why you have sent messengers to…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 1:2–4
Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers and instructed them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 132:3
“I will not enter my house or get into my bed,
- 2 Kings 1:2–4
Through
1 Kings 14:3Take with you ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will become of the boy.”
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 9:7–8
“If we do go,” Saul replied, “what can we give the man? For the bread in our packs is gone, and there is no gift to take to the man of God. What do…
- 2 Kings 4:42
Now a man from Baal-shalishah came to the man of God with a sack of twenty loaves of barley bread from the first ripe grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha.
- 1 Kings 13:7
Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”
- John 11:3
So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.”
- 2 Kings 5:15
Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God, stood before him, and declared, “Now I know for sure that there is no God in all the earth except in…
- 1 Samuel 9:7–8
Through
2 Kings 1:6They replied, “A man came up to meet us and said, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him that this is what the LORD says: Is it because there is…
it leads to
- Psalms 16:4
Sorrows will multiply to those who chase other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood, or speak their names with my lips.
- Psalms 16:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings

This page draws on John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, AGAINST CELSUS 1.36.
