1 Kings 3 22

1 Kings 3:22 kjv

And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

1 Kings 3:22 nkjv

Then the other woman said, "No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son." And the first woman said, "No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son." Thus they spoke before the king.

1 Kings 3:22 niv

The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours." But the first one insisted, "No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine." And so they argued before the king.

1 Kings 3:22 esv

But the other woman said, "No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours." The first said, "No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine." Thus they spoke before the king.

1 Kings 3:22 nlt

Then the other woman interrupted, "It certainly was your son, and the living child is mine." "No," the first woman said, "the living child is mine, and the dead one is yours." And so they argued back and forth before the king.

1 Kings 3 verses

1 Kings 3 22 Meaning

This verse captures the hardened and defiant assertion of the second woman, who denies the first woman's accusation and stubbornly claims the living child as her own while stating the dead child belongs to the other. It is a moment of pivotal deception in the "Judgment of Solomon," where truth is obscured by a stark, absolute lie, setting the stage for Solomon's wise intervention.

1 Kings 3 22 Context

1 Kings chapter 3 details the early reign of King Solomon, highlighting his prayer for wisdom at Gibeon where God promises him a discerning heart to govern His people. This promise is immediately put to the test in the famous "Judgment of Solomon" case. Two prostitutes (or harlots), living in the same house, give birth. One child dies overnight, and the first woman accuses the second of accidentally suffocating her own child, then swapping it with the living child during the night. The verse in question, 1 Kings 3:22, records the second woman's direct and unwavering counter-claim, escalating the dispute and presenting a seemingly unresolvable deadlock before the king, thereby creating the ideal scenario for Solomon's newly granted, divinely-inspired wisdom to be manifested. Historically, kings served as the highest judicial authority, and their ability to render just judgments was critical for their legitimacy and the stability of the kingdom.

1 Kings 3 22 Word analysis

• And the other woman:

  • "And" (וְאֹמֶר, vāʾōmer): Connects to the previous statement by the first woman, indicating a direct response or counter-accusation. It sets up the narrative tension.
  • "the other woman": Specifies the second litigant, indicating she is distinct from the accuser and is now providing her rebuttal. This phrasing highlights the duality of the two women in dispute.

• said, No;

  • "said" (אֹמֶר, ʾōmer): Standard verb for speech.
  • "No" (לֹא, loʾ): A strong, emphatic denial in Hebrew. This monosyllabic word carries immense weight here, directly refuting the first woman's claim with an absolute negative, setting the stage for a conflict of irreconcilable truths. It's an uncompromising dismissal, characteristic of the hardened deceit that Solomon must unravel.

• but thy son is the living, and my son is the dead.

  • "but" (כִּי, kî): Introduces a strong contrast or explanation, serving here to emphatically present her version of events, framed as the undeniable truth from her perspective. It directly counters the 'No'.
  • "thy son" (בִּנְךָ, binkhā): Literally "son of you (masculine possessive suffix)." This possessive indicates direct ownership according to her claim.
  • "is the living" (הַחַי, haḥay): "the living" (from חַי, ḥay). The definite article "the" gives it a definitive, factual weight in her declaration, implying indisputable truth. She is asserting the aliveness of that specific child and its belonging to the first woman. "Life" in this context is both physical existence and the continuation of legacy.
  • "and my son" (וּבְנִי, ūvənī): "and my son" (from בְּנִי, bənī). Juxtaposes her claim with that of the other woman. The possession here is critically false.
  • "is the dead" (הַמֵּת, hammēt): "the dead" (from מֵת, mēt). Like "the living," the definite article signifies a stark, undeniable fact for her, declaring the status of her own dead child and asserting it belongs to her, rather than the living child. The term "dead" signifies an absolute end of life, removing any ambiguity.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "And the other woman said, No;": This phrase immediately establishes the confrontation. The "No" is a direct, confrontable denial, characteristic of a hardened heart attempting to maintain a deceptive claim, demonstrating a lack of concern for truth. It raises the stakes in the dispute, requiring more than mere assertion to resolve.
• "but thy son is the living, and my son is the dead.": This is a complete inversion of the first woman's accusation and the actual truth. This declarative statement from the second woman is audacious in its falsehood, confidently presenting a reversal of reality. It's a precise, symmetrical statement, yet entirely deceitful, and reveals a person willing to utter absolute lies to gain a desired outcome. The clear binary of "living" vs. "dead" is crucial here, forming the objective criteria around which Solomon's judgment revolves, as he probes deeper than surface claims.

1 Kings 3 22 Bonus section

This verse is crucial as it represents the climax of the conflicting testimonies, rendering the case utterly stalled by conventional means. It perfectly sets up Solomon's unconventional yet brilliant solution, which relies not on direct evidence (none was presented that could definitively settle the verbal dispute), but on eliciting the deeper truth of a mother's natural affection. The second woman's absolute insistence on "my son is the dead" implies a desire to totally distance herself from the tragic death and seize the opportunity presented by the other's grief, underscoring her moral depravity. The simple, direct language used in the verse further amplifies the stark, irrefutable nature of the opposing claims.

1 Kings 3 22 Commentary

1 Kings 3:22 vividly portrays the core of the conflict in Solomon's most famous judgment. The second woman's uncompromising declaration, "No; but thy son is the living, and my son is the dead," is a statement of defiant and deliberate falsehood. It goes beyond simple disagreement; it's a direct challenge to reality and an absolute reversal of truth. This blatant lie highlights the severity of the dispute and the human capacity for deceit, even in the face of another's profound loss. The very nature of this rigid and deceitful assertion necessitates an extraordinary method for discerning the truth, thus preparing the scene for Solomon to demonstrate God-given wisdom that transcends mere human logic or legal procedure. Her cold calculation and willingness to appropriate the living child while offloading the dead one expose a profound lack of maternal instinct and an emphasis on personal gain over genuine love or truth.