But the king replied, “You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house!”
Parallel translations
- WEB The king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you, and all your father’s house.”
- KJV And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house.
- NKJV And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house!”
- NASB But the king said, “You shall certainly die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!”
- NLT “You will surely die, Ahimelech, along with your entire family!” the king shouted.
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
Saul condemns Ahimelech and his entire family to death, ignoring his innocence.
Overview
Despite the priest's clear innocence, Saul pronounces a sentence of death on Ahimelech and all his father's house. His verdict reveals a conscience hardened beyond reason or justice. This rash, bloodthirsty judgment marks the depths of Saul's rebellion against God and His servants.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 28:15Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.
- 1 Kgs 18:4for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
- Deut 24:16Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.
- 1 Sam 14:44And Saul declared, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if you, Jonathan, do not surely die!”
- 1 Kgs 19:2So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the lives of those you killed!”
- Acts 12:19After Herod had searched for him unsuccessfully, he examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent some time there.
- Dan 2:5The king replied to the astrologers, “My word is final: If you do not tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut into pieces and your houses will be reduced to rubble.
- 1 Sam 20:31For as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingship shall be established. Now send for him and bring him to me, for he must surely die!”
- Dan 3:19–20At this, Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than usual,
- Esth 3:6And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes.
- Dan 2:12This response made the king so furious with anger that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
- Matt 2:16When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 22:16 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.