And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house.
Parallel translations
- WEB The king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you, and all your father’s house.”
- BSB But the king replied, “You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your 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 28:15As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.
- 1 Kgs 18:4For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)
- Deut 24:16The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
- 1 Sam 14:44And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.
- 1 Kgs 19:2Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
- Acts 12:19And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.
- Dan 2:5The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
- 1 Sam 20:31For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die.
- Dan 3:19–20Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
- Esth 3:6And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
- Dan 2:12For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
- Matt 2:16Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
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.