1 Kings 20:36

Then the prophet said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, as soon as you depart from me a lion will kill you.” And when he left, a lion found him and killed him.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — A prophet addresses an unfaithful king immediately after the king spares a captured enemy, delivering a warning at the exact moment the king prepares to leave his presence. The prophet speaks directly to the king to pronounce the consequence of his prior refusal to carry out a divine directive.

The words — The Hebrew conjunction יַ֚עַן (Yaʿan) translates literally as "because," establishing the causal link between the king’s disobedience and the impending death. The verb שָׁמַ֙עְתָּ֙ (shaʿamtaʿ) means "you listened" or "you obeyed," directly contrasting with the king’s earlier refusal to act on the prophet’s command.

The thread — This sequence of disobedience followed by immediate prophetic judgment appears in 1 Samuel 15:22, where obedience is framed as superior to ritual, and 1 Kings 13:21, where a prophet declares death for defying a direct command. The text’s note that a lion found and killed him upon departure parallels the exact fulfillment pattern in 1 Kings 13:26.

Why it lands — The text requires acknowledgment that divine commands demand complete compliance, not negotiated or partial adherence. It presents a straightforward cause-and-effect structure where failure to obey triggers an unavoidable consequence.

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

וַיֹּ֣אמֶרva/i.Yo.merand/ he saidל֗וֹl/oto/ himיַ֚עַןYa.'anbecause אֲשֶׁ֤ר'a.Sherthat לֹֽא־lo'-not שָׁמַ֙עְתָּ֙sha.Ma'.tayou listened בְּק֣וֹלbe./Kolto/ [the] voice of יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahweh הִנְּךָ֤hi.ne./Khahere/ you הוֹלֵךְ֙ho.leKh[are] about to go מֵֽאִתִּ֔יme./'i.T/ifrom/ with <the>/ me וְהִכְּךָ֖ve./hi.ke./Khaand/ it will strike down/ you הָאַרְיֵ֑הha./'ar.Yehthe/ lion וַיֵּ֙לֶךְ֙va/i.Ye.lekhand/ he went מֵֽאֶצְל֔וֹme./'etz.L/ofrom/ beside/ him וַיִּמְצָאֵ֥הוּva/i.yim.tza.'E./huand/ it met/ him הָאַרְיֵ֖הha./'ar.Yehthe/ lion וַיַּכֵּֽהוּ׃va/i.ya.Ke./huand/ it struck down/ him

King James Version

Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.

Cross-references

1 Samuel 15:22 But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.
1 Kings 13:21 and the prophet cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the commandment that the LORD your God gave you,
1 Kings 13:26 When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard this, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the command of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, and it has mauled him and killed him, according to the word that the LORD had spoken to him.”