1 Kings 3:22

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex) 1 Kings 3:22 appears in the Hebrew Old Testament. The text above is from the Westminster Leningrad Codex. Each word links to its Strong’s number, a concise gloss, and parsing drawn from the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible morphology. Click any word for its full Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB) entry.
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1 Kings 3:22 (World English Bible). Public Domain. Lemma interlinear Bible study tool, https://lemma.gebible.app/v/1-kings/3/22.

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English Translation
The other woman said, No; but the living is my son, and the dead is your son. This said, No; but the dead is your son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king.
World English Bible · Public Domain
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Compare translations 3

The same verse in 3 English versions, stacked beneath the original-language interlinear above. Click any original word for its lexicon entry.

Each is an independent rendering of the whole verse — the interlinear is not word-aligned to these translations.

Highlighted words mark where these versions differ — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment.

  • World English Bible Public Domain
    The other woman said, No; but the living is my son, and the dead is your son. This said, No; but the dead is your son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king.
  • King James Version Public Domain
    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.
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
    And the other woman said, “No, for my son the living one, and your son the one having died.” But this one was saying, “No, for your son the one having died, and my son the living one.” And they spoke to the face of the king.

unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult).

Versions to compare (up to 4)

3 of 4 selected

Show all 18 translations

Every available English version of this verse, each an independent rendering of the whole verse.

  • World English Bible Public Domain
    The other woman said, No; but the living is my son, and the dead is your son. This said, No; but the dead is your son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king.
  • Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
    “No,” said the other woman, “the living one is my son and the dead one is your son.” But the first woman insisted, “No, the dead one is yours and the living one is mine.” So they argued before the king.
  • Majority Standard Bible Public Domain
    “No,” said the other woman, “the living one is my son and the dead one is your son.” But the first woman insisted, “No, the dead one is yours and the living one is mine.” So they argued before the king.
  • King James Version Public Domain
    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.
  • American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
    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.
  • Revised Version (1885) Public Domain
    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.
  • Geneva Bible (1599) Public Domain
    Then the other woman sayd, Nay, but my sonne liueth, and thy sonne is dead. Againe she sayde, No, but thy sonne is dead, and mine aliue: thus they spake before the King.
  • Douay-Rheims (1899) Public Domain
    And the other woman answered: It is not so as thou sayest, but thy child is dead, and mine is alive. On the contrary she said: Thou liest: for my child liveth, and thy child is dead. And in this manner they strove before the king.
  • Young's Literal Translation Public Domain
    And the other woman saith, `Nay, but my son `is' the living, and thy son the dead;' and this `one' saith, `Nay, but thy son `is' the dead, and my son the living.' And they speak before the king.
  • Literal Standard Version CC BY-SA 4.0
    And the other woman says, “No, but my son [is] the living, and your son the dead”; and this [one] says, “No, but your son [is] the dead, and my son the living.” And they speak before the king.
  • Unlocked Literal Bible CC BY-SA 4.0
    Then the other woman said, “No, the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” The first woman said, “No, the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” This is how they spoke before the king.
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
    And the other woman said, “No, for my son the living one, and your son the one having died.” But this one was saying, “No, for your son the one having died, and my son the living one.” And they spoke to the face of the king.
  • Darby Bible Public Domain
    And the other woman said, No, for the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this one said, No, but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king.
  • World Messianic Bible Public Domain
    The other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” The first one said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” They argued like this before the king.
  • Webster's Bible Public Domain
    And the other woman said, No; 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 spoke before the king.
  • Free Bible Version CC BY-SA 4.0
    The other woman argued, “No! My son is the one that's alive. Your son is the one that's dead.” The first woman objected, “No! Your son is the one that's dead. My son is the one that's alive.” They went on quarrelling in front of the king.
  • Bible in Basic English Public Domain
    And the other woman said, No; but the living child is my son and the dead one yours. But the first said, No; the dead child is your son and the living one mine. So they kept on talking before the king.
  • JPS Tanakh (1917) Public Domain
    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 spoke before the king.

Literal Standard Version (2020), Covenant Press — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). Unlocked Literal Bible (unfoldingWord) — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult). Free Bible Version, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org).

Word by word

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הָאַחֶ֜רֶת
ʼachêr
H312
“the · other”
Particle, Definite Article + Adjective, Adjective, Feminine, Singular, Absolute
Part of Speech
Particle + Adjective
Type
Adjective
Gender
Feminine
Number
Singular
State
Absolute
Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H309

TWOT: 68a

another, other, following - following, further - other, different
  1. וַתֹּאמֶר֩ ʼâmar H559 “and · to say” Conjunction + Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular
  2. הָאִשָּׁ֨ה ʼishshâh H802 “the · woman” Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Absolute
  3. לֹ֣א lôʼ H3808 “not” Particle, Negative
  4. כִ֗י kîy H3588 “that” Conjunction
  5. בְּנִ֤י bên H1121 “son · my” Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 1st Person, Common, Singular
  6. הַחַי֙ chay H2416 “the · living” Particle, Definite Article + Adjective, Adjective, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
  7. וּבְנֵ֣ךְ bên H1121 “and · son · your” Conjunction + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 2nd Person, Feminine, Singular
  8. הַמֵּ֔ת mûwth H4191 “the · dying” Particle, Definite Article + Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
  9. וְזֹ֤את zôʼth H2063 “and · this” Conjunction + Pronoun, Demonstrative, Feminine, Singular
  10. אֹמֶ֨רֶת֙ ʼâmar H559 “saying” Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Feminine, Singular, Absolute
  11. לֹ֣א lôʼ H3808 “not” Particle, Negative
  12. כִ֔י kîy H3588 “that” Conjunction
  13. בְּנֵ֥ךְ bên H1121 “son · your” Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 2nd Person, Feminine, Singular
  14. הַמֵּ֖ת mûwth H4191 “the · dying” Particle, Definite Article + Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
  15. וּבְנִ֣י bên H1121 “and · son · my” Conjunction + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 1st Person, Common, Singular
  16. הֶחָ֑י chay H2416 “the · living” Particle, Definite Article + Adjective, Adjective, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
  17. וַתְּדַבֵּ֖רְנָה dâbar H1696 “and · to speak” Conjunction + Verb, Piel, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Plural
  18. לִפְנֵ֥י pânîym H6440 “to/for · face(s) of” Preposition + Noun, Common, Both, Plural, Construct
  19. הַמֶּֽלֶךְ melek H4428 “the · king” Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

