1 Kings 20:18

“If they have marched out in peace,” he said, “take them alive. Even if they have marched out for war, take them alive.”

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — The speaker addresses the advancing young officers and army as they prepare to engage Ben-hadad’s forces, issuing a standing order before the battle commences.

The words — תִּפְשׂ֣וּ/ם (tif.Su/m) = seize/ them and חַיִּ֑ים (chai.Yim) = alive form the core command, mandating capture over destruction.

The thread — The motif of advancing forces appears in 1 Samuel 14:11 when Hebrews emerge to confront Philistine outposts, while 2 Kings 14:8 records a king sending messengers to propose a face-to-face meeting rather than an immediate march. 1 Samuel 2:3 warns against boasting, contrasting human presumption with divine oversight of outcomes.

Why it lands — The text demands strict adherence to a specific tactical order regardless of the enemy’s intent, requiring the reader to prioritize obedience to the command over assumptions about battle conditions.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיֹּ֛אמֶרva/i.Yo.merand/ he said אִם־'im-if לְשָׁל֥וֹםle./sha.Lomfor/ peace יָצָ֖אוּya.Tza.'uthey have come out תִּפְשׂ֣וּםtif.Su/mseize/ them חַיִּ֑יםchai.Yimalive וְאִ֧םve./'Imand/ if לְמִלְחָמָ֛הle./mil.cha.Mahfor/ battle יָצָ֖אוּya.Tza.'uthey have come out חַיִּ֥יםchai.Yimalive תִּפְשֽׂוּם׃tif.Su/mseize/ them

King James Version

And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.

Cross-references

2 Kings 14:8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to the king of Israel Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu. “Come, let us meet face to face,” he said.
1 Samuel 2:3 Do not boast so proudly, or let arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by Him actions are weighed.
1 Samuel 14:11 So the two of them showed themselves to the outpost of the Philistines, who exclaimed, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they were hiding!”
1 Samuel 17:44 “Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
Proverbs 18:12 Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.