Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made himself horns of iron, and said, “Yahweh says, ‘With these you will push the Syrians, until they are consumed.’”
Parallel translations
- KJV And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them.
- BSB Now Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made for himself iron horns and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are finished off.’”
- NKJV Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made horns of iron for himself; and he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.’ ”
- NASB Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed!’ ”
- NLT One of them, Zedekiah son of Kenaanah, made some iron horns and proclaimed, “This is what the Lord says: With these horns you will gore the Arameans to death!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The prophet Zedekiah uses iron horns as a dramatic prop, claiming in Yahweh's name that Ahab will gore the Syrians to destruction.
Overview
Zedekiah borrows the imagery of a goring bull (compare Deuteronomy 33:17) to lend his false message a sense of authority. He speaks confidently in Yahweh's name, showing that misusing God's name does not make a word true. The episode warns that prophecy must be tested by faithfulness to God, not by impressive performance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Zech 1:18–21I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, four horns.
- Deut 33:17The firstborn of his herd, majesty is his. His horns are the horns of the wild ox. With them he will push all the peoples, to the ends of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim. They are the thousands of Manasseh.”
- Ezek 22:27–28Her princes within it are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain.
- Ezek 13:6–9They have seen falsehood and lying divination, who say, ‘Yahweh says;’ but Yahweh has not sent them. They have made men to hope that the word would be confirmed.
- Jer 23:25“I have heard what the prophets have said, who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’
- Jer 28:2–3“Thus speaks Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, saying, ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.
- Jer 23:17They say continually to those who despise me, ‘Yahweh has said, “You shall have peace;”’ and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart they say, ‘No evil shall come on you.’
- Acts 19:13–16But some of the itinerant Jews, exorcists, took on themselves to invoke over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.”
- Jer 27:2Yahweh says to me: “Make bonds and bars, and put them on your neck.
- Jer 29:21Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in my name: “Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall kill them before your eyes.
- 2 Cor 11:13–15For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as Christ’s apostles.
- Jer 28:10–14Then Hananiah the prophet took the bar from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, and broke it.
- Jer 23:31Behold, I am against the prophets,” says Yahweh, “who use their tongues, and say, ‘He says.’
- 2 Tim 3:8Even as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so do these also oppose the truth; men corrupted in mind, who concerning the faith, are rejected.
- Mic 3:11Her leaders judge for bribes, and her priests teach for a price, and her prophets of it tell fortunes for money: yet they lean on Yahweh, and say, “Isn’t Yahweh among us? No disaster will come on us.”
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Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 22:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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