20
words
12
distinct lemmas
Historical
section

Grammatical profile

  • 5 verbs
  • 7 nouns
  • 3 adjectives
  • 1 pronoun
  • 2 conjunctions
  • 2 particles

Verb forms

  • וַתֹּאמֶר֩ Qal · Sequential Imperfect
  • הַמֵּ֔ת Qal · Participle Active
  • אֹמֶ֨רֶת֙ Qal · Participle Active
  • הַמֵּ֖ת Qal · Participle Active
  • וַתְּדַבֵּ֖רְנָה Piel · Sequential Imperfect

Repetition

Words recur within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

  • בְּנִ֤י son H1121 ×4
  • וַתֹּאמֶר֩ to say H559 ×2
  • הַחַי֙ living H2416 ×2
  • הַמֵּ֔ת to die H4191 ×2
  • לֹ֣א not H3808 ×2
  • כִ֗י that H3588 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 38 words from the Hebrew and 24 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — the Septuagint runs noticeably shorter here. See the side-by-side →

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 20 Hebrew tokens and 24 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

Here the Septuagint runs noticeably shorter than the Hebrew — LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) 24 words vs World English Bible 38. A rough length comparison of the two English translations, not a word-level alignment — read both below.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew 1 Kings 3:22 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וַתֹּאמֶר֩ הָאִשָּׁ֨ה הָאַחֶ֜רֶת לֹ֣א כִ֗י בְּנִ֤י הַחַי֙ וּבְנֵ֣ךְ הַמֵּ֔ת וְזֹ֤את אֹמֶ֨רֶת֙ לֹ֣א כִ֔י בְּנֵ֥ךְ הַמֵּ֖ת וּבְנִ֣י הֶחָ֑י וַתְּדַבֵּ֖רְנָה לִפְנֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ

The other woman said, No; but the living is my son, and the dead is your son. This said, No; but the dead is your son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX 1 Kings 3:22 Septuagint · lemma form

καί εἶπον ὁ γυνή ὁ ἕτερος οὐ ἀλλά ὁ υἱός ἐγώ ὁ ζάω ὁ δέ υἱός σύ ὁ θνήσκω καί λαλέω ἐνώπιον ὁ βασιλεύς

And the other woman said, No, but the living is my son, and the dead is your son. So they spoke before the king.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

1

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

  1. Targum Jonathan Prophets (Joshua–Malachi)
    וַאֲמַרַת אִתְּתָא אוֹחֲרַנְתָּא לָא כֵן בְּרִי חַיָא וּבְרִיךְ מֵיתָא וְדָא לְדָא אֲמָרָא לָא כֵן בְּרִיךְ מֵיתָא וּבְרִי חַיָא וְדַיְנַן קֳדָם מַלְכָּא:

    (no public-domain English translation for this verse)

    Targum Jonathan — Aramaic: “Mikraot Gedolot” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “London "Chaldee Paraphrase," 1871” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on 1 Kings 3:22 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

1Ki 3:22 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.

Ver. 22. And the other woman said, Nay.] This said, Nay, and that said, Yea; vocis et clamoris contentione inter se more suo certabant; and because there were neither proofs nor witnesses, the hearers haeserunt animis penduli, dubiique, earum utri credendum potius esset, an earum neutri, as Cicero {a} saith in another case, hung in suspense, and could not tell which to believe.

{a} Lib. i., De Orator.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

Then said the king,.... As judge, summing up what had been said on both sides, which were only bare assertions without proof; the one affirming what the other denied, and the other denying what the other affirmed:

the one saith, this is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead;

and the other saith nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living; this he repeated to show to all present that no determination could be made by what had been said on each side, and that some other method must be taken.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

Both peremptorily and vehemently affirmed the same thing, oft repeating the same words.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

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. (It is somewhat difficult to account for the pertinacious claim to the child, preferred even before the king by the pretended mother. The most probable explanation is, that having taken the child in the first instance on the spur of the moment, in order to avoid the reproach of having killed her offspring by her clumsiness and neglect, she found it difficult to draw back from her false position which indeed she could not do without owning herself both child stealer and liar and so she put on a bold face and maintained the imposture even before the monarch himself. That she did not really care for the child is evident from ver. 26.) Thus they spake (Heb. And they spake," i.e., affirmed and contradicted) before the king.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

1 Kings, in the Historical, opens this verse with 20 words (12 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is ʼachêr (“other”). The Greek Septuagint runs shorter here. A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

  1. How does “other” (ʼachêr) shape what this verse is saying?
  2. “son” occurs 4× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
  3. Compared with the Hebrew, the Septuagint runs shorter here. What questions does that raise?
  4. These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
  5. The verb «וַתֹּאמֶר֩» is Qal Sequential Imperfect. How does its form color the action?
  6. Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and John Gill's Exposition read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

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Old Testament
Old Testament edition

Read the OT as the Masoretic Hebrew (MT) or the Greek Septuagint (LXX).

English shown for the Greek Septuagint (in the Hebrew ↔ Greek comparison).

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