1 Kings 20:6
in 1 Kings 20But about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to search your palace and the houses of your servants. They will seize and carry away all that is precious to you.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
but I will send my servants unto thee to-morrow about this time, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.
KJV
Yet I will send my servants unto thee to morrow about this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.
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This verse in 1 Kings 20
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWhatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes - It is not easy to discern in what this second requisition differed from the first; for surely his silver, gold, wives, and children, were among his most pleasant or desirable things. Jarchi supposes that it was the book of the law of the Lord which Ben-hadad meant, and of which he intended to deprive Israel. It is however evident that Ben-hadad meant to sack the whole city, and after having taken the royal treasures and the wives and children of the king, to deliver up the whole to be pillaged by his soldiers.
This site's exposition
I am thine, and all that I have
on 1 Kings 20:4-6
Ahab surrenders outright, hoping total submission will buy peace, but Ben-hadad's second message shows that yielding to an unjust demand only invites a larger one. The first request asked for what Ahab might have handed over as tribute; the second sends servants to search every house in the city and carry off whatever pleases them. The king's poor spirit stands in contrast to the elders he is about to consult, who see the trap for what it is.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Ahab, encouraged by a prophet, overthrows him twice, ver. 13-30. Makes a covenant with him, ver. 31-34. Is reproved and threatened by a prophet, ver. 35-43.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-31/35-anchored-1-12
Yet I will send my servants unto thee tomorrow about this time,....
(3.) He is as unreasonable as he is unjust, and will construe the surrender Ahab made for himself as made for all his subjects too, and will have them also to lie at his mercy: "They shall search, not only thy house, but the houses of thy servants too, and plunder them at discretion." Blessed be God for peace and property, and that what we have we can call our own.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Ben-hadad's object in these and other boastful menaces was to intimidate Ahab. But the weak sovereign began to show a little more spirit, as appears in his abandoning "my lord the king" for the single "tell him," and giving him a dry but sarcastic hint to glory no more till the victory is won.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Ben-hadad, disappointed by Ahab’s consent to an indignity which he had thought no monarch could submit to, proceeds to put a fresh construction on his former demands.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י׀ | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | except | H518 → | 1069 times |
| כָּעֵ֣ת | kaet | about <the> this time | H6256 → | 296 times |
| מָחָ֗ר | machar | tomorrow | H4279 → | |
| אֶשְׁלַ֤ח | ʾeshlach | I will send | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֲבָדַי֙ | ʾavadai | servants my | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אֵלֶ֔יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְחִפְּשׂוּ֙ | vechipesu | and they will search | H2664 → | 23 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בֵּ֣יתְךָ֔ | beitekha | house your | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וְאֵ֖ת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בָּתֵּ֣י | batei | [the] houses of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| עֲבָדֶ֑יךָ | ʾavadeikha | servants your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וְהָיָה֙ | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַחְמַ֣ד | machmad | <the> desirable thing of | H4261 → | |
| עֵינֶ֔יךָ | ʾeineikha | eyes your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יָשִׂ֥ימוּ | yasimu | they will put | H7760 → | 584 times |
| בְיָדָ֖ם | veyadam | in hand their | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וְלָקָֽחוּ׃ | velakachu | and they will take [it] | H3947 → | 966 times |
כִּ֣י׀that
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִם־except
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
כָּעֵ֣תabout <the> this time
kaetH6256 →296 times
מָחָ֗רtomorrow
macharH4279 →
אֶשְׁלַ֤חI will send
ʾeshlachH7971 →845 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֲבָדַי֙servants my
ʾavadaiH5650 →799 times
אֵלֶ֔יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
וְחִפְּשׂוּ֙and they will search
vechipesuH2664 →23 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בֵּ֣יתְךָ֔house your
beitekhaH1004 →2046 times
וְאֵ֖תand <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בָּתֵּ֣י[the] houses of
bateiH1004 →2046 times
עֲבָדֶ֑יךָservants your
ʾavadeikhaH5650 →799 times
וְהָיָה֙and it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מַחְמַ֣ד<the> desirable thing of
machmadH4261 →
עֵינֶ֔יךָeyes your
ʾeineikhaH5869 →887 times
יָשִׂ֥ימוּthey will put
yasimuH7760 →584 times
בְיָדָ֖םin hand their
veyadamH3027 →1618 times
וְלָקָֽחוּ׃and they will take [it]
velakachuH3947 →966 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
Isaiah 44:9All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 10:14–15
Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
- Isaiah 41:24
Behold, you are nothing and your work is of no value. Anyone who chooses you is detestable.
- Habakkuk 2:18–20
What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it—or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
- Isaiah 41:29
See, they are all a delusion; their works amount to nothing; their images are as empty as the wind.
- Psalms 97:7
All worshipers of images are put to shame— those who boast in idols. Worship Him, all you gods!
- Jeremiah 10:14–15
Through
Hosea 13:15Although he flourishes among his brothers, an east wind will come—a wind from the LORD rising up from the desert. His fountain will fail, and his spring will run dry. The wind will plunder…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 19:12
But it was uprooted in fury, cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong branches were stripped off and they withered; the fire consumed them.
- Ezekiel 19:12
Through
Joel 3:5For you took My silver and gold and carried off My finest treasures to your temples.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 21:16–17
Then the LORD stirred against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and Arabs who lived near the Cushites.
- 2 Kings 24:13
As the LORD had declared, Nebuchadnezzar also carried off all the treasures from the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he cut into pieces all the gold articles that Solomon king…
- 2 Chronicles 21:16–17
About 1 Kings

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
