11 And the men of his city, the elders and the nobles that dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letter that she had sent to them:
If a ruler hearken to lying words, all his servants are wicked.
But Peter answering, and the apostles, said, God must be obeyed rather than men.
Then Herod, seeing that he had been mocked by the magi, was greatly enraged; and sent and slew all the boys which [were] in Bethlehem, and in all its borders, from two years and under, according to the time which he had accurately inquired from the magi.
And being divinely instructed in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, because in selfwill he walked after the commandment [of man].
But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image that thou hast set up. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their hosen, their tunics, and their cloaks, and their garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Forasmuch as the king's commandment was rigorous, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that had taken up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste; he spoke and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said to the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of God.
But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt had said to them, but saved the male children alive.
And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the command of the king in the court of the house of Jehovah.
And he wrote a letter the second time to them saying, If ye are mine, and will hearken to my voice, take the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jizreel to-morrow at this time. Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who brought them up. And it came to pass when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slaughtered seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him to Jizreel.
And now, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and it will be for us to deliver him up into the king's hand.
And the king said to the couriers that stood about him, Turn and put the priests of Jehovah to death; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not inform me. But the servants of the king were not willing to put forth their hand to fall on the priests of Jehovah.
Thou shalt not accept a false report; extend not thy hand to the wicked, to be an unrighteous witness. Thou shalt not follow the multitude for evil; neither shalt thou answer in a cause, to go after the multitude to pervert [judgment].
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Kings 21
Commentary on 1 Kings 21 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 21
Ahab is still the unhappy subject of the sacred history; from the great affairs of his camp and kingdom this chapter leads us into his garden, and gives us an account of some ill things (and ill indeed they proved to him) relating to his domestic affairs.
1Ki 21:1-4
Here is,
1Ki 21:5-16
Nothing but mischief is to be expected when Jezebel enters into the story-that cursed woman, 2 Ki. 9:34.
1Ki 21:17-29
In these verses we may observe,