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1 Kings 20:28

Made Simple — Modern English Translation

Translated by Verse Made Simple Editorial
KJV ORIGINAL
And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE

Then a man of God came and spoke to the king of Israel, saying, 'This is what the LORD says: Because the Syrians have said, "The LORD is only God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys," I will hand over this entire great army to you, and you will know that I am the LORD.'

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

God is telling Israel He will defeat their enemies because the Syrians wrongly believed He only had power in the mountains, not the valleys.

📚 Historical Context

This occurred during the reign of King Ahab when Syria (Aram) was attacking Israel. The Syrians had previously been defeated by Israel in a mountain battle and mistakenly thought Israel's God only had power in hilly terrain, so they planned to fight them in the valleys instead. This reflects the ancient Near Eastern belief that different gods controlled different geographical regions.

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