What Does 1 Kings 22:13 Mean in the King James?

And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good.

1 Kings 22:13 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

“One mouth” turns consensus into pressure to make a dissenting voice sound the same.

THE MEANING

You feel the pull to let a room’s agreement decide what counts as good. A pleasing message can sound settled because many mouths repeat it, while your own speech is asked to conform before it is heard. The verse lets you see unanimity as pressure, not proof.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The lie this undoes is that a unanimous voice must be telling the truth.

THE ROOT

דָּבָר

dābār

GROWS FROM

ד־ב־ר

d-b-r

To speak; the related noun means word, speech, or matter.

The prophets’ “words,” the requested “word,” and the command to “speak” all grow from the same root. English separates the word from the act of speaking; Hebrew binds them, making the request itself part of the pressure to repeat the chorus.

ALSO GROWS

dibbēr: Spoke; a verb form from the same root.

דִּבֶּר

The verse’s final “speak” shares its root with the “word” Micaiah is asked to imitate, joining the proposed message to the act of voicing it.

devarim: Words or matters; the plural form of dābār.

דְּבָרִים

The prophets’ many words are presented as one approved message, showing how separate voices can be pressed into a single public line.

THE PATTERN

When speech is judged by how well it pleases the powerful or the crowd, agreement can pressure a voice to conform.

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

1 Kings 22:8 · KJVThe king names Micaiah’s unwelcome speech as the reason he hates him, revealing the cost of refusing a pleasing message.

For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Galatians 1:10 · KJVThe verse makes the desire to please an audience a pressure that can shape what a person says and serves.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

2 Timothy 4:3 · KJVPeople gather voices to suit what they want to hear, showing how agreement can be assembled around preference.

THE THREAD

And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak.

1 Kings 22:14 · KJV

The messenger asks Micaiah to make his dābār (⁨דָּבָר⁩, “word, speech”) match the chorus; Micaiah answers with dibbēr (⁨דִּבֶּר⁩, “speak”), from the same ⁨ד־ב־ר⁩ root. The repeated seed sharpens the choice: whether his speech echoes the room or voices what he has received.

Read the SDV Bible.

Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.

Get Selah Verse

The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.

Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us