1 Kings 20:37-42

Common English Bible

³⁷ Then the prophet found another man and said, “Please strike me.” He hit the prophet, and the attack left a wound. ³⁸ The prophet went and stood before the king by the road. He disguised himself by putting a bandage over his eyes. ³⁹ When the king passed by, the prophet called out to the king, “Your servant was in the middle of the battle when someone brought a prisoner. ‘Guard this man,’ he said. ‘If he escapes it will be your life for his—that, or you will owe me a kikkar of silver.’ ⁴⁰ Your servant got busy doing this and that, and the prisoner disappeared.”

Israel’s king replied, “It appears you have decided your own fate.”

⁴¹ The prophet quickly tore the bandage from over his eyes, and Israel’s king recognized him as one of the prophets. ⁴² Then the prophet said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: Because you freed a man I condemned to die, it will be your life for his life, and your people for his people.”