1 Kings 20:38 Made Simple

KJV ORIGINAL

So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.

Close to the original. Clear modern English.

✦ MADE SIMPLE

So the prophet left and waited for the king along the road, disguising himself by putting ashes on his face.

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

The prophet is preparing to confront the king by disguising himself and waiting for the right moment to deliver God's message.

📚 Historical Context

This verse occurs during the reign of King Ahab of Israel, after he had shown mercy to Ben-hadad, the Syrian king, against God's will. The prophet was preparing to deliver a message of judgment to Ahab using a parable. In ancient times, putting ashes on one's face was a common way to disguise oneself or show mourning and distress.

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1 Kings 14:2

Jeroboam said to his wife, 'Please get up and disguise yourself so no one will recognize you as my wife. Go to Shiloh where Ahijah the prophet lives—he's the one who told me I would become king over these people.'

1 Kings 14:6

When Ahijah heard her footsteps as she came to the door, he said, 'Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else? God has sent me to give you terrible news.'

1 Kings 14:5

And the LORD said to Ahijah, 'Look, Jeroboam's wife is coming to ask you something about her son, because he is sick. Here's exactly what you should say to her: when she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else.'

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