What does 1 Kings 3:23 say?

And the king saith, `This one saith, This is my son, the living, and thy son is the dead; and that one saith, Nay, but thy son is the dead, and my son the living.'

What translation is this?

This passage is displayed in the Young's Literal Translation (YLT) translation on Scripture Lens.

What are related verses?

Related passages to 1 Kings 3:23 include Deuteronomy 7:9, Genesis 12:1-3, Exodus 19:4-6, Psalm 95:1-7, and Malachi 3:6, and more.

1 Kings 3:23 (YLT)

Passage

And the king saith, `This <FI>one<Fi> saith, This <FI>is<Fi> my son, the living, and thy son <FI>is<Fi> the dead; and that <FI>one<Fi> saith, Nay, but thy son <FI>is<Fi> the dead, and my son the living.'

Nearby Context

1 Kings 3:21 and I rise in the morning to suckle my son, and lo, dead; and I consider concerning it in the morning, and lo, it was not my son whom I did bear.'

1 Kings 3:22 And the other woman saith, `Nay, but my son <FI>is<Fi> the living, and thy son the dead;' and this <FI>one<Fi> saith, `Nay, but thy son <FI>is<Fi> the dead, and my son the living.' And they speak before the king.

1 Kings 3:23 And the king saith, `This <FI>one<Fi> saith, This <FI>is<Fi> my son, the living, and thy son <FI>is<Fi> the dead; and that <FI>one<Fi> saith, Nay, but thy son <FI>is<Fi> the dead, and my son the living.'

1 Kings 3:24 And the king saith, `Take for me a sword;' and they bring the sword before the king,

1 Kings 3:25 and the king saith, `Cut the living child into two, and give the half to the one, and the half to the other.'

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "And the other woman saith Nay but..." into verse 24's "And the king saith Take for me...", so "king" and "saith" 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 "king" and "saith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.