1 Kings 3:23 (GNV)

Passage

Then sayde the King, She sayth, This that liueth is my sonne, and the dead is thy sonne: and the other sayth, Nay, but the dead is thy sonne, and the liuing is my sonne.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 3:21 And when I rose in the morning to giue my sonne sucke, beholde, he was dead: and when I had well considered him in the morning, beholde, it was not my sonne, whom I had borne.

1 Kings 3:22 Then the other woman sayd, Nay, but my sonne liueth, and thy sonne is dead. Againe she sayde, No, but thy sonne is dead, and mine aliue: thus they spake before the King.

1 Kings 3:23 Then sayde the King, She sayth, This that liueth is my sonne, and the dead is thy sonne: and the other sayth, Nay, but the dead is thy sonne, and the liuing is my sonne.

1 Kings 3:24 Then the King said, Bring me a sworde: and they brought out a sworde before the King.

1 Kings 3:25 And the King sayde, Deuide ye the liuing child in twaine, and giue the one halfe to the one, and the other halfe to the other.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sayde", "king", "sayth", "liueth", "sonne", "dead", and "other". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sayde" and "king", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "Then the other woman sayd Nay but..." into verse 24's "Then the King said Bring me a...", so "sayde" and "king" belong inside that flow. In 1 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "sayde" and "king" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